The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations champions Algeria began their campaign at the 2025 tournament in Morocco with a  3-0 win over 10-man Sudan at the Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat.

Wednesday’s match was graced by Real Madrid and France legend Zinedine Zidane, who was in the stands to watch his 27-year-old goalkeeper son, Luca Zidane, make his AFCON debut for Algeria. 

It took the Algerians barely two minutes into the game to announce their presence after former Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez fired home a well-placed pass by Hicham Boudaoui with his left foot to give the Desert Warriors the lead. 

Meanwhile, the momentum the Sudanese had quickly depleted in the 39th minute when Salah Adil was sent off by the referee for a second yellow card following a foul on Rayan  Ait Nouri.

Mahrez doubled the lead for Algeria in the 61st minute, latching onto a pass from Mohammed Amoura to score his brace of the evening. 

Ibrahim Maza scored Algeria’s third goal just five minutes before the normal time through a fine shot from inside the box to seal the victory for the Warriors.

The victory took Algeria top of Group E, with two goals ahead of second-place Burkina Faso, which secured a dramatic 2-1 last-minute comeback win over 10-man Equatorial Guinea also on Tuesday. 

Equatorial Guinea broke the deadlock and got the lead in the 85th minute through Marvin Anieboh. However, the Burkinabes scored twice in fifth and eight minutes of added time to pull off a stunning comeback.