Group D of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations took place from 15 to 23 January 2024. The group consisted of Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Angola.
Angola and Burkina Faso as the top two teams, along with Mauritania as one of the four best third-placed teams, advanced to the round of 16.
Teams Draw position Team Zone Method ofqualification Date ofqualification Finalsappearance Lastappearance Previous bestperformance FIFA Rankings October 2023 December 2023 D1 UNAF Group F winners 27 March 2023 20th 2021 Winners (1990, 2019) 34 30 D2 WAFU Group B winners 28 March 2023 13th 2021 Runners-up (2013) 57 58 D3 WAFU Group I runners-up 9 September 2023 3rd 2021 Group stage (2019, 2021) 99 105 D4 COSAFA Group E runners-up 10 September 2023 9th 2019 Quarter-finals (2008, 2010) 117 117 Notes
Standings
Matches All times are local, GMT (UTC±0).
Algeria vs Angola Algeria and Angola met for the tenth time, with the most recent meeting being at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, which Angola hosted that year. A goalless draw between the nations in Luanda on 18 January 2010 proved enough to send both nations to the tournament's knockout stage. The nations also met in the second round of qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The nations opened their phases on 5 June 2004, with a goalless draw in Annaba, Algeria, and would meet again exactly one year later in Luanda. Goals from Flavio and Akwa helped give Angola its first (and to date) victory against Algeria, and the 2–1 result proved crucial for Angola to qualify for its first World Cup. Algeria and Angola also met in qualifying for the 1986 FIFA World Cup and the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations, for which Algeria qualified for the respective tournaments.
Algeria asserted domination and in the 18th minute, Baghdad Bounedjah produced a scissor volley to give Algeria the lead. However, poor finishing and wasted opportunities saw Algeria bitterly pay the price when a foul from Nabil Bentaleb to Mabululu saw the Angolan talisman convert the spot perfectly to seal the match to a draw.
GK 16Anthony MandreaRB 20Youcef Atal CB 2 Aïssa MandiCB 21Ramy Bensebaini LB 15Rayan Aït-NouriCM 22Ismaël Bennacer CM 19Nabil Bentaleb RW 7 Riyad Mahrez (c)AM 17Farès ChaïbiLW 8 Youcef Belaïli CF 9 Baghdad Bounedjah Substitutions:FW 13Islam Slimani FW 12Adam Ounas MF 6 Ramiz Zerrouki DF 3 Kevin Van Den Kerkhof MF 11Houssem Aouar Manager:Djamel Belmadi GK 22NeblúCB 3 Jonathan BuatuCB 6 GasparCB 5 QuinitoRM 2 Núrio Fortuna CM 23ShowCM 17Bruno Paz LM 14Loide Augusto AM 16Fredy (c) CF 10Gelson Dala CF 15Zito Luvumbo Substitutions:FW 19Mabululu FW 11Felício Milson DF 21Eddie Afonso FW 9 Zini MF 4 Manuel Keliano Manager: Pedro Gonçalves Man of the Match: Farès Chaïbi (Algeria)
Assistant referees: Djibril Camara (Senegal) Nouha Bangoura (Senegal) Fourth official: Samuel Uwikunda (Rwanda) Video assistant referee: Pierre Atcho (Gabon) Assistant video assistant referee: Carine Atezambong (Cameroon)
Burkina Faso vs Mauritania Burkina Faso and Mauritania met for the tenth time, and the first at an Africa Cup of Nations. The nations had also met in qualifying for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations, and the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Burkina Faso defeated Mauritania in a first-round qualifying phase for the 1998 World Cup, with the 2–0 victory on 16 June 1996, being Burkina Faso's only victory in that World Cup qualifying campaign. The nations also met in a preliminary round for the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations, with Burkina Faso winning 3–0 on aggregate and jumpstarting its successful qualification for the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations. Mauritania's first victory against Burkina Faso came on 8 September 2018, during qualification for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, with a 2–0 result in Nouakchott, Mauritania. When the nations met in the group stage finale on 22 March 2019, Mauritania was assured of its first Africa Cup of Nations. However, Burkina Faso, eliminated from contention, ended the campaign with a 1–0 victory.
The match began with a fiery tempo when Burkina Faso and Mauritania fought for control of the ball. Still, it was the Mauritanians who came closest at scoring when Aboubakary Koita tested Hervé Koffi with a thunderous shot. Mauritania continued to test the Burkinabé but, after ongoing wasted opportunities, Mauritania was forced to pay a brutal price when Issa Kaboré was fouled by Nouh Mohamed El Abd, before Bertrand Traoré clinically converted the penalty to secure Burkina Faso's victory.
GK 16Hervé KoffiRB 9 Issa KaboréCB 12Edmond TapsobaCB 14Issoufou Dayo (c) LB 25Steeve YagoCM 22Blati Touré CM 24Adama GuiraRW 17Stephane Aziz Ki AM 11Mamady Bangré LW 8 Cedric Badolo CF 13Mohamed Konaté Substitutions:FW 15Abdoul Tapsoba FW 10Bertrand Traoré FW 2 Djibril Ouattara FW 19Hassane Bandé Manager: Hubert Velud GK 16Babacar NiasseRB 4 Omaré GassamaCB 13Nouh Mohamed El Abd CB 5 Lamine Ba LB 20Ibrahima KeitaRM 19Aboubakary KoitaCM 6 Guessouma Fofana LM 3 Aly Abeid (c) AM 9 Hemeya Tanjy AM 10Idrissa Thiam CF 27Aboubakar Kamara Substitutions:FW 11Souleymane Anne FW 23Sidi Bouna Amar MF 7 El Hadji Ba MF 26Oumar Ngom DF 14Mohamed Dellahi Yali Manager: Amir Abdou Man of the Match: Blati Touré (Burkina Faso)
Assistant referees: Zakaria Brinssi (Morocco) Arsénio Marengula (Mozambique) Fourth official: Louis Houngnandande (Benin) Video assistant referee: Haythem Guirat (Tunisia) Assistant video assistant referee: Diana Chikotesha (Zambia)
Algeria vs Burkina Faso Algeria and Burkina Faso met for the 18th time, and the first at the Africa Cup of Nations since 1998 when goals from Kassoum Ouedraogo (via penalty) and Seydou Traore gave Burkina Faso, the tournament hosts, its first-ever victory at the Africa Cup of Nations, a 2-1 victory that helped spearhead the nation's fourth-place finish in 1998. Both nations had also met at the group stage finale of the 1996 African Cup of Nations, with Algeria winning 2–1 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
Both also met in qualifying for the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations, with Algeria and Burkina Faso both advancing to the tournament (Burkina Faso defeated Algeria in the teams' final qualifying match to secure the qualification on 17 June 2001). The nations also met in qualifying for both the 2014 and 2022 World Cups, the former for which Algeria qualified for the 2014 World Cup on the away goals rule. The nations also drew twice when they met during the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification phase, with the latter being a 2–2 draw in Bilda, Algeria, that once again eliminated Burkina Faso from World Cup contention.
The match started at a high tempo with Algerian domination, but Burkina Faso's resilient defense allowed the team to stay afloat. As Algeria was overwhelmingly committing to frontal assaults, their reckless defense resulted in Abdoul Tapsoba seizing the deal with a deep cross before Mohamed Konaté flung it into the net at the third minute of extra time. With the restart of the match, Baghdad Bounedjah took advantage of a tricky free kick by Nabil Bentaleb in the 51st minute. However, an unnecessary foul by Rayan Aït-Nouri on Issa Kaboré resulted in a penalty, which Bertrand Traoré didn't miss it to make it two for Burkina Faso at the 71st minute. However, Burkina Faso squandered their lead at the fifth minute of injury time when Bounedjah won the air combat to head to the net as the match ended in a manic 2–2 draw.
This result meant Burkina Faso had scored in 16 AFCON matches, while Algeria remained winless in five AFCON matches.
GK 16Anthony MandreaRB 20Youcef Atal CB 2 Aïssa MandiCB 21Ramy Bensebaini LB 15Rayan Aït-NouriCM 6Ramiz ZerroukiCM 19Nabil Bentaleb RW 7 Riyad Mahrez (c) AM 10Sofiane Feghouli LW 8 Youcef Belaïli CF 9 Baghdad Bounedjah Substitutions:FW 18Mohamed Amoura FW 12Adam Ounas MF 17Farès Chaïbi FW 13Islam Slimani Manager:Djamel Belmadi GK 16Hervé KoffiRB 9 Issa KaboréCB 12Edmond TapsobaCB 14Issoufou Dayo (c) LB 25Steeve YagoCM 4Adamo Nagalo CM 24Adama Guira RW 22Blati Touré AM 15Abdoul Tapsoba LW 20 Gustavo Sangaré CF 13Mohamed Konaté Substitutions:MF 18Ismahila Ouédraogo FW 10Bertrand Traoré MF 26Dramane Salou DF 5 Nasser Djiga FW 8 Cedric Badolo Manager: Hubert Velud Man of the Match: Baghdad Bounedjah (Algeria)
Assistant referees: Souru Phatsoane (Lesotho) Abelmiro dos Reis (São Tomé and Príncipe) Fourth official: Bamlak Tessema Weyesa (Ethiopia) Video assistant referee: Pierre Atcho (Gabon) Assistant video assistant referee: Carine Atezambong (Cameroon)
Mauritania vs Angola Angola and Mauritania met for only the fifth since, and all matches have occurred since 2018. The first meetings took place in October 2018, with both nations meeting during qualification for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. On 12 October 2018, Mauritania took a shock lead in only two minutes with a goal from Moctar Sidi El Hacen, but Angola responded with four unanswered goals to win 4–1, with a brace from Mateus. Five days later, Adama Ba's goal was the only scoring when the teams met in Nouakchott, Mauritania. Both nations qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, with Mauritania doing so for the first time in the nation's history. Both nations would be drawn into Group E of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, and the meeting on 29 June 2019, in Suez, Egypt, ended goalless, and ultimately, both nations exited the group stage of that tournament. The most recent meeting took place on 20 January 2023, during the 2022 African Nations Championship, in Oran, Algeria, with the nations playing to another goalless draw (Mauritania advanced out of the group and into the quarterfinals).
The match started with a high tempo, and after surviving a failed Mauritanian onslaught, Angola capitalized with Gelson Dala producing a scissor finish to get Angola ahead in the 30th minute. However, just before the injury time of the first half, Sidi Bouna Amar provided a brilliant solo over Angolan defenders before unleashing his powerful shot to give Mauritania's first-ever goal from an open play in AFCON to end the first half with an exhilarating draw. Within the final 45 minutes, Dala struck the second with a smart shot that saw Babacar Niasse fail to respond in the 50th minute. Gilberto then added to the table just three minutes later after intercepting the ball from Khadim Diaw before making a clinical finish. However, Aboubakary Koita would reduce the deficit five minutes later with a stunning long-range strike, but Angola held firm to win.
This was Angola's first victory at the Africa Cup of Nations since 22 January 2012, against Burkina Faso.
GK 16Babacar NiasseCB 13Nouh Mohamed El Abd CB 5 Lamine Ba CB 3 Aly Abeid (c) RWB20Ibrahima Keita CM 4 Omaré Gassama CM 23Sidi Bouna Amar CM 6 Guessouma Fofana LWB8 Mouhsine BoddaCF 19Aboubakary KoitaCF 25Pape Ibnou Ba Substitutions:DF 2 Khadim Diaw FW 27Aboubakar Kamara FW 15Souleymane Doukara FW 9 Hemeya Tanjy Manager: Amir Abdou GK 22NeblúRB 21Eddie AfonsoCB 6 GasparCB 3 Jonathan Buatu LB 2 Núrio Fortuna DM 23Show RM 9 Zini CM 7 Gilberto CM 16Fredy (c) LM 10Gelson Dala CF 19MabululuSubstitutions:MF 4 Manuel Keliano FW 15Zito Luvumbo MF 20Estrela DF 5 Quinito Manager: Pedro Gonçalves Man of the Match: Gelson Dala (Angola)
Assistant referees: Attia Amsaaed (Libya) Khalil Hassani (Tunisia) Fourth official: Mutaz Ibrahim (Libya) Video assistant referee: Mahmoud El Bana (Egypt) Assistant video assistant referee: Mahmoud Abouelregal (Egypt)
Angola vs Burkina Faso