On Thursday, September 5, the Algerian national team achieved a 2-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea at the “Miloud Hadefi” stadium in the first round of Group Five of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Riyad Mahrez returned to lead Algeria’s starting lineup against Equatorial Guinea after missing the last two matches of the national team.Greens“Against Bolivia, South Africa, Guinea and Uganda respectively.
Coach Vladimir Petkovic preferred to include Issa Mandi in the right-back position instead of Youcef Atal, who has been without a team since the end of his contract with his former team, Demir Adanaspor, at the end of last season.
Mahrez denies Algeria the lead in the first half
The first quarter of an hour of the match between the Greens and Equatorial Guinea was calm, as neither team had any chance to score, with the Algerian team clearly having the upper hand in getting the ball out and creating plays.
The situation remained the same until minute (21) when Riyad Mahrez executed a corner kick, after which his fellow defender Mohamed El Amine Tougai caught him inside the penalty area, and the referee announced a penalty kick in favor of Algeria.
The situation remained the same until minute (21) when Riyad Mahrez executed a corner kick that resulted in a foul against his fellow defender Mohamed El Amine Tougai inside the penalty area, so the referee announced a penalty kick in favor of Algeria.
Aouar and Gouiri give Algeria victory
The Algerian team entered the second half with the intention of scoring the first goal, but all its attempts failed. However, after several attempts, it was able to score the first goal through its midfielder Hossam Aouar in the (69) minute after the ball rebounded from the goalkeeper following a powerful shot by his teammate Mahrez.
Then, Said Benrahma missed the opportunity to add another goal for the “Greens” team in the (88) minute, despite coming face to face with the goalkeeper.
Substitute striker Amin Gouiri managed to add the second goal for the Algerian national team in the last moments of the match, specifically in the (90+5) minute, so that the “Desert Warriors” took revenge with this victory on the Equatorial Guinea national team, which they defeated in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon at the “Japoma” stadium in the city of Douala.
