)
Mohamed Youcef Belaili and goalkeeper Charles Lukwago were the stars of the day as Algeria hosted Uganda in Algiers.
Youcef Belaili scored an absolute peach goal as Algeria kicked off their AFCONQ2023 with a comfortable victory.
Belaili capped of a man of the match performance with a goal and an assist to inspire Algeria to a 2-0 win over the Cranes, who have goalkeeper Charles Lukwago to thank for the respectable scoreline.
Algeria dominated proceedings at home in Algiers against their visitors, Uganda, with over 80% of the ball but were made to still dig deep by the outstanding reflexes of goalkeeper Lukwago.
The St. George of Ethiopia pair of safe hands made some excellent saves especially in the opening half of the game to keep the Cranes in the game.
Algeria deservedly took the lead two minutes before the half-hour mark through Aissa Mandi after the a cross came off the post to hit his chest and into the net.
It was no less than the home side deserved as they piled on the pressure in search of more goals.
However, the Ugandan goalkeeper Lukwago said "not today" following some excellent saves to ensure his side remained in the game at the break.
In the second half, Algeria continued from where they stopped in the first but had to wait until the 80th minute for the next goal.
That man, Belaili, had to produce something special, beating as many of five Ugandan players before letting fly a skewed shot from just inside the box.
Lukwago did his best to stop the shot despite seeing it quite late but it still found its way into the net to ultimately wrap up the win for Algeria.
Algeria finished the game with 15 shots on goal and 14 chances created compared to just four shots and one chance created for Uganda.
Tanzania holds Niger in Contonou.
In the other Group F game game, the spoils were shared between host Niger Republic and Tanzania after a 1-1 draw in Contonou, Benin Republic.
George Mpole gave Tanzania a shock lead as early as the first minute to silence the home crowd.
However, Niger hit back just before the half-hour mark through Daniel Sosah to ensure that both nations kicked off with a share of the spoils.
What the result means for the teams
Following their home win, Algeria has taken charge of Group F on three points, closely followed by Niger and Tanzania on one point each.
Uganda find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table following that unconvincing display against Algeria.
Up next, Algeria is away to Tanzania while travel to Kampala to face the Cranes of Uganda next week Wednesday.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)