If it does not lose any of its three matches in the first round of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations against Sierra Leone (January 11), Equatorial Guinea (January 16) and Côte d’Ivoire (January 20), the Algeria will equal the world record of invincibility of a selection, held by Italy (37 matches without defeat from October 10, 2018 to October 6, 2021). On January 5, by beating Ghana (3-0) in a friendly match in Doha (Qatar), it came a little closer to the performance achieved by the Transalpines, and this impressive statistical line reinforces its status as favorite in the Cameroon.
Of course, the Fennecs are not the only ones who can claim to reach the top of African football. In the disorder, Cameroon, Egypt, Senegal, Morocco, Ivory Coast, even Ghana, Nigeria and Tunisia display, with more or less aplomb, their ambitions. But the Algerians still seem to present the best arguments to put their name on the prize list of the event for the third time, after 1990 and 2019, even if the North African selections have always had difficulty winning far from home. .
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“For me, it’s the best team in Africa. This does not mean that it will win the CAN, but it is in my opinion the most complete ”, explains Jean-Michel Cavalli, the former coach of Algeria (2006-2007) and since October 2020 at the head of Mena du Niger.
She makes the slightest mistake pay cash
The Nigeriens recently crossed paths with Riyad Mahrez’s teammates, during the second round of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, with each time a heavy bill to pay, whether in Blida (1-6, 8 October) and Niamey (0-4, October 12). “In the first leg, my team is only down 1-0 at half-time. We come back to 2-1, but what is quite striking in this Algerian selection is that it makes the slightest mistake pay cash. We did a few and we lose heavily. We managed to worry them on a few occasions, but they don’t panic ”, continues the Corsican technician.
Mohamed Bourhan, vice-captain of Djibouti, another team swept by Algeria in the same qualifying group (0-8, 0-4), was able to appreciate the state of mind that seems to animate the Fennecs. “They talk to each other a lot on the pitch, they are very talkative. They encourage each other, tell each other things when it’s necessary, and they always want to score more goals, it’s a way of respecting their opponent. In the first leg, they were leading 7-0, and we could see that was not enough. At 6-0, Djamel Belmadi brought in Andy Delort and Saïd Benrahma ”.
The same framework
The Algerian coach can rely on a well-oiled collective and an audience of individuals almost unparalleled in Africa. None of the major players will be lacking in Cameroon, when some applicants for the title will have to make do with an incomplete squad. “Even if there are some new ones, Belmadi has kept the same structure as the African champion in 2019: M’Bolhi, Mandi, Benlamri, Mahrez, Feghouli, Brahimi, Belaïli, Slimani… The guys know each other by heart, they get along well, are happy to be back in the squad and in almost three years, they have gained even more experience, and some, in clubs, shine, like Mahrez at Manchester City ”, notes Ali Fergani, former international then coach of the Fennecs.
Algeria
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During the recent FIFA Arab Cup, held in Qatar in November and December, Belmadi had judiciously asked Madjid Bougherra, in charge of selection A ‘, to summon players from Persian Gulf clubs, some of whom are part of of its executives (M’Bolhi, Benlamri, Belaïli, Bounedjah). “Belmadi showed intelligence, because these Arab Cup matches allowed players to have one more competition in their legs, and which they won, one month before the CAN”, continues the former virtuoso of JS Kabylie and NA Hussein Dey.
Algeria suffered in the face of Burkina Faso
The technical quality of the Algerians marked those who had to face them in recent weeks. “This Algerian team is playing very well and, as in Cameroon it will evolve on good lawns, it will be able to deploy its game. Even if it is not always impressive, even it is not always a steamroller, that Burkina Faso was able to pose big problems for him in qualifying for the World Cup (1-1, 2-2), she has players who can make the difference at any time, on set piece, on an action individual or collective ”, resumes Cavalli.
Even invincible for 34 matches, Algeria must still have flaws? “I sometimes had the impression that the central defensive axis Benlamri-Mandi could have difficulties”, note Bourhan. “As it is a team that attacks a lot, there are possibilities to worry about blocks”, adds Cavalli, while “Algeria will have to respond to the physical challenge imposed by the sub-Saharan teams, and that is not always what it prefers”, concludes Fergani. Which, like Cavalli, believes that Algeria is stronger than in 2019 in Egypt.
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