Baghdad Bounedjah has become Algeria’s oldest goalscorer at AFCON at age 32 years, 52 days which he achieved by scoring in their first game against Angola
He is also the oldest Algerian to score more than two goals at a single AFCON tournament at age 32 years, 57 days.
The other Algerians at age 30+ with at least two goals in a single AFCON are Rabah Madjer and Abdelhafid Tasfaout.
He already has three goals in two games in this year’s edition, and his latest came in the 2-2 with Burkina Faso in their second group game of the tournament, making him the joint-top scorer at the AFCON with 3 goals.
Algeria have not won a game at the AFCON since they won the 2019 edition.
They made a horror defense of their title in Cameroon two years ago, where they went home with a single point and in last place in their group and faced a similar scenario again after drawing their opening game against Angola.
A dramatic late goal from Baghdad Bounedjah saw Algeria snatch a 2-2 draw in the dying minutes when Burkina Faso thought they had emerged triumphant. A penalty from Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traore looked to have given Burkina Faso the win but in added time Bounedjah, who had scored Algeria’s first equalizer earlier, scored his second to complete an astonishing game.
Baghdad Bounedjah’s equalizer deep into injury time secured a draw for Algeria, denying Burkina Faso a second straight victory in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Bounedjah’s late equalizer left Burkina Faso on four points after two games, two more than Algeria, before Angola played Mauritania in the other group game later Saturday. Only the top two in each group are assured of progress.
