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It's simply a failure - Belmadi on Algeria's 2021 AFCON exit
Dejected Algerian players after losing to Ivory Coast 3-1 during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Afcon Finals Ivory Coast v Algeria at Japoma Stadium in Douala, Cameroon on 20 January 2022. ©Alain Guy Suffo/BackpagePix
Friday Jan 21, 2022. 12:00
Algeria head coach Djamel Belmadi has admitted that his side failed at the ongoing 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in Cameroon.
The Desert Foxes’ hopes of successfully defending their AFCON title ended after they crashed out of the tournament following a 3-1 defeat to Ivory Coast on Thursday evening.
Soufiane Bendebka netted Algeria’s consolation goal while his captain Riyad Mahrez saw his penalty hit the woodwork in their final Group E match.
The defeat left the Desert Foxes placed fourth on the group standings – winless and Belmadi was left to rue his side’s missed chances against the Elephants.
“It is simply a failure, difficult to make a rational analysis on the spot,” Belmadi told CAF Online.
“We were keen to catch up on this match after a difficult start but the big problem, we did not manage to materialize our chances
“And even the penalties did not enter, doubt set in, we never managed to enter this competition.”
Prior to their clash with Ivory Coast, Algeria had suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea in their second Group E match on Sunday.
The defeat ended the Desert Foxes’ 35-match unbeaten run across all competitions.
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