Two goals from Gelson Dala edged Angola closer to a place in the next stage of the Africa Cup of Nations finals as they beat Mauritania 3-2 on Saturday to go top of the Group D standings in a match full of high quality goals. Winger Gilberto netted the other for the winners while Amar Sidi Bouna and Aboubakary Koita scored fine individual efforts for Mauritania, who lost a second game at the tournament in Ivory Coast and sit bottom of the standings. Angola are ahead of Burkina Faso on goals scored with top seeds Algeria third in the group on two points. Angola dominated the early exchanges and deserved their 30th-minute opener which came from a corner that Mauritania failed to clear with the ball falling to Dala, who hit his acrobatic effort hard down into the ground and saw it bounce over the opposing defence and into the net. Mauritania were back level two minutes before the break following a superb individual effort from Bouna, who slalomed past five Angolan defenders before delivering a left-footed finish. Angola then scored twice in the space of three minutes as Dala looked to emulate Bouna’s effort, picking the ball up near the halfway line, accelerating at the Mauritania defence who tried to force him wide, but he ended up chipping the ball in from a difficult angle in the 50th minute. Gilberto, who had been a late callup to the tournament, then netted from an even tighter angle after stripping possession from the Mauritania defence, cutting in from the byline and scoring at the near post. But the two-goal advantage was quickly reduced by another scorching effort in the 58th minute as Koita thrashed home a powerful shot from outside the Angola penalty area. Angola next take on Burkina Faso in their last group game on Tuesday while Algeria are up against Mauritania, with all four having a chance to go through to the next round. Algeria netted a stoppage-time equaliser to escape defeat on Saturday and secure a 2-2 draw with Burkina Faso in Group D in Bouaké. Baghdad Bounedjah’s second goal of the game spared the 2019 champions a major setback. Bounedjah netted from a corner five minutes into stoppage time at the end to ensure his side a share of the spoils and deny Burkina Faso early progress to the next stage. Bounedjah had scored early in the second half for Algeria while Mohamed Konaté and Bertrand Traoré netted for the Burkinabé, who remain top of the group on four points compared with two for Algeria. Burkina Faso scored with a rare attack in stoppage time at the end of the first half as a long ball from Abdoul Fessal Tapsoba went over the Algerian defence and was headed homed by a leaping Konaté. The whistle was immediately blown for offside, but a VAR check went in Konaté’s favour. Algeria equalised in the 51st minute when a free-kick was partially blocked and fell for Nabil Bentaleb, whose shot was parried by the goalkeeper down to the feet of Bounedjah. He recovered quickly to sweep the ball in from close range. Burkina Faso’s lead was restored from the penalty spot in the 71st minute by Traoré, on as a substitute, who had also netted a stoppage-time penalty for a 1-0 win over Mauritania in their first Group D game. A corner late in the game delivered relief for Algeria as Bounedjah leaped to head home from the set piece. Tunisia picked up their first point, coming from behind to draw 1-1 with Mali on Saturday in their second Group E game. Mali took an early lead through Lassine Sinayoko but Hamza Rafia equalised for Tunisia within 10 minutes at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium. Tunisia had suffered an upset defeat in their opening game against Namibia while Mali beat South Africa the same evening and now top the standings with four points. Namibia and South Africa play their second group game in Korhogo on Sunday. Mali were ahead in the 10th minute as Sinayoko scored a second goal at the tournament, striking home from the left with his shot going in off the inside of the post. But in the 20th minute, Tunisia levelled as a sweeping passing move was completed by full-back Ali Abdi pulling the ball back into the path of Rafia, who fired it home to level matters. With the top two teams in each group, plus the four best third-placed finishers, advancing to last 16, Mali’s four-point haul is almost certain to secure then them a place in the next round. But Tunisia will likely need a win in their last game on Wednesday against South Africa in Korhogo to stand any chance of advancing.