Algeria secured qualification to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations with a 4-1 victory over Togo in Lomé on Sunday, and although the Sparrowhawks of Togo could still qualify for the main event by defeating Benin on the final match day, the way they fell behind against Algeria was nothing short of calamitous.
With the scores level at 0-0 in the 13th minute, a long ball into Togo’s third was headed towards safety by the outrushing goalkeeper. Unfortunately, the ball fell to the feet of Manchester City wizard Riyad Mahrez. The attacker was still some distance from goal, but he had an angled pop from about 25 yards out with only a Togolese defender on the line to beat.
Mahrez struck it with some accuracy, but if you take a look at the final angle of the replay shown below, the ball does appear to be drifting wide of the far post. However, the defender attempted his own Luis Suarez Moment, but instead only tipped the shot into his own goal. The referee then issued him a yellow card for dumb behavior.
Right back Youcef Attal then compounded Togo’s misery in the 28th minute after taking off on a solo run from inside his own half. Attal rode one tackle, streaked towards the box, cut inside another defender and then dispatched an effort with his weaker foot. This is some goal from the 22-year-old Nice defender.
Shortly after, it was game over when Mahrez rifled an effort home.
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations will be held in Cameroon from June 15 - July 13. It’ll be the first edition of the tournament to feature 24 teams as opposed to 16.
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