Algeria will not best Italy’s all-time world unbeaten record of 37 games, as they suffered a shock Africa Cup of Nations defeat to Equatorial Guinea.
The reigning Champions of Africa had hoped they would retain the trophy and at the same time set a new record, surpassing the 37 achieved by Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri in 2021.
However, after 35 matches without defeat, Algeria were undone 1-0 by minnows Equatorial Guinea this evening.
There is the very real possibility that Algeria wouldn’t have seen this run recognised by FIFA anyway, because their official statistics had the streak at 25 going into this game.
This is because the Algerian Federation was not counting a 3-0 defeat to Morocco in October 2019, because it was part of the African Nations Championship tournament.
Only players who represent clubs in their participating country can take part in this competition, so did not have any of the usual Algerian stars based in Europe.
In any case, the loss to Equatorial Guinea means Italy’s record is safe even from unofficial challenges.