Algeria’s team profile also includes a quick description of the country as well as few analyses and reminders around the Desert Foxes.
Algeria – the country, the football
Algeria, the second largest territory in Africa, is a country located in the north of the continent.
It has seven neighboring countries – Tunisia, Libya, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara, and Morocco. The northern bordures of Algeria also have the Mediterranean Sea sweeping its flanks.
Around 35,000,000 inhabitants populate the 2,400,000 km² country formerly known as Numidia. Algeria has a very ancient history with historians claiming that the territory was populated by Berbers since 10,000 BC.
However, their very recent history has been marked by their dramatic qualification for the finals of the World Cup in South Africa.
After over twenty years of waiting, Algeria finally broke the barrier to make it into the finals of the World Cup for the third time in their history of football.
There might now be debates over what should be called the country’s greatest achievement: could it be Algeria’s 1990 Africa Cup of Nations triumph or must it be their recent qualification to South Africa 2010?
Either way, as football is ranked among the country’s top sports, Algerian fans will rally behind their team and turn their attention to what awaits them first: the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
Algeria – the road to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations
After receiving a bye to Round 2 of the joint World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, Algeria found themselves in Group 6 with the Gambia, Senegal, and Liberia.
Amazingly, Algeria finished on top of the table with 10 points from 6 games above the Gambia and Senegal. They automatically qualified into the third and final round of the qualifiers as group leaders.
In Round 3, Les Fennecs created better results by picking up four victories in a row – one of which included a thrilling 3-1 win at home to Egypt.
Algeria’s positive results against Rwanda, Zambia, and Egypt helped them to seat comfortably in the qualifying zone for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and thus make it to the tournament in Angola.
Algeria – 2010 Africa Cup of Nations group stages
Algeria’s reward for being impressive throughout the qualifiers and finishing first in Round 2 and 3 was only a Pot 3 place during the draws for the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations group stages.
Les Fennec were drawn in Group A and they will therefore meet the tournament’s hosts Angola. They avoided the likes of Nigeria and Ghana but they’ll also be playing against Mali and Malawi as well.
Match-day One:
Algeria’s first game in the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations will be against Malawi. With the recent success of the team, Algeria will be the favorites to get the maximum points away from this encounter.
Kick starting their Africa Cup of Nations campaign on a good note might give them the perfect energy to go further in the competition.
The match will start on January 11th at 13:45 GMT at the Estadio Cidade Universitaria in Luanda.
Match-day Two:
On the second day of the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations championship, Algeria will face Mali and all their stars at the same venue. On paper, the Algerians are inferior to their Malian opponents.
However, no-one will take anything away from them, knowing that Algeria are now World Cup finalists whereas Mali will not enjoy anything next summer.
The match comes on January 14th at exactly 16:00 GMT.
Match-day Three:
On January 18th at 16:00 GMT, Algeria clash against the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations hosts in their last game of the group stages. The importance of this particular match will only be revealed after the second match-day of the tournament.
Algeria – 2010 Africa Cup of Nations squad
Fortunately enough for Algerian fans, playmaker Karim Ziani should be fit to play at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations.
Coach Rabah Saadane gave his 23-man squad list to the media; now LiveSoccerTV.com shares it with you.
Goalkeepers:
F. Chaouchi; L. Gaouaoui; M. Zemmamouche
Defenders:
R. Baabouche; N. Belhadj; M. Bougherra; R. Halliche; A. Laifaoui; S. Raho; A. Yahia; S. Zaoui
Midfielders:
D. Abdoun; Y. Bezzaz; K. Lemmouchia; Y. Mansouri; K. Matmour; M. Meghini; H. Yebda; K. Ziani
Attackers:
H. Bouzza; A. Ghezzal; R. Saifi; A. Ziaya
Algeria – Quick analysis: Things to expect from the Desert Foxes
Algeria should be captivating to watch. After being the last African team to book their tickets for the finals of the World Cup in South Africa, the Desert Foxes are poised to inject some good football and some thrills in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations championship.
Their ability to dominate on the field and overcome challenges has led them through to Angola 2010. Whether they’ll flop or not is still unknown but Algeria perhaps have what it takes to repeat their 1990 Africa Cup of Nations success.
Algeria currently seat 28th in the FIFA rankings and they could be out to prove their point as one of the best African nations on the continent.
They might have lost the prospect of having big players like Karim Benzema in the squad due to nationality issues, but the Desert Foxes could still have enough potential to make an impact at the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations in Angola.
Algeria – Africa Cup of Nations record
The first time Algeria qualified for Africa’s most prestigious competition was back in 1968. They failed to reach the second round but their 1980 Africa Cup of Nations tournament was a different experience all together.
Algeria finished as runners-up of the tournament, and after four tries, they finally won the tournament for the first and only time in 1990.
Since then, Algeria haven’t made the best of their presence at the Africa Cup of Nations with three quarter-final place being their best achievements.
2010: Qualified
2004, 2000, 1996: Quarter-finalists
2002, 1998, 1992, 1986, 1968: Round 1
1990: Champions (1-0 winners against Nigeria in the final)
1988, 1984: Third place
1982: Fourth place
1980: Second place
Check back for more concerning Algeria throughout the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations and get more news on Les Fennecs (the Desert Foxes), exclusively on Live Soccer TV!
