AFCON 2023: Algeria beat Uganda 2-0

Algeria began their quest to qualify for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations in 2023 with a 2-0 victory over Uganda at home on Saturday.

Algerian head coach Djamel Belmadi fielded a much-changed team from the one that competed in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in Qatar in 2022, and they had to cope with a tactically planned Ugandan side.

The Algerians were dangerous right away, but they failed to break down the Ugandan defence in the early going. But, they were finally rewarded for their strong start in the 28th minute when Aissa Mandi scored after the Ugandan goalkeeper saved a freekick from Youcef Belali.

Uganda had the chance to level after Rachid Ghazal gave away a penalty just before halftime, but Mustapha Zeghba went the right way to stop Faruk Miya’s spot-kick and preserve the lead.

Les Fennecs finally broke a more resilient Ugandan defense in the 80th minute when Belaili dribbled past three defenders and buried the ball in the net to double the score and put the game out of reach.