The Japan Times - Sudan lose to Burkina Faso as Algeria win again at Cup of Nations

Lassina Traore's early strike put Burkina Faso ahead at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca, before Algozoli Nooh squandered the chance to equalise for Sudan when he put a penalty wide.

Arsene Kouassi, of French Ligue 1 side Lorient, sealed Burkina Faso's win late on.

Both teams had already qualified for the knockout stage from Group E behind Algeria. Burkina Faso simply needed to avoid defeat in order to advance in second place.

The 2013 runners-up will go to Marrakesh for a last-16 tie against the winners of Group F, which concludes later Wednesday with reigning champions Ivory Coast vying for top spot alongside Cameroon and Mozambique.

It was Sudan's second defeat in three outings, but a 1-0 victory against Equatorial Guinea was enough for them to advance as one of the best third-placed sides.

Ranked 117th in the world, Sudan have won just two of 19 matches across six appearances at the Cup of Nations since lifting the trophy in 1970.

This is just their second appearance in the knockout stages since then and it would be a huge surprise if they got the better of Sadio Mane's Senegal in Tangier on Saturday.

However, getting so far is a major achievement for a country which has been ravaged by war since fighting broke out between Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in April 2023.

Shakhtar Donetsk forward Traore headed in from Stephane Aziz Ki's chipped cross on 16 minutes to open the scoring for a Burkina Faso side showing seven changes from their last game.

- 100 percent record -

Sudan were awarded a penalty midway through the first half to the delight of their fans, who made up the majority of the 10,084 crowd.

Burkina Faso goalkeeper Herve Koffi, who was struggling with an injury, clumsily rushed out and brought down Algozoli.

The Sudan winger got up but only succeeded in putting the spot-kick wide of the left-hand post.

The injured Koffi was substituted at half-time but replacement goalkeeper Kilian Nikiema was rarely troubled and Kouassi broke into the area to make it 2-0 for Burkina Faso on 85 minutes.

Meanwhile, Algeria completed the group stage with a perfect record as the two-time former champions eased past Equatorial Guinea in Rabat.

With Algeria already through as Group E winners and Equatorial Guinea eliminated, nothing was riding on the game in Morocco's capital.

Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic made nine changes to his starting line-up, with a last-16 tie to come against the Democratic Republic of Congo next Tuesday.

Despite the changes, Algeria ran away with the game, scoring three times in 14 first-half minutes.

Defender Zineddine Belaid headed in the opener from a corner on 19 minutes, before Ibrahim Maza released Fares Chaibi to make it 2-0.

The impressive Maza, of Bayer Leverkusen, then headed in his team's third, with Emilio Nsue, top scorer at the last AFCON, pulling one back for Equatorial Guinea.

K.Yamaguchi--JT