— RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Ivory Coast got its Africa Cup of Nations title defense off to a winning start and France great Zinedine Zidane watched his goalkeeper son’s safe hands as Algeria also started its campaign with a victory Wednesday. Algeria wasted little time Wednesday with Mahrez sweeping in the opener in the second minute after unselfish play from Hicham Boudaoui to set him up. Sudan had to play all its qualification games away from home because of the near 1,000-day old civil war ravaging the country. The Elephants’ captain, Franck Kessie, headed the ball back and Diallo struck it inside the far corner shortly after the break. Georgi Minoungou equalized in the fifth minute of stoppage time and Tapsoba headed the winner three minutes after that.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 25, 2025 05:50 UTC