DOUALA, Cameroon: Mohamed Salah was kept in check as Egypt lost 1-0 to Nigeria on a superb goal by Kelechi Iheanacho in their first game at the African Cup of Nations on Tuesday.
Riyad Mahrez also had a tough day as he and his Algeria teammates missed several goal-scoring chances to open their title defense with a surprising 0-0 draw with minnow Sierra Leone, which is playing in its first major tournament in 26 years.
The results threw some of the pre-tournament predictions out the window as early as Day 3 at the African Cup in Cameroon. If there was a team to watch at the tournament it was Algeria, on a run of 40 games unbeaten since 2018. And if there was a player to watch it was Liverpool’s Salah, the Premier League’s leading scorer who has a claim to being the best in the world right now.
Might be time for a bit of a re-think.
It is early in the tournament, though. The top two teams in each group progress automatically to the knockout stages and there’s the best part of a tournament still to play.
As Algeria missed chance after chance in its Group E opener in Douala, coach Djamel Belmadi became increasingly angry on the sidelines. When Algeria spurned its last opportunity in the last act deep in injury time, the 2019 African Cup-winning coach dropped to his knees and slammed his hands on the ground.
Sierra Leone is playing in its first African Cup since 1996. But Algeria found no way past Sierra Leone goalkeeper Mohamed Kamara, who celebrated the result as if it was a tournament win. Sierra Leone squad players sprinted from the bench onto the field at the end to join his celebrations.
For just one day, a 22-year-old goalkeeper who plays for East End Lions in Freetown, Sierra Leone had the better of Manchester City’s Mahrez and the rest of Algeria’s powerful forward line.
Algeria had countless openings. Yacine Brahimi hit two shots right at Kamara in quick succession at the start of the second half. Algeria substitute Sofiane Bendebka couldn’t get his effort on target with Kamara on the ground after making another save in the 67th minute.
Mahrez was denied when Kamara brilliantly got his fingertips to a low shot that was destined for the bottom corner in the last 10 minutes.
Algeria put Sierra Leone under siege for most of the second half, but when striker Baghdad Bounedjah, another substitute, headed weakly and straight into Kamara’s arms for the final miss, Belmadi’s frustration erupted.
Nigeria was meant to be a team in crisis after firing coach Gernot Rohr last month and installing Augustine Eguavoen as his replacement on an interim basis. Nigeria also is without top striker Victor Osimhen of Napoli and two other key forward for the tournament.
Iheanacho, who’s been warming the bench at Leicester in recent months, seized his chance in an early meeting of two of the tournament heavyweights to start Group D. He controlled a cross from Moses Simon and, all in one move, fired a swift shot into the top right corner for Nigeria’s winner in the 30th minute.
Salah had one real opportunity for Egypt late in the game, but Nigeria goalkeeper Maduka Okoye came out and blocked Salah’s shot with his left leg.
Eguavoen said the game plan was relatively simple: “Try to keep Salah off the ball and play high-pressure football at the other end.”
Tough day for Salah’s Egypt, Mahrez’s Algeria at African Cup
https://arab.news/yq2dj
Tough day for Salah’s Egypt, Mahrez’s Algeria at African Cup
- Riyad Mahrez had a tough day as he and his Algeria teammates missed several goal-scoring chances
- The results threw some of the pre-tournament predictions out the window
Patriots reach Super Bowl in blizzard-hit 10-7 win over Broncos
LOS ANGELES, US: Quarterback Drake Maye led the New England Patriots to their first Super Bowl appearance since the glory days of predecessor Tom Brady with a blizzard-ravaged 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos Sunday.
In a low-scoring AFC Championship game played out in brutal conditions, Maye rushed for a first-half touchdown, and painstakingly drove the ball downfield after the break to set up a decisive field goal.
No further scoring was possible in the 21 degrees F storm, with the Patriots’ white uniforms barely visible as players slipped and slid across the snow.
“We battled the elements,” said Maye.
“These conditions, it’s not great throwing the football. But hey, we do what we need to do... We’re off to the Super Bowl. Let’s go!“
The Patriots will play either the Los Angeles Rams or the Seattle Seahawks at Super Bowl LX in Santa Clara, California, on February 8.
The win cements a remarkable resurgence for the Patriots.
After the dominant era of the Brady dynasty that yielded six Super Bowl titles, New England have endured a painful rebuild, going 3-14 in both the previous two seasons.
But under new head coach Mike Vrabel they were a revelation this season, winning 17 games so far and topping the tough AFC East for the first time since 2019.
‘Costly’
Prior to kickoff, all eyes were on the Broncos’ perennial backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, who had not thrown a pass in competitive football for two years.
The 29-year-old was thrust into the spotlight when Broncos’ first-choice Bo Nix broke his ankle in the dying moments of last weekend’s victory over the Buffalo Bills.
An understandably nervy Stidham was swiftly and repeatedly blitzed by the Patriots, throwing a wild incomplete pass on an opening drive that ended with a punt.
Moments later his epic 54-yard hurl to Marvin Mims Jr paid off spectacularly, caught deep downfield. Stidham then found Courtland Sutton for the opening TD.
Stidham grew in confidence as the first half progressed, without adding to the lead. The Broncos declined a straightforward field goal attempt at 4th&1 on New England’s 14-yard line, and gave up a turnover on downs.
Then disaster struck, as Stidham fumbled on the Broncos’ 14-yard line for a turnover. Maye, who had been struggling badly, rushed for a touchdown and a 7-7 half-time score.
The fumble would prove “costly,” Broncos head coach Sean Payton admitted after the game.
‘Sick’
The dense snowstorm descended on Denver at the break, making passing difficult and forcing both teams to rely on their run games.
An attritional 18-play drive lasting nearly 10 minutes led to a field goal and slender lead for New England.
The conditions became almost comically treacherous, with multiple players slipping and sliding on nearly every barely-visible play.
Both sides missed multiple field goals in swirling cross-winds, including one blocked by Patriots tackle Leonard Taylor’s fingertips.
With the two-minute warning looming, Stidham attempted a hugely risky 30-yard pass and gave away an interception that proved vital in whiteout conditions.
“It was good at first, and then snow started coming down, wind blowing, I couldn’t see,” said defensive tackle Milton Williams.
“I’m coughing. I’m probably sick right now. But none of that matters. All that matters is that we won the game and we’re going to the Bowl.”
The Patriots, who already boasted the most Super Bowl appearances with 11, will now have their twelfth showing on American football’s biggest stage, and a chance to vie for a record seventh Lombardi trophy.
Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls playing alongside Brady for the Patriots, would be the first person to win the sport’s ultimate prize as a player and coach for the same franchise.
“I won’t win it — it’ll be the players that will win the game, I promise you,” said Vrabel.
