Riyad Mahrez said his support in the Africa Cup of Nations opener against Sudan was not about answering his critics as he became his country’s all-time top scorer at the event.
Mahrez scored Algeria’s first two goals as they defeated Sudan 3-0 in their first Group E match on Wednesday, with Ibrahim Maza completing the scoring late on.
The former Manchester City winger has now scored eight goals at AFCON, overtaking Lakhdar Belloumi (six goals) to become Algeria’s most productive player at the event.
He has scored four goals and provided two assists in his last four appearances for the national team in all competitions – matching the total of goals he produced in his previous 19 appearances (two goals and four assists).
Those previous performances led to the Al-Ahli star receiving heavy criticism ahead of this year’s tournament, but Mahrez said he could ignore the negative comments.
“This was not about answering criticism,” Mahrez told reporters. “I’m used to it. My answer is to concentrate on my play on the field.”
“We came in with a clear plan to play without thinking too much, to win this and the rest of our group matches to make the path easier.”
He knew. We knew it. The players knew it. That went in. #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 pic.twitter.com/FqDT4HTqyI
— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 24, 2025
Algeria won AFCON for a second time in 2019 but then failed to record a single win at the 2021 and 2023 tournaments, crashing out in the group stages both times.
In 2021, they started their campaign with a goalless draw against Sierra Leone, before drawing 1-1 with Angola to set up the 2023 edition.
But Mahrez was happy to see them learn their lesson from these shortcomings and make a positive start this time.
“The most important thing was to start with a win,” Mahrez said. “We didn’t start well in the last two AFCONs. Today we really wanted to make it happen and we succeeded.
“The focus immediately goes to Burkina Faso. We have to improve our game and be more stable for the next match.”
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