Algeria national under-17 football team produced an impressive second-half comeback to secure a 2-2 draw against Ghana national under-17 football team in their opening Group D match at the Africa U-17 Cup of Nations in Morocco.
After falling two goals behind within the opening 10 minutes, Algeria recovered strongly after the break and scored twice in the space of three minutes to claim a valuable point in a dramatic encounter on Thursday evening.
The match was played at Stadium No. 3 inside the Mohammed VI Football Academy.
Ghana made a dominant start and quickly took control of the contest with two early goals that appeared to put the West African side on course for victory.
Yaw Gavi opened the scoring in the third minute, giving Ghana an immediate advantage and placing Algeria under pressure from the outset.
The situation became even more difficult for the North African side just seven minutes later when Adu Gyamfi doubled Ghana’s lead in the 10th minute.
Algeria struggled to respond during the first half as Ghana controlled much of the play and carried a comfortable 2-0 lead into the interval.
However, the momentum of the match changed completely after the restart.
Algeria returned for the second half with greater intensity and attacking purpose, gradually forcing Ghana deeper into its own half.
Their pressure eventually paid off in the 57th minute when Adam Benali reduced the deficit and reignited Algeria’s hopes of avoiding defeat.
Only three minutes later, Algeria struck again through Milouani Zidi, whose equaliser completed a rapid comeback and transformed the atmosphere of the match.
The two goals within such a short period stunned Ghana and ensured the points were shared at the end of an entertaining contest.
The draw leaves both Algeria and Ghana with one point after the opening round of matches in Group D.
South Africa national under-17 football team currently lead the group with three points after defeating Senegal national under-17 football team 2-1 earlier on Thursday.
Algeria sit second in the standings, while Ghana occupy third place with the same number of points. Senegal are bottom of the group without a point after the opening fixtures.
The tournament carries added significance because qualification for the knockout stages also offers a route to the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Under the competition format, the winners and runners-up from each of the four groups will automatically qualify for both the knockout rounds and the World Cup.
The third-placed teams from each group will also advance to a play-off stage, where two additional African nations will secure qualification for the global tournament.
The FIFA U-17 World Cup is scheduled to take place in Qatar from 19 November to 13 December and will feature 48 teams.
Africa will ultimately be represented by 10 nations at the competition, increasing the importance of every point during the group phase of the continental championship.
For Algeria, the comeback against Ghana could prove crucial later in the tournament, particularly after recovering from what had looked like a damaging opening defeat within the first 10 minutes of the match.
