Thousands of Fans Celebrate Algeria's Africa Cup of Nations Win in Algiers
Algeria is the new king of African football, and the country's fans knew exactly how to celebrate their team's return to the throne.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of fans welcomed Algeria's Africa Cup of Nations title-winning team back home with a parade in the capital city Algiers. The crowd gathered around the team bus—which was decorated with two stars and the words "we are proud of you" written on the sides—as it made its way through the sea of people celebrating the win.
Algeria clinched the AFCON victory with a 1–0 win over Senegal on Friday in Cairo, Egypt. Its long-awaited triumph brings an end to a lengthy spell in which the team either failed to qualify for the competition altogether or went out in the group phase or quarterfinals.
Algeria started its cup campaign by winning Group C with the maximum points possible and no goals conceded. The team defeated Guinea 3–0 in the round of 16 before eliminating Côte d’Ivoire and beating Nigeria 2–1 in the semifinals. Baghdad Bounedjah’s early deflected strike was enough to secure victory for Djamel Belmadi’s men against Senegal in the final.
Fans in London also took the streets in celebration following the win on Friday.
Algeria's title win is the country's first since 1990. "This victory will very certainly breathe new life into the country," said Kheireddine Zetchi, the president of the Algerian football federation.
