Algeria kickstarted their Africa Cup of Nations campaign off with a 1-1 draw after they were held by Angola in the opening match played at the Stade de Bouaké in Bouaké.

Baghdad In Bouake, the second city of Ivory Coast, Bounedjah gave Algeria the lead after eighteen minutes. Shortly after, however, a close-range second goal was disallowed due to a close offside call.

Unable to end the match, substitute Mabululu scored from the spot after being brought down inside the area halfway through the second half, pegging Riyad Mahrez’s Algeria back.

Among the heavyweight teams that have lost their opening match at the tournament are Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Cameroon, and Algeria—who also won the AFCON in 1990 but withdrew from the previous edition in the group stage two years ago.

Though the outcome means that Angola’s Black Antelopes have now lost all nine of their games at the Cup of Nations dating back to 2012, they will still be happy with the point.

Algeria, led by Djamel Belmadi, has a point to prove after their dismal 2022 title defence in Cameroon saw them earn just one goal and one point.

At the Stade de la Paix, they had a great start when Youcef Belaili put a beautiful ball in behind the Angolan defence, setting Bounedjah up for a first-time finish with the outside of his right foot.

In the 25th minute, prolific forward Bounedjah, who plays club football in Qatar, thought he had doubled the score with a stunning skill move that saw him control the ball on his chest in the box and score with a powerful overhead kick.

The offside flag, though, cut short the celebrations, and the 32-year-old was denied one of the greatest goals in Cup of Nations history.

Six starters from Algeria’s squad, who also played in the 2019 championship match in Cairo against Senegal, saw Angola win a penalty kick in the 65th minute.

After Mabululu was brought down, Nabil Bentaleb was given a penalty. The striker from Egypt stepped up to take it, but his shot struck the underside of the bar before bouncing well over the line.

Despite Mahrez’s lacklustre performance, Angola managed to hold on for a draw through seven minutes of stoppage time. Mahrez is a former Manchester City player.

On Tuesday, in Bouake, Mauritania and Burkina Faso will also be in the same group.

Photo by Djaffar Ladjal/BackpagePix