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After a very competitive quarter-final, Algeria eliminated Ivory Coast on penalties (1-1, 4 TAB to 3). Both teams gave a great show to Suez and scored this meeting in unforgettable CAN. Raïs M'Bolhi was the hero of the victory of the Fennecs by stopping the attempt of Wilfried Bony, before Geoffroy Serey Dié found the post.
With our special envoy to Suez,
The show, the game, the suspense, the tension, the turnaround ... There was all that in this Ivory Coast-Algeria, quarterfinal of the CAN 2019 that has kept all its promises. All that makes a poster stick to the archives of the unforgettable matches of the CAN. It was a great match between two teams that had their strong moments, opportunities to knock out the opponent, and in the end, it is Algeria that comes out victorious on penalties. But the lucky winner could have been Ivory Coast too, so much this match was played on a wire. A post even, on the last shot at the goal of Geoffroy Serey Dié, while Wilfried Bony had missed the third shot Ivorian, and Youcef Belaïli the fifth Algerian.
Côte d'Ivoire waited for this quarter-final against the best team of the tournament to show their best face. He was predicting suffering in front of this intractable Algeria since the beginning of the competition, she was bold from the first minutes with a strike on the pole of Max-Alain Gradel (6th and a failure of Jonathan Kodjia on a pass withdrawal of Wilfried Zaha (8th).
Elephants dominate, Fennecs open the scoring
Algeria is shaken in the first quarter of an hour by Ivorians who seem to have learned the lesson against Mali; their block is lower and especially closer. The middle is available: Franck Kessie moves more, asks more for the ball, and Geoffroy Serey Dié does not make the trip for nothing as usual. But the men of Ibrahim Kamara are extinct on the real first occasion of the Fennecs. Sofiane Feghouli, at the start and at the end of the action, sees Ramy Bensebaini send him a decisive pass to beat Sylvain Gbohouo (20th).
The men of Djamel Belmadi, realists, think to have showered the ardor of those of Ibrahima Kamara, but it is these who make the game. Algeria undergoes and accuses its first blow with the exit of Youcef Atal, which is is dislocated the shoulder.
Ivory Coast dominates but Algeria holds and does not concede opportunities, except in the first period of playtime with a shot from Gradel on which M'Bolhi folds well.
Bounedjah misses a penalty, Kodjia equalizes
The turn of the game comes from the first seconds after the return of the locker room: Algeria gets a penalty and the opportunity to widen the gap, but Baghdad Bounedjah found the crossbar and in spite of him still alive the Elephants.
Algerians are still ahead but refuse play in the second half. They even thwart by simply managing their advantage and giving free rein to individual initiatives. Fatal error, because Jonathan Kodjia equalizes on an individual action where he erases Djamel Benlamri, then Ramy Bensebaini, before crucifying left the Algerian goalkeeper (62). The Aston Villa striker is the first to score a goal for the Fennecs in this CAN 2019.
Euphoric since the beginning of the CAN, the Greens know their first doubts, but not for long. They resume the thread of the meeting and chaining opportunities. Bounedjah is still defeated by the strong hand of Gbohouo (66th), and Belaïli, after a relay with Bounedjah, is countered in extremis (77th), while Mamadou Bagayoko saves on his line with a strike from Riyad Mahrez who had defeated Gbohouo (68th).
M'Bolhi stops Bony's shot
The Elephants suffer in the second half and are very happy to see the captain Mahrez give up his place to Adam Ounas five minutes before the referee whistles the extra time. During the half hour of Rab, each team has the opportunity to conclude. The Elephants are close to scoring on a breakthrough Maxwel Cornet, but Mehdi Zeffane released in disaster (106th). The Algerians are disgusted by the parade of Gbohouo on a head of Islam Slimani (114th). And finally, the final free kick hit by Andy Delort misses the cage (120 + 3rd). The following ? Bony's foot, which remained on three goals against Algeria at the CAN, will write to the chagrin of supporters Ivorian. The reprieve granted by the failure of Belaïli will have been useless, since Serey Die misses behind the shot at the fatal goal.
The Fennecs have suffered a lot but will play in the semifinal. But Côte d'Ivoire has revealed the first flaws of this impressive Algeria since the start of the CAN. This could give ideas to Nigeria, which awaits it Sunday, July 14 at 19h (UT).
► Also read: 2019 CAN Calendar, Results and Rankings
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