Mahrez leads Algeria to join Egypt and Nigeria in the round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations

Al Ahly striker Riyad Mahrez led his national team, Algeria, to the Round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations, joining Egypt and Nigeria, by scoring the winning goal against Burkina Faso in a 1-0 victory on Sunday at the Prince Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat. The match, played before 18,522 spectators, concluded the second round of Group E fixtures in the Africa Cup of Nations being held in Morocco.
Captain Mahrez scored the only goal in the 23rd minute from a penalty kick, his third of the tournament after his brace against Sudan. This goal put him at the top of the scorers' list and increased his tally in the continental competition to nine goals, further cementing his Algerian record after surpassing Lakhdar Belloumi's previous record of six goals on Wednesday.
Egypt was the first team to qualify after defeating South Africa 1-0 on Friday in Group B, followed by Nigeria on Saturday with a 3-2 win over Tunisia in Group C.
Algeria secured first place in the group and will face the runner-up of Group D, which includes Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, and Botswana.
Sudan revived their hopes with a 1-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea in Casablanca.
The final round of group matches will be played next Wednesday, with Algeria facing Equatorial Guinea in Rabat and Burkina Faso hosting Sudan in Casablanca.
This marks the twelfth time in their history that Algeria, champions in 1990 and 2019 and runners-up in 1980, have reached the round of 16.
Algeria's Bosnian-Swiss coach, Vladimir Petkovic, made three changes to the starting lineup against Sudan, bringing in defender Samir Cherki, who had recovered from injury, along with Djaouine Hadjam and Ibrahim Maza, who scored the third goal in the first match, replacing Rafik Belghali, Baghdad Bounedjah, and Fares Chaibi.
Meanwhile, Burkina Faso coach Brahim Traoré made one change, bringing in Algerian midfielder Mohamed Zorgana of MC Alger in place of Al Ahly SC's Seydou Simporé.
Burkina Faso held their own against Algeria at the start of the match and launched several attacks, while the Desert Foxes struggled to finish their chances, managing only one penalty which Mahrez converted. Pierre Kaboré's header was denied by the left post.
Burkina Faso pressed hard in the second half in search of an equalizer, but nearly paid the price on several occasions as Algeria had numerous opportunities to extend their lead, particularly through midfielder Ibrahim Maza.
Petkovic was forced to make a substitution, replacing the injured Hadjam with Bounedjah (13).
Algeria were awarded a penalty after Rayan Aït-Nouri, the Manchester City defender, was fouled in the box by Odense's Ismaïla Ouédraogo (21). Mahrez stepped up and converted the penalty with his left foot, sending the ball to the right of goalkeeper Koffi Kouakou (23).
Pierre Kaboré's close-range header from a corner kick was then denied by the left post (43).
Petkovic was forced to make another substitution, replacing defender Cherki with Belghali due to a hamstring injury in his right thigh (60). He also took off Mahrez, bringing on Abdelkader Bedrane in his place (60).
Maza wasted two easy chances: the first, a one-on-one, which he shot wide of the right post (67), and the second, which was saved by the goalkeeper before the defense cleared it (69). Hicham Boudaoui's header from close range went just wide of the right post (75), and Lait Nouri's shot was pushed away for a corner by the goalkeeper (77).
Burkina Faso's most dangerous chance came from substitute Georges Minoungou's shot from outside the box, which went just over the crossbar (80), and a shot from Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba that went just wide of the right post (90+1).