We have to be humble, boss Djamel Belmadi tells Algeria ahead of AFCON opener

Algeria head coach Djamel Belmadi is demanding humility from his players ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations opener against Group D rivals Angola as they look to bounce back from their 2021 disappointment.

Les Fennecs entered that tournament as defending champions but crashed out of the group stage, finishing bottom with just one point from three matches.

While Belmadi’s side enter the competition the fourth best-ranked team in the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the boss tempered expectations.

He told the CAF website: “We can’t say we are going to win (the trophy), but we can say we’ve prepared ourselves to give our best and to perform in this competition and to go as far as possible.

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“Of course our expectations and ambitions are high. Because we went out in the first round in Cameroon, we were not in the last World Cup. We cannot say that we are the favourites, we have to be humble.

“What we feel, talk, say between us on what is our ambition might be different, but our communication should be like this because of the last AFCON.”

Head-to-head, Algeria have two wins over Angola to their opponent’s single victory, while six other encounters between the two have ended in stalemates.

Angola are back in the tournament after missing out on qualifying for the last edition and boss Pedro Goncalves knows their first encounter will be a tough test.

He told CAF: “We have achieved our main goal, which was to qualify and come here. It is very important for Angolan football to be at the biggest tournament on the continent.

“We know Algeria is a formidable adversary. Algeria’s sporting potential speaks for itself, as does its investment. So we must be strong, focused and courageous for what awaits us.”