dpa
ALGIERS (dpa) – Algeria’s national team arrived back home on Saturday to a hero’s welcome after they claimed their second Africa Cup title the day before.
Algeria clinched the continental trophy after a 1-0 win in the final in Cairo thanks to an early deflected goal from Baghdad Bounedjah.
Thousands of fervent supporters gathered Saturday outside the Houari Boumediene airport in the Algerian capital.
Live television footage showed the team’s captain Riyad Mahrez lifting the trophy as he emerged from the plane that carried them from Cairo.
The team later boarded a bus and greeted fans who lined the road from the airport into the city.
Thousands more converged on the city’s major squares, waving the national flag and sporting the team’s shirt in celebration of the Fennecs’ triumph.
Massive euphoria over the win tempers political tensions in the North African country.
In recent months, Algeria has been rocked by mass demonstrations that forced long-time ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down in April.
Since then, demonstrations have continued in Algeria to pressure key Bouteflika-era officials into leaving and demand an overhaul of the political system.
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