Tunisia beat Madagascar, Algeria beat Guinea in 2025 AFCON qualifiers

Tunisia's national team opened its journey in Group 1 of the qualifiers for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with a precious last-minute 1-0 victory over its guest, Madagascar, in the opening round of the group on Thursday evening.

Veteran star Ferjani Sassi scored Tunisia's only goal in the eighth minute of stoppage time in the second half.

The Tunisian national team topped the group standings with 3 points, two points ahead of its closest pursuers, Gambia and Comoros, who tied 1-1 in the same round on Wednesday, while Madagascar came last with no points.

This was the first match between the two teams since their meeting in the quarter-finals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, which ended with Tunisia winning 3-0.

It is noteworthy that the group's first and second place teams will qualify for the African Cup of Nations finals, scheduled to be held in Morocco late next year.

The Tunisian national team, which won the tournament when it hosted it in 2004, seeks to participate in the continental competition for the 17th consecutive time and the 21st time in its history.

Algeria beats Guinea

The Algerian national football team began its journey in the qualifiers for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, with a well-deserved victory over its guest, the Equatorial Guinea national team, 2/0, on Thursday evening, in the match that brought them together at the “Miloud Hadefi” stadium in the city of Oran, western Algeria.

Houssem Aouar, the new star of the Saudi club Al-Ittihad, scored the first goal of the match in the 69th minute with a header, taking advantage of a ball that was blocked by Jesus Lazaro Ngoya, who managed to block a powerful shot by Riyad Mahrez, who had missed a penalty kick in the 24th minute. Amine Gouiri, the French Rennes striker, added the second goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time in the second half.

Although the Algerian team had a lot of possession of the ball, it did not create many opportunities, especially in the first half, when Equatorial Guinea player Leos Miguel shot a powerful ball in the 19th minute that went wide of the goal.

Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic relied on a 3-3-4 formation, while Equatorial Guinea coach Juan Micha preferred to strengthen the midfield and launch counterattacks.

The home side improved significantly in the second half, but Lyon striker Said Benrahma and substitute Yassine Benzia failed to score, as did Qarabag's substitute Amine Gouiri. However, substitute Amine Gouiri secured the result by scoring the second goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time in the second half.

(German)