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Africa Nations Championship top scorer Aymen Mahius scored twice as Algeria beat Niger 5-0 in Oran on Tuesday to qualify for the final showdown with Senegal.
The host nation was relentless when given chances to score, but Senegal made some unbelievable mistakes when they beat Madagascar 1-0 in Algiers in another semi-final.
Algeria will play Senegal in front of an expected sell-out crowd of 40,000 at the Stade Nelson Mandela in Algiers on Saturday, a day after Madagascar and Niger played the third-place match in Oran.
Mahius, the 25-year-old forward for Algiers club USM, scored three goals in a 1–0 win for Algeria on the way to the penultimate stage of the tournament known as CHAN.
After 15 minutes, captain Ayub Abdelaoui nodded in front of the hosts, Mahius scored five goals in the tournament with a powerful shot and a powerful header.
Niger’s nightmare first half was exacerbated in the final minute when captain Breima Catkole conceded an own goal, allowing four goals for the West Africans.
Niger fared well in the second half, partly due to Algeria’s frequent cruises, but there was still time for a tapped-in fifth goal from substitute Sofiane Bayazid.
It was the widest win in the CHAN semi-finals, beating the 4-0 hidden point Morocco gave hosts Cameroon two years ago in the last tournament.
Algeria also equaled the biggest win in the 15-year history of a unique national team competition that is limited to footballers playing for their home country club.
Niger were also victims of an earlier 5-0 thrashing that Tunisia suffered during the group phase of the 2016 edition in Rwanda.
Algeria reached the final without conceding a single goal in five games, with goalkeeper Farid Schar substituting for suspended Alexis Guendouz, who only had problems during Nigeria’s brief second-half pressure.
In Algiers, favorites Senegal waste little time establishing an edge over surprise semi-finalists Madagascar, taking the lead with five minutes to go.
Several Madagascar defenders failed to notice Pape Diallo’s dash into the box, and when goalkeeper Zacanina Lakotoa Simbola accidentally flew off the line, he nodded to the net.
Continually dominant Senegal squandered many second-half chances to extend their lead, with Sheikh Diouf substituted shortly after missing a 71st-minute sitter.
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