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Equatorial Guinea-Algeria match preview
Equatorial Guinea deal with group leaders Algeria Wednesday evening during the last day of Group E of the 2025 edition African Cup of Nations.
While Algeria have already qualified for the round of 16 with maximum points, the stakes are considerably higher for Equatorial Guinea, who need a positive result and favorable outcomes elsewhere to maintain their slim hopes of progression.
Equatorial Guinea advance to the group final after a difficult campaign in Morocco, having failed to convert encouraging periods into tangible results.
This trend was evident in their opening match against Burkina Faso, where a late goal from Marvin Anieboh briefly gave them the lead before conceding twice in stoppage time to lose 2–1, although they played much of the second half with a numerical advantage.
Their situation worsened on Sunday with a 1-0 defeat to Sudan, while an unfortunate second-half own goal from Saul Coco proved decisive in Casablanca.
The back-to-back defeats put Equatorial Guinea last in Group E with zero points, meaning they need to beat Algeria and improve on a poor goal difference to have any chance of placing among the top third-placed teams.
Historically, Equatorial Guinea’s best performance in AFCON came in 2015, when they reached the semi-finals as tournament hosts, but their recent form highlights their inconsistency at the continental level.
In their last six competitive matches, they have scored just three goals and conceded seven, underlining the offensive improvement needed to trouble Algeria.
Meetings between the two nations have been relatively rare, although Equatorial Guinea beat Algeria in the CAN 2021 group stage before drawing twice and losing once in subsequent meetings.
Algeria, on the other hand, arrive in Rabat with solid momentum on their side after securing their qualification with two wins in two matches.
The Desert Warriors opened their campaign with a resounding 3-0 win over Sudan, featuring a brace from Riyad Mahrez, before sealing their progress with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Burkina Faso courtesy of a Mahrez penalty.
Under the leadership of Vladimir Petkovic, Algeria demonstrated tactical mastery and efficiency, with the narrow victory against Burkina Faso demonstrating their ability to manage close matches when necessary.
Mahrez remains at the heart of their offensive output, extending his record as Algeria’s all-time top scorer at the AFCON and leading the tournament scoring charts so far.
Team news for Equatorial Guinea vs Algeria
Equatorial Guinea head coach Juan Micha could be forced to make changes following injuries to Santiago Eneme and Pedro Obiang, who both missed the defeat against Sudan.
Basilio Ndong remains suspended after his red card against Burkina Faso, while Pablo Ganet and Josete Miranda could return to the starting XI.
With goals in short supply, veteran forward Emilio Nsue could be recalled to the lineup after starting recent matches on the bench.
Algeria are monitoring minor fitness issues for Jaouen Hadjam and Samir Chergui, but neither issue is considered serious.
With first place already secured, Petkovic is expected to rotate his team, potentially providing opportunities for players such as Adil Boulbina, Anis Hadj Moussa, Fares Chaibi and Ramiz Zerrouki, while Anthony Mandrea could start in goal.
Lineups expected for the Equatorial Guinea-Algeria match
Owono; Recover, Orozco, Coco, Aileh; Mascarll, Ganes, Machin; Salvador, Miranda, Nsuse
Algeria: Mandréa; Belghali, Mandi, Bensebaini, Aït-Nouri; Zerrouki, Boulbina, Chaibi; Moussa, Amoura, Bounedjah
How to watch Equatorial Guinea vs Algeria: TV channel, online streaming
Kick-off on Wednesday will be at 4:00 p.m. GMT (11:00 a.m. ET / 8:00 a.m. PT). In the UK, live CAN 2025 Coverage is on the Channel 4 Sport YouTube channel. In the USA, beIN Sports is the tournament broadcaster.
Online live streaming is available on a wide range of devices via Channel 4 website and the beIN Sports app and app.
The stats of the Equatorial Guinea – Algeria match
• Equatorial Guinea lost its two Group E matches at CAN 2025
• Equatorial Guinea failed to score a goal in two group stage matches
• Equatorial Guinea conceded three goals during its CAN campaign
• Equatorial Guinea have won just one of their last six competitive matches
• Algeria won its two CAN group matches without conceding a goal in open play.
• Algeria has kept two clean sheets in its last three CAN matches
• Riyad Mahrez scored three goals in two matches at CAN 2025
• Algeria have won five of their last six matches in all competitions.
Prediction
Equatorial Guinea
2
–
2
Algeria
Equatorial Guinea has everything to play for and knows that only a victory will keep its hopes alive in the round of 16, which could result in a more open competition than expected.
While Algeria are likely to rotate and give opportunities to fringe players, Nzalang Nacional can find spaces to exploit, but the Desert Warriors still possess enough quality to respond, making a high-scoring draw a realistic outcome.
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