Algeria became the first of the five World Cup qualifiers at the
African Cup of Nations to taste success in a 1-0 victory over Mali
on Thursday.
Meanwhile, host Angola took a big step toward reaching the
knockout phase by defeating Malawi 2-0 in the other Group A game.
President Jose Eduardo dos Santos was among the sellout crowd.
The Algerians, whose opening 3-0 defeat to Malawi shocked
all, bounced back with a convincing display.
But they will have to beat Angola in their last group game on
Monday to secure a quarterfinal berth.
It won't be an easy task for Rabah Saadane's team after
Angola's Black Antelopes moved to first place in the standings with
four points, one more than Malawi and Algeria. Mali was in last
place with one point.
Angola dominated Malawi in front of a fervent, fully packed
stadium, and can afford to draw with Algeria to reach the quarters.
"All of us believed we were going to win this match," Angola
coach Manuel Jose said. "The morale and confidence of the team were
very high."
Algeria showed a different attitude than in the opening
match, as Rafik Halliche headed in the Algerians' first goal of the
tournament, deflecting Karim Ziani's curling free kick in the 53rd
minute.
"Today, we played like a team and we got the result we
wanted," Algeria's homegrown coach Saadane said. "It takes a long
time to build a team of excellent players."
Algeria put pressure on the other World Cup-bound teams to
deliver results. Nigeria and Cameroon lost their opening matches
while Ivory Coast drew. Ivory Coast and Ghana face off on Friday in
a crucial Group B encounter.
"I congratulate Algeria for the win," Mali coach Stephen
Keshi said. "I don't want to talk about our chances in this group.
We just have to win our last game against Malawi."
Angola delivered entertaining, attack-minded football for its
buoyant home fans.
Malawi withstood the pressure until just after halftime when
local hero Flavio headed in Djalma's cross to put his side in firm
control.
Malawi defender Mponda was punished a few minutes later for
needlessly giving the ball to Manucho, who doubled Angola's
advantage with a well-timed shot that gave the goalkeeper no
chance.
