Algeria on Monday beat the visiting Botswana 5-0 in the 6th and last round of the 2021 Africa Cup qualifiers.
The Desert Foxes confirmed their African Champions status as they dominated Botswana all game in an empty Mustapha Tchaker Stadium in Blida province, 55km southeastern Algiers.
Aissa Mandi opened the scoring in the 24th minute when he deflected with his heel a shot by Mehdi Zefane.
In the 58th minute, Sofiane Feghouli scored the second for the North African team with a perfect header assisted by Riyad Mahrez.
A couple of minutes later, the Algerian coach decided to make some changes, and the team looked so much better since Baghdad Bounedjah, Youcef Belaili and Farid Boulaya came on.
In the 64th minute, Belaili won a penalty and Mahrez stepped up to take it and convert it to score his 19th goal with the Desert Foxes.
Assisted by Belaili, Bounedjah managed to score the fourth for Algeria in the 72nd minute, and then Boulaya wrapped up the scoring with a perfect shot in the 88th minute with an assist from Belaili.
After this 5-0 win, the Desert Foxes, who already secured a berth in the 2021 Africa Nations Cup, maintained their unbeaten run and consolidated their top spot of Group H with 14 points. Zimbabwe, who came second with eight points, secured the second ticket to the Cameroon tournament despite losing away 2-0 to Zambia (3rd with seven points). In comparison, Botswana stands at the bottom of the group with only four points in six games.
Source : Xinhua
