Said Benrahma's first taste of an international tournament is quickly turning into a nightmare for the Algerian attacker.
Ahead of the tournament, Benrahama could not hide his excitement at representing his country on the international stage, but after seeing his country take just one point from two games, reigning champions Algeria are on the verge of exiting AFCON at the group stages.
Benrahma has only seen seven minutes of action during the opening two games after being an unused substitute during the 1-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea. Despite his limited minutes, the Hammer could have made himself a national hero in the group opener when he spurned a glorious chance to win the clash with Sierra Leone late on. After defeat to African minnows Equatorial Guinea, Benrahma's miss is starting to look even more costly.
Algeria went into the tournament as second-favorites but have done little to live up to their reputation with Sunday's defeat one of the greatest shocks in AFCON history.
With just one match remaining in the group stage, the Desert Foxes have one final chance to salvage something from the tournament when they come up against African giants Ivory Coast.
Should Algeria lose to the Elephants, the North African nation's embarrassments would be West Ham's gain. Defeat would see Algeria knocked out on Thursday and Benrahma return to London shortly after. The attacker is therefore unlikely to be available for the trip to Old Trafford on Saturday but would be in contention for the FA Cup tie against Kidderminster Harriers on February 5.
A draw against Ivory Coast is unlikely to be enough for Algeria even with four third-place teams qualifying for the last-16.
Algeria are bottom of Group E with their toughest game on paper still to come against Ivory Coast. Benrahma's team have one point, Sierra Leone have two, Equatorial Guinea are in the second automatic qualification spot with three points, with Ivory Coast top on four points.
All four sides can still qualify, especially with the four third-placed sides across the tournament with the best record qualifying for the last-16 too. However, three of the four nations currently in third place have three points, meaning a draw for Algeria against Ivory Coast is unlikely to be good enough.
That means it's victory or nothing for Algeria. If two or more sides are level on points, head-to-head matches are taken into account, meaning the Desert Foxes would finish below Equatorial Guinea if they both finish on four points but above Ivory Coast courtesy of the head-to-head rule.
There is a situation that could arise where two or three teams are level on four points. In that scenario, Algeria would finish above Ivory Coast having beaten them to reach four points, but below Equatorial Guinea. If Sierra Leone beat Equatorial Guinea, they are guaranteed a top-two finish and to finish above Algeria, as are Equatorial Guinea with a draw or victory.
Ivory Coast are guaranteed to finish in the top three, with four points likely good enough to progress as a third-placed side. The first two rounds mean Algeria cannot top their group any longer, so they will face one of Gambia, Mali or Tunisia in the last-16 if they qualify as runners up. A third-placed finish could set up a daunting clash with Nigeria or Cameroon.
If Algeria do sneak through, but fall at the last-16 or quarter-final stage, Benrahma would likely be back for the FA Cup clash with those rounds concluding on January 30.
Should Algeria find some form and progress past the quarter-finals, Benrahma would miss the FA Cup tie and likely the February 8 league game against Watford. AFCON includes a third-place play-off on the same day as the final - February 6 - and with the home clash against Watford scheduled on February 8 this would surely come too soon for Benrahma.
While an early exit from AFCON would be disappointing for Benrahma and a disaster for Algeria, it could provide West Ham a boost as they continue to battle with Covid and injury absences. One more option in attack would give them a boost to ensure they arrive in February's hectic schedule with a squad as fresh as possible.
