Mohamed Nbalie Kamara Man of the Match
Sierra Leone’s players go into a defiant celebratory huddle in which Bangura addresses his men with pride and emotion. And though the second half was a more conventional Goliath v David siege, they created the better chances in the first period and showed enough in every area of the pitch to suggest they’ll ask questions of their other Group E opponents too. Ivory Coast are up next for them on Sunday, in the same stadium.
As for Algeria, they remain a fluent, talented passing side but they lacked composure in front of goal and were flat for considerable spells before their substitutions gave them some much-needed urgency. Slimani and Brahimi disappointed, leaving Mahrez and Belaili having to do too much of the creative work. They didn’t look like champions today.
Courtesy The Guardian UK
Algeria had 67% possession there, and 18 efforts on goal to Sierra Leone’s nine, but it’s hard to dispute that the West African side were worth a point. Algeria need to find another gear, particularly with Ivory Coast to come, and it looks like we have another tense, tight tournament on our hands.
Courtesy The Guardian UK
