January 11, (THEWILL) – Algeria, the defending champions of the TotalEnergies African Cup of Nations, failed to find a winning start as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Sierra Leone in their first Group E match in Cameroon on Tuesday.
Algeria dominated the game and controlled possession as they tried to become the first team to win two AFCON titles in a row since Egypt, but they were unable to break past Sierra Leone’s tenacious defence.
Sierra Leone, who were playing in their third AFCON final and first since 1996, came near to winning the game midway through the first half courtesy of Alhaji Kamara and Umaru Bangura, but they only managed one shot on target the entire game.
Algeria dominated the second half, but Mohamed Kamara made several outstanding stops to deny Yacine Brahimi and Riyad Mahrez, while Steven Caulker, a former England international, produced a wonderful block from Sofiane Bendebka.
Baghdad Bounedjah – who scored the game-winning goal against Senegal in the 2019 final – and Said Benrahma came off the bench for Algeria, but the West Ham attacker spurned a golden opportunity late on as the holders’ profligacy proved costly in an underwhelming start to their title defence in a group that also includes the CAFCON AFCON ote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
