{"id":7742,"date":"2026-01-06T21:25:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T21:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=7742"},"modified":"2026-01-06T21:25:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T21:25:47","slug":"dramatic-late-algeria-winner-sets-up-nigeria-quarterfinal-at-2025-afcon-africa-cup-of-nations-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=7742","title":{"rendered":"Dramatic late Algeria winner sets up Nigeria quarterfinal at 2025 AFCON | Africa Cup of Nations News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Algeria beat DR Congo in extra time and will face Nigeria on Saturday in the quarterfinals of football\u2019s Africa Cup of Nations.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 6 Jan 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">6 Jan 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>A thunderous strike by substitute Adil Boulbina deep in extra time settled a tense encounter as Algeria beat the Democratic Republic of Congo 1-0 in their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) last-16 tie.<\/p>\n<p>The game at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, Morocco on Tuesday was edging towards a penalty shootout when Boulbina, a forward who plays club football in Qatar, was released on the left in the 119th minute and advanced into the area before unleashing a vicious strike into the net.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>The moment of magic sparked wild celebrations within the stadium, with the majority of the 18,837 fans in attendance backing Algeria.<\/p>\n<p>The 2019 champions, who won all their group games, are looking like serious contenders to win a third continental title, but now face a fascinating quarterfinal showdown with Victor Osimhen\u2019s Nigeria in Marrakesh on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>The outcome is a painful one for the Congolese, who came into the AFCON with big ambitions and had been hoping to set up another clash with Nigeria, having defeated the Super Eagles on penalties in a World Cup qualifying play-off in November.<\/p>\n<p>The Leopards will now at least be able to console themselves with the fact they have an intercontinental playoff to come in March, where a win against either New Caledonia or Jamaica will see them qualify for a first World Cup since 1974.<\/p>\n<p>Algeria, having already guaranteed a berth at the finals in North America, remain focused for now on going all the way in Morocco.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4220001\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4220001\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-arc-image-770 wp-image-4220001\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AFP__20260106__89U27EF__v1__MidRes__FblAfr2025Match43AlgDrc-1767726344.jpg?w=770&amp;resize=770%2C513&amp;quality=80\" alt=\"Algeria's Adil Boulbina scores their 2025 AFCON last 16 winning goal against DR Congo\" fetchpriority=\"low\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4220001\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Algeria\u2019s forward Adil Boulbina scores his team\u2019s first goal during the Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 football match against DR Congo [Gabriel Bouys\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The match itself, between two of the continent\u2019s leading nations, had the makings of the tie of the round but never quite lived up to its billing.<\/p>\n<p>There was a lack of quality in the final third from both sides despite all the attacking talent on the pitch, with neither captain Riyad Mahrez nor the thrilling Ibrahim Maza lasting 90 minutes for Vladimir Petkovic\u2019s Algerian team.<\/p>\n<p>Burnley defender Axel Tuanzebe headed just wide from a corner for DR Congo and Maza fired narrowly past the goal from the edge of the box at the other end in the first half.<\/p>\n<p>An Edo Kaymbe shot fizzed in from range that forced a good save from Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane was the closest either team came in the second half as the match drifted to extra time.<\/p>\n<p>Algeria had been the more consistently threatening team, though, and began to turn the screw in the extra half-hour, with Congolese goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi saving well from Fares Chaibi and Baghdad Bounedjah in quick succession in the 111th minute.<\/p>\n<p>But a shootout appeared an inevitability until Ramiz Zerrouki and Boulbina, who both emerged from the bench together in the second half of extra time, combined for the winning goal.<\/p>\n<p>Zerrouki released Boulbina with a terrific pass in behind, and the 22-year-old Al-Duhail player did the rest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Algeria beat DR Congo in extra time and will face Nigeria on Saturday in the quarterfinals of football\u2019s Africa Cup of Nations. Published On 6 Jan 20266 Jan 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share A thunderous strike by substitute Adil Boulbina deep in extra time settled a tense encounter as Algeria [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}