Algeria dumped out of Afcon by minnows Mauritania
In a surprising turn of events, Algeria was eliminated from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations when underdogs Mauritania secured a historic victory in the tournament, earning themselves a place in the round of 16.
Yali Dellahi, a center-back, scored the winning goal towards the end of the first half, surprising the two-time Afcon champions.
For the second consecutive edition, Algeria, the 2019 champions, are eliminated from the tournament during the group stage due to their defeat.
They end up at the bottom of Group D, while Mauritania will surely advance as one of the top third-place teams.
On Monday at 17:00 GMT, Mauritania will compete against Cape Verde, who emerged as the unexpected winners of Group B, in the last 16 round at Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Abidjan.
Algeria has joined Ghana, another former champion, in being eliminated from the tournament. Earlier results on Tuesday showed that the Black Stars, who have only managed to accumulate two points, are unable to qualify among the top four third-placed teams.
The Chinguetti Lions faced intense pressure in the later stages of the game and had to endure over 11 minutes of additional time as Algeria attempted to score a goal that would have eliminated Mauritania from the competition.
However, the team considered less likely to win performed well enough to secure a victory, which advanced them to the next round along with Burkina Faso, who finished in second place, and Angola, who secured the top position in the group by defeating Burkina Faso 2-0.
