Algeria have played in 21 editions of the Africa Cup of Nations and won exactly two of them, three decades apart, both times against opponents who arrived as genuine contenders rather than makeweights. The 1990 win came at home against Nigeria. The 2019 win came in Egypt against Senegal, delivered by a golden generation built around Riyad Mahrez that went through the entire tournament unbeaten.
Key Takeaways
- Algeria have won AFCON twice, in 1990 as hosts against Nigeria and in 2019 in Egypt against Senegal.
- The 1990 title came after Algeria won all five of their matches before the final, including a 2-1 semi-final win over Senegal.
- The 2019 campaign went unbeaten across all seven matches, capped by Riyad Mahrez’s dramatic last-minute free kick winner against Nigeria in the semi-final.
- Algeria have also finished runners-up once, in 1980, and third twice, in 1984 and 1988, alongside several recent group-stage exits.
1990: A Home Title Built On Total Dominance
Algeria hosted AFCON in 1990 and delivered one of the most dominant tournament runs in the competition’s history, winning all five matches leading into the final without conceding more than they could handle. A 2-1 semi-final win over Senegal set up a final against Nigeria, decided by a single goal from Cherif Oudjani that gave Algeria their first ever continental title.
That win came at a moment when Algerian football was still a relatively young institution by international standards, its federation and national team both barely a few decades removed from independence, which made the achievement carry extra weight domestically.
Read More: Who Are the Desert Foxes? Algeria’s National Football Team Explained covers the wider history of the national side that delivered this result.
Between The Titles: Near Misses And Quiet Years
Algeria’s AFCON history did not begin in 1990. The country had already finished runners-up once, in 1980, losing 3-0 to Nigeria in a final that went the other way compared to a decade later. Third-place finishes followed in 1984 in Ivory Coast and 1988 in Morocco, giving Algeria a genuine string of strong finishes either side of their eventual first title.
The years after 1990 proved far less consistent. Algeria finished fourth in 2010 after losing the third-place match to Nigeria, then failed to advance from the group stage entirely in 2013, 2017 and 2021, a stretch that made the wait for a second title feel considerably longer than the twenty-nine years it actually took.
2019: The Unbeaten Run That Ended The Wait
Djamel Belmadi’s Algeria arrived at the 2019 tournament in Egypt without the same pre-tournament hype as Senegal or hosts Egypt themselves, and left as the only side to go through the entire competition unbeaten, winning six of seven matches and drawing the other.
Read More: Algeria’s 2019 AFCON Triumph: Inside an Unbeaten Run to the Title covers that specific tournament match by match, including the group stage form that set the run in motion.
The Mahrez Moment Against Nigeria
The semi-final against Nigeria on 14 July 2019 produced the tournament’s defining moment. With the match locked at 1-1 deep into stoppage time, Riyad Mahrez stepped up to a free kick just outside the box and curled a shot beyond the Nigerian goalkeeper to win the match 2-1, sending Algeria into the final and cementing his status as the team’s talisman heading into the biggest game of the tournament.
Read More: Riyad Mahrez: From Le Havre Reserves to African Footballer of the Year covers the career that led to that moment in far more detail.
A Second-Minute Final Winner
The final against Senegal in Cairo on 19 July 2019 was settled almost before either side had properly begun, with Baghdad Bounedjah’s shot deflecting home inside the second minute for the only goal of the match. Algeria then spent the rest of the game defending a lead earned in the opening exchanges, a nervy but ultimately successful way to end a 29-year wait for a second continental title.
The Golden Generation Beyond Mahrez
Mahrez carried the biggest individual moments, but the 2019 squad ran deeper than one match-winner. Islam Slimani led the line as the team’s all time top scorer, Aissa Mandi anchored a defence that conceded sparingly across seven matches, and Ismael Bennacer was named the tournament’s best player for his work controlling midfield throughout the run. Belmadi built a squad where the collective defensive discipline mattered as much as any individual flair, which is arguably why the run stayed unbeaten from start to finish rather than surviving on one or two standout performances alone.
Where Algeria Stand Since 2019
Algeria’s form since their second title has been considerably more mixed than the golden run that produced it. The team failed to defend their crown in 2021, going out at the group stage, and again exited in the group phase in 2023. At the most recent edition, Algeria reached the quarterfinals before losing 2-0 to Nigeria, a repeat of the exact opponent that had once been on the receiving end of Mahrez’s most famous international goal.
For upcoming Algeria fixtures and the tournament’s next edition, the AFCON hub on TuSportNews and its linked AI Predictions page track the competition as it develops, alongside the broader AI Predictions hub for match forecasts across the sport.
Twenty-One Editions, Two Genuine Peaks
Algeria’s AFCON record reads like a story of two distinct peaks separated by a long, occasionally frustrating middle stretch: total dominance at home in 1990, followed by a wait spanning almost three decades before Belmadi’s side matched it in 2019 with a run that arguably eclipsed the original for sheer consistency across seven matches. Whether Algeria can produce a third peak remains an open question, but with 21 editions played and a football culture that keeps producing talent at Mahrez’s level, nobody in African football would be surprised if they eventually do.