Algeria, the two-time winners, claimed a narrow 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso in their second 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Group E match, which was played at the Moulay Hassan Stadium on Sunday night.
Therefore, the Desert Foxes joined Nigeria and Egypt in the Round of 16 with a game to spare, which is against Equatorial Guinea on December 31. Burkina Faso will also book their spot in the knockout phase if they secure a win over Sudan on the same day.
Also read: AFCON: Own goal hands Sudan vital 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea
Although the Stallions got off to a promising start, it was the Desert Foxes who broke the deadlock after they were awarded a penalty. Riyad Mahrez netted his 37th international goal from the spot-kick to hand Algeria a 1-0 lead seven minutes before the half-hour mark.
The closest that Burkina Faso came to scoring in the first-half was in the 43rd minute when Pierre Kabore hit the upright with a close-range header, with goalkeeper Luca Zidane well-beaten. Algeria were enjoying a slender lead during the half-time break in Morocco’s capital city, Rabat.
The Stallions got off to a good start in the second-half, but the Desert Foxes weathered the storm and regained control of the match. Goalkeeper Herve Koffi produced an amazing save to deny Ibrahim Maza from close range nine minutes after the hour-mark.
Zidane was the busier of the two keepers in the last 10 minutes of the match as the Stallions looked to snatch a late equalising goal. However, the son of 1998 FIFA World Cup champion, Zinedine Zidane, made two saves to deny Georgi Minoungou and Lassina Traore – ensuring that Algeria emerged as 1-0 winners.