The king tramples.
Title-holder, Algeria was held in check by modest Sierra Leone (0-0), the first failure of a favorite at the African Cup of Nations (CAN), Tuesday in Douala.
If Senegal, another favorite, came out the day before with a last-second penalty against Zimbabwe (1-0), Algeria stammered its football to the end and signed the first 0-0 of the competition.
The only small consolation, the “Greens” are content to extend their unbeaten streak to 35 matches, two units from the record set by Italy (37).
They can equal him if they do not lose against Equatorial Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire, their next opponents in Group E, who face each other on Wednesday (2:00 p.m.).
To discover
Africa Cup of Nations: schedule and results
Africa Cup of Nations standings
But Djamel Belmadi's men, who have not shown much of a contender for victory against "Leone Stars" impeccable discipline, will have to do a lot more not to lose against the Elephants.
For its third participation in the CAN, Sierra Leone, qualified after a last heated match against Benin, polluted by a history of questionable positive tests, gets away with a historic result.