Riyad Mahrez’s AFCON record has already been proven with good emphasis when Algeria made their official debut at the Africa Cup of Nations with a goal-per-minute performance against Sudan. The captain had made an impact within the first minutes to introduce the theme of a moment that would forever change the story of the tournament in Algeria.
It took the 34-year-old a little less than 90 seconds to score the first goal of the match, and this goal was simply a sign of how Algeria meant business and how they went about it. Mahrez moved the opportunity to his left foot and scored a low corner finish, marking his career as an international player.
That opener made Mahrez surpass Lakhdar Belloumi to be the overall top scorer in the history of the AFCON final in Algeria. He subsequently scored a second goal to bring his total number of goals in the tournament to eight, a record that had been a decades-long one.
The victory makes the Algeria captain the only player at the top of the AFCON goal tally in the country, with Belloumi earlier holding the top spot on six goals. Mahrez has reached the milestone on his sixth AFCON appearance, which points to both durability and performance at the highest level on the continent.
The dominance of Algeria increased as the game went on, with Sudan being reduced to ten men before half-time due to receiving a second yellow card. The superiority in numbers gave Algeria the power to dominate the possession and pace, which strengthened their dominance during the match.
A third objective late in the game completed a resounding win, and it was the 100th African Cup of Nations goal by Algeria. The outcome gave Algeria its first AFCON opening-match victory in six years,s since 2019, a strong reaction to the early exit in the last two tournaments.
In the post-match speech, Mahrez made sure to highlight the team and not his individual achievement. It was only necessary to begin with a victory, he assured, and it was necessary to have a wave of momentum that would last a long tournament.
A key figure in Algeria with his Manchester City career, Mahrez is responsible to this day to lead Al-Ahli technologically and emotionally. His impact is still the key factor as defending champions in 2019 are trying to rebuild their presence in the crowd of the African elite.
Algeria has a lot to go with regard to group fixtures, and the excellent start made the team less pressured in the early stages, and they regained confidence. The Riyad Mahrez AFCON record has become a representation of experience and ambition as Algeria looks forward to another successful run in the tournament.
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