Algeria, one of the candidates to win the CAN (African Cup of Nations), started its participation in the tournament in a resounding way, beating Sudan 3-0 in the first game of both teams in Group E. The first two goals of the victory of the Desert Foxes were scored by captain Riyad Mahrez (2′, 61′), while substitute Ibrahim Maza (85′) marked his debut goal for the national team. The 2026 World Cup participants also had the luxury of playing with one more man since the end of the first half, due to the expulsion of Sudanese footballer Salah Adil.
The match was played at the Moulay Hassan Stadium, in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, and in the stands was Zinedine Zidane, who was watching the performances of his son Luca, Algeria’s goalkeeper. Thus, Vladimir Petkovic’s team took the lead in their group, which also includes Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea, who played a dramatic game earlier in the day.
After just 2 minutes, Algeria opened the scoring after an excellent combination of several passes. Hichem Boudaoui played well for Riyad Mahrez, and the Al-Ahli player, with a strong shot, made it 1-0 for the Desert Foxes. Sudan could have quickly restored the tie, but Zinedine Zidane’s son, Luca Zidane, who was playing his second competitive game for Algeria, intervened well and saved a point-blank shot from Yasser Awad. After the hectic start, calmer minutes followed, and at the end of the first half there were emotions again.
Again Awad, from Sudan, in the 39th minute, found himself in a good position for the Nile crocodiles and shot, but Zidane intervened well again, and Abdelrazig Omer’s subsequent shot was inaccurate. Shortly afterwards, the game had a decisive moment as Salah Adil received a second yellow card for a harsh foul on Rayan Ait-Nouri and was sent off. Until the end of the first half, the most interesting thing was the beautiful disallowed goal by Ramy Bensebaini, who was offside and the goal was not validated.
At the beginning of the second half, Algeria took advantage of its numerical advantage and pressed. Vladimir Petkovic’s team were close to a second goal again, but Sudanese goalkeeper Monged Elneel managed to save a dangerous free kick from Chaibi Farès. Again the goalkeeper saved a shot from Baghdad Bounedjah. In the 61st minute, however, the goalkeeper could do nothing, after Riyad Mahrez was launched excellently and, isolated against Elneel, scored his second goal of the game – 2-0 for Algeria.
Until the end of the match, two very dangerous shots from Mohamed Amoura followed, the first being saved and the second hitting the Sudanese goal post. In the 85th minute, it was time for substitute Ibrahim Maza, who took advantage of a header from Bounedjah and scored his first goal for the Algerian national team, sealing the final result at 3-0. In the last seconds of the game, the result could have increased even more, but another player who came on from the bench, Adil Boulbina, missed opportunities.
