Cairo (AFP)

The Fennecs come out of the woods. Algeria won the first clash of CAN against Senegal by Sadio Mané (1-0), Thursday in Cairo, a victory that is among the most serious contenders for the title.

Coach Djamel Belmadi may well repeat at each press conference that his country has never won the competition outside its borders, he is an outsider, he has not played the World-2018 , his players gave him wrong.

Faced with the best African nation in the FIFA rankings, the Algerians showed a disciplined collective to shake the other leaders of the continent, and an offensive efficiency essential to go far.

On a center of Sofiane Feghouli, in form since the beginning of the tournament, Youcef Belaïli has concretized the domination of the Greens of a limpid recovery (48).

With these three points, Algeria takes the lead of its hen. A draw will be enough Monday against Tanzania to lock his leadership and play his round of 16 against an opponent affordable.

For Senegal, three points, the qualification is far from being compromised, but no respite will be given to the Lions for their last match against Kenya, nor to their coach Aliou Cissé who failed the "test" he mentioned Wednesday .

- Mané helpless -

Despite the return of suspension of the leader Sadio Mané, his team, disappointing, failed to wrap the match, tense and locked in a double round by the Algerian defense.

The Liverpool star was in good form, and his first overflow that nailed Youcef Atal on the spot, let envisage a beautiful evening. Supported by the Egyptian public, who sees in him the teammate of Mohamed Salah club, the winger has gradually extinguished.

He could have largely benefited from a penalty, destabilized by Adlène Guedioura and Ramy Bensebaini (72).

But it took the Senegalese more realism to deceive the Fennecs at the height of this poster, the noisiest, and most followed forums since the beginning of the tournament, not counting the matches of Egypt.

Very disappointing at the CAN-2017, then in the playoffs for the World Cup-2018, Algerians have recovered confidence since Belmadi took the reins in the summer of 2018.

Symbol of the reconstruction, the attacker Baghdad Bounedjah weighed again. The striker Al-Sadd, Qatar, could have opened the scoring without a disaster rescue of Kalidou Koulibaly (28).

But it's another new face, Youcef Belaïli, recalled in the national team by the coach after three years of absence, which made the difference, after the locker room. A small goal that can change the fate of Algeria in Egypt: how far will the Fennecs go?

? 2019 AFP