30/12/2025

SPORTS TUESDAY | DEC 30, 2025 29 Mahrez spot on for Algeria Penalty takes Desert Foxes through to Africa Cup of Nations last 16 A LGERIA secured their expected, and we faced several difficulties during the match, but the players managed to control the game and dictate its tempo,” Petkovic told reporters. “We are competing to win the Having beaten both of them, Algeria are guaranteed to finish first even if they lose their final outing against currently pointless Equatorial Guinea – they will therefore play a last-16 tie in Rabat on Jan 6. “We were expecting a very the encounter. Algeria had to come from two goals down to draw 2-2 with the Stallions when the teams met at the last Afcon in Ivory Coast, a result which contributed to their group-stage elimination. This time they claimed all

Diallo stars as Elephants draw with Indomitable Lions

MANCHESTER UNITED winger Amad Diallo scored for Africa Cup of Nations defending champions Ivory Coast in a 1-1 draw with Cameroon yesterday that left them sharing top spot in Group F. Diallo struck after 51 minutes of a Marrakesh thriller for his second Afcon goal having notched the match-winner against Mozambique five days ago. But the lead lasted only five minutes before Ivory Coast’s Ghislain Konan deflected a shot from Junior Tchamadeu to bring five-time champions Cameroon level. Ivory Coast and Cameroon have four points each, one more than Mozambique, who beat Gabon 3-2 earlier in Agadir. The top two finishers in each group qualify for the round of 16. The best four third-placed teams from the six mini-leagues also progress to the knockout stage. The rivalry between the Ivorian Elephants and the Cameroonian Indomitable Lions is among the greatest in the Afcon, stretching back to 1970 in Sudan. Cameroon held a 5-1 lead in victories ahead of the Marrakesh showdown. A further two matches went to pen alty shootouts and Ivory Coast won both. After a goalless 45 minutes, Diallo then broke the dead lock. Konan sent a long lofted pass to the winger, who gave goalkeeper Devis Epassy no chance with a left-foot strike from close range. The lead did not last long, however. A Tchamadeu shot from the edge of the box took a looped off Konan, over goalkeeper Yahia Fofana and into the net. – AFP SIDENETTING Mozambique claim first Afcon victory GABON are facing an early exit from the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after slipping to a 3-2 defeat to Mozambique in their Group F clash in Agadir, which ended a 40-year wait for a victory at the continental finals for the southern African side. Mozambique scored their goals via Faisal Bangal, Geny Catamo and Diogo Calila in a deserved victory in which they were led by 42-year-old winger Elias Pelembe. It is their first win at the continental finals at the 17th attempt since their debut in 1986. Gabon stayed in the contest to the end as Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Moucketou-Moussounda netted goals, but back-to-back defeats mean their hopes of reaching the Round of 16 are hanging by a thread with a match against defending champions Ivory Coast to come on Thursday. Mozambique had managed four draws in their previ ous 16 Cup of Nations matches and never been past the group stages. They scored the opening goal their attacking play deserved in the 37th minute as Catamo's corner was headed in unmarked by Bangal. The Mambas captain Pelembe added a second from the penalty spot but Gabon pulled a goal back before the break through Aubameyang. Mozambique made a strong start to the second period and Diogo Calila extended their lead again in the 51st min ute. Gabon got back to within one goal when Mozambique failed to clear from a corner and after a goal-mouth scram ble, Moucketou-Moussounda poked the ball into the net. Own goal hands Sudan fortunate win SUDAN profited from a late own goal to beat Equatorial Guinea 1-0 at the Africa Cup of Nations finals yesterday, picking up their first points of the tourna ment in Morocco. Mohamed Eisa's freekick in the 74th minute was cleared by Equatorial Guinea's Luis Asue but struck teammate Saul Coco and ricocheted back past the despairing dive of goalkeeper Jesus Owono. Sudan had an early opportunity to go ahead as Eisa had a stab at a loose ball close in but the fourth-min ute effort went wide. He had another narrow miss with a shot in the 60th minute that was goalbound and beat Owono, only to be blocked just short of the goal line by Equatorial Guinea defender Esteban Orozco. Equatorial Guinea's Pedro Obiang had their two best chances of the first half at Stade Mohamed V but miscued an effort in front of goal before, on the stroke of halftime, heading onto the roof of the net with Sudan goalkeeper Monged Elneel out of position.

place in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations after a Riyad Mahrez penalty gave them a 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso yesterday. Captain Mahrez converted from the spot midway through the first half at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat and Algeria then held on to win a bruising contest against a deter mined Burkina outfit. Algeria, African champions in 1990 and in 2019, have the maximum six points after two games in Group E and are yet to concede a goal, with Vladimir Petkovic’s side liv ing up to their billing as one of the pre-tournament favourites. “Burkina Faso played at a higher level than I

African crown, and now we must focus on the remainder of our journey because every game will be tougher than the previous one,” he added. “Burkina Faso played at a higher level than I expected, and we faced several difficulties dur ing the match, but the players managed to control the game and dictate its tempo,” he said. Burkina Faso and

three points, with the penalty that decided the game awarded when Manchester City’s Rayan Ait Nouri was bundled over inside the box. Mahrez made no mistake with his 23rd-minute kick as he fol lowed his brace in the opening 3 0 defeat of Sudan to take his tally at this Cup of Nations to three goals. The former Leicester City and Manchester City winger, appear ing at his sixth Afcon, now has nine goals at the tournament, an Algerian record. – AFP/Reuters

tough match. We fought very hard and the most important thing is that we won the game. Now we are qualified and that was the main goal,” said Algeria’s Bayer Leverkusen forward Ibrahim Maza, the man of the match. “We knew before that they would be very tough but we

said we would have to fight against it, also be dirty, tackle very hard and we did that well today,” he added of the physical nature of

Sudan are on three points each and play each other in the final round of group games on Thursday.

Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez (left) shoots and scores his team’s first goal from the penalty spot during the Afcon Group E match against Burkino Faso at Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat yesterday. – AFPPIC

Martinez on target as Inter stay top of Serie A

INTER MILAN stayed at the Serie A summit yesterday after beating Atalanta 1-0 to main tain their slender lead over local rivals AC Milan. Lautaro Martinez netted the only goal of the game in Bergamo for Inter who lead Milan, 3-0 winners against Verona thanks to Christoper Nkunku’s first Serie A goals, by a sin gle point at the top of the division. The Argentina striker has scored in four consecutive league matches to end what has been a tricky 2025 in positive style. “I ended last season in a lot of pain … I kept going during the Club World Cup and interna tional duty and I had a very short summer break,” said Martinez who scored 15 Serie A goals over the calendar year. Martinez’s league-leading ninth goal of the campaign decided an engaging match which could have gone either way, with both teams having chances to break the deadlock before Martinez pounced.

Lecce in the Italian Cup in September. Milan were sent on their way to a compre hensive victory on the stroke of halftime by Christian Pulisic who continued his sensational form by scoring his eighth goal in 11 Serie A appearances. Rasmus Hojlund took his all-competitions goal tally for Napoli to nine as the champions cruised to a 2-0 win at Cremonese and stayed two points behind Inter in third. Hojlund has scored six times in 12 Serie A appearances, two more than he managed in an entire Premier League campaign with Manchester United last season. “I’m getting better every season,” said Hojlund, who played in Italy for Atalanta before United. “Obviously when I was at Atalanta I was a bit younger and I’ve got a bit more experience now. I’ve played in the Premier League and in the Champions League and I’m playing with very good players now.” – AFP

Marcus Thuram and Charles De Ketelaere had goals ruled out for offside for each side while Nicolo Barella wasted a great chance to score for Inter just after Luis Henrique was denied by Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi. But once Martinez rifled home with his left, after Berat Djimsiti sloppily gave away posses sion just outside his own penalty area, Atalanta had an uphill task to stop a second home defeat of the season. Earlier at the San Siro, Nkunku doubled Milan’s lead two minutes after half-time with a penalty he had earned, ending a league drought stretching back to February when he was playing for Chelsea in England. Five minutes later he tapped home the third to ensure the hosts continued their unbeaten league run to 15 matches. The 28-year-old’s only previous goal for Milan since signing from Chelsea for an initial £37 million (RM185m) in August came against