Maza also successful for Algeria
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Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba saved Burkina Faso from embarrassment in the first game against outsiders Equatorial Guinea at the Africa Cup. In a turbulent final phase, Bayer 04’s central defender scored the 2-1 (0-0) winning goal in the 97th minute.
At the start of the tournament, the 2013 finalist struggled for a long time despite players like Dango Ouattara (Brentford) and Bertrand Traoré (Sunderland) in the squad and even fell behind shortly before the end. In the 85th minute, Marvin Anieboh scored for Equatorial Guinea, which is one of the smallest nations in the tournament with a squad value of 18.6 million euros. In the long injury time, Burkina Faso came back spectacularly. First, Georgi Minoungou equalized on Ouattara’s assist (90+5), three minutes later Tapsoba scored for the celebrated victory.
In Group E, Burkina Faso now has a good chance of progressing. In the second group game, Algeria beat Sudan 3-0 (1-0). Riyad Mahrez (2nd and 61st minutes) and Tapsoba’s teammate Ibrahim Maza (85th) scored the goals. Salaheldin Adil was shown a yellow-red card for Sudan in the 39th minute. The first two teams qualify directly for the round of 16 and the best four third-place teams are also there.