BOUAK: Baghdad Boun­edjah headed home five minutes into injury time to earn Algeria a 2-2 draw with Burkina Faso at the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday, forcing their opponents to wait to secure a place in the last 16.

Mohamed Konate’s opening goal for Burkina Faso was cancelled out by a first Bounedjah equaliser, but a Bertrand Traore penalty put the Stallions back in front to the delight of their many supporters in the crowd of over 33,000 in Bouake, Ivory Coast’s second city.

At that point Burkina Faso were heading thro­ugh, but Bounedjah equalised a second time at the death to take his overall tally of goals to three and join Emilio Nsue of Equatorial Guinea as the tournament’s joint-top scorer.

Burkina Faso, the 2013 Cup of Nations runners-up who reached the semi-finals at the last edition in Cameroon two years ago, have four points from two games in Group ‘D’ and remain on course to qualify for the knockout phase before facing Angola next.

Algeria, who were held 1-1 by Angola in their opening game, have two points and a win against Mauritania on Tuesday will suffice for them to advance.

They needed Boun­edjah’s late goal, however, to stave off the spectre of a repeat of two years ago, when Djamel Belmadi’s team went to Cameroon as reigning African champions but were knocked out in the group stage with just one point and one goal scored.

Nevertheless, Riyad Mahrez and his team-mates clearly struggled in the sapping mid-afternoon heat and will welcome having an evening kick-off in their final group outing.

Burkina Faso, whose French coach Hubert Velud has previously worked at several Alger­ian clubs, went ahead three minutes into stoppage time at the end of the first half.

Russian-based striker Konate, playing off the shoulder of the last defender, threw himself at a terrific ball into the box from deep on the left flank and headed home. The goal was given after a VAR check confirmed he was onside.

Algeria drew level six minutes after the restart as Bounedjah turned the ball in from close range after a goalmouth scramble.

Yet Burkina Faso were awarded a penalty midway through the second half after a VAR review showed that Rayan Ait-Nouri had kicked the shin of Issa Kabore in the box when trying to make a clearance.

On as a substitute, Aston Villa forward Traore converted the penalty, just as he had done to give Burkina Faso a 1-0 win over Mauritania in their first match.

Algeria responded by withdrawing wingers Mahrez and Youcef Belaili, before being rescued by Bounedjah’s 95th-minute header.

On Friday, holders Senegal and Cape Verde qualified for the last 16.

Senegal clinched a spot in the next round with one group game to spare thanks to a 3-1 win over Cameroon in Yamo­ussoukro.

Ismaila Sarr of Mars­eille put the reigning champions ahead early on and later set up Habib Diallo to make it 2-0.

Jean-Charles Castel­letto pulled one back, but Senegal were not to be denied a convincing victory and talisman Sadio Mane put the outcome beyond doubt late on.

Senegal have a maximum six points after two Group ‘C’ matches, while Cameroon have only one and their hopes of advancing to the last 16 are.

Later on in Group ‘C’, Guinea, again missing star striker Serhou Guirassy, beat Gambia 1-0 at the same venue thanks to Aguibou Camara’s second-half goal.

The result leaves Guinea second in the section on four points, meaning they need just a draw against Senegal in their next match to guarantee qualification for the last 16, while a victory will see them progress as group winners.

Cameroon and Gambia will meet each other next and can both hope to at least progress as one of the four best third-placed sides.

Earlier, Cape Verde became the first team to qualify for the last 16 thanks to a convincing 3-0 win over Mozambique in Abidjan.

Former Manchester United forward Bebe set the Atlantic Ocean island nation on their way with a remarkable first-half free-kick from 40 metres at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium.

Captain Ryan Mendes doubled their lead just after half-time and Kevin Pina wrapped up the win with a stunning strike midway through the second half.

Cape Verde’s biggest ever AFCON victory leaves them on six points from two games and means they are now certain to top Group ‘B’, after they beat Ghana 2-1 in their opening game. Egypt sit second on two points with Ghana and Mozambique on one each.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2024