AFCON 2021 Preview: Algeria

The 2019 AFCON Champions Algeria are one of the favorites to lift the trophy in 2021. The North African side won the Arab Cup recently and have progressed to the last 10 of the World Cup qualifiers. A team filled with stars and young prospects; Algeria will not be an easy outfit for anyone they face. Ahead of the tournament in Cameroon, we at Soccer Ethiopia spoke to Algerian football journalist Walid Ziani.

– Will anything other than a trophy be a disappointment for Algeria? What are you expecting from them?

No, although we are favorites and would love to repeat as champions, I think the ultimate objective of the coach and the players is to qualify for the World Cup. I’m sure they will give it their all during this African Cup but if they don’t win, I don’t think it will be considered a disappointment. With that being said, anything less than a quarter-final appearance will be a disappointment.

– Tell us about the coach and playing style.

Djamel Belmadi took over as Algeria coach in mid-2018 and has completely transformed the Algeria national team. He led Algeria to the 2019 Africa Cup title and is currently on a 33-match unbeaten streak. Although he’s a strict disciplinarian on and off the pitch, he has a special bond with his players and has been able to bring the most out of them.

The playing style has not changed much since he has taken over. His preferred formation is a 4-3-2-1 with 1 defensive midfielder, 2 central midfielders, 2 wingers, and a striker. He’s also played with a 4-4-2 with 2 strikers depending on the opponent and players available. He’s a very pragmatic coach but also very demanding tactically from his players, including his stars like Riyad Mahrez.

– Who are you expecting to shine for Algeria in this tournament? Is anyone other than Mahrez?

Youcef Belaili was one of Algeria’s most influential players in the 2019 African Cup and I tip him to do the same again this time around. Among the new players, look out for Ramiz Zerrouki and Adem Zorgane, 2 younger central midfielders who can be breakout players during this tournament.

– Which team do you think will be the toughest competitor?

Our 3rd group stage match against Ivory Coast will be a very tough test. We beat them in the QFs in 2019 and the Elephants will be very hungry to get their revenge, especially since they were eliminated from the World Cup qualifiers. 2019 finalists Senegal will also be one of the favorites to lift the title, and you can never count out the hosts Cameroon and giants Nigeria.

– Also, what areas of the team are of concern to you and most Algerians.

Despite our recent success, there’s still a lot of question marks about the team after some underwhelming performances in recent games, namely the 2 draws against Burkina Faso. From the back to the front, goalkeeping, defense, defensive midfield, and striker(s). There’s a lot of questions going into AFCON.

Ethiopian Premier League

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13
Round 1
20 Sep 2024 00:00
CBE
-
-
BUN
20 Sep 2024 16:00
MEK
0
1
HOS
20 Sep 2024 19:00
AMK
1
2
DIR
21 Sep 2024 19:00
WAU
0
1
BDR
22 Sep 2024 16:00
ELE
2
3
WOD
22 Sep 2024 19:00
KDG
1
2
FSK
23 Sep 2024 16:00
ADA
2
3
SHI
23 Sep 2024 19:00
SID
0
1
HAW
Round 2
25 Sep 2024 16:00
EIC
0
0
AMK
26 Sep 2024 16:00
FSK
1
1
MEK
26 Sep 2024 19:00
BUN
0
0
ELE
27 Sep 2024 09:30
HAW
1
1
SHI
27 Sep 2024 16:00
KDG
2
1
WAU
27 Sep 2024 19:00
BDR
0
1
ADA
28 Sep 2024 16:00
MEC
1
2
SID
28 Sep 2024 19:00
DIR
4
1
WOD
Round 3
30 Sep 2024 16:00
KDG
0
1
MEK
30 Sep 2024 19:00
EIC
0
0
ELE
1 Oct 2024 16:00
FSK
0
0
SHI
1 Oct 2024 19:00
BDR
2
0
HOS
2 Oct 2024 16:00
BUN
3
1
HAW
2 Oct 2024 19:00
MEC
3
1
WOD
3 Oct 2024 16:00
CBE
3
1
AMK
3 Oct 2024 19:00
WAU
0
1
SID
Round 4
19 Oct 2024 16:00
HOS
1
2
HAW
19 Oct 2024 19:00
MEK
1
1
MEC
20 Oct 2024 16:00
SHI
1
1
DIR
20 Oct 2024 19:00
CBE
2
3
KDG
21 Oct 2024 16:00
WOD
2
1
BUN
21 Oct 2024 19:00
ADA
1
1
FSK
22 Oct 2024 16:00
ELE
1
0
BDR
22 Oct 2024 19:00
SID
1
0
EIC
Round 5
24 Oct 2024 16:00
MEK
3
2
DIR
24 Oct 2024 19:00
CBE
1
1
FSK
25 Oct 2024 16:00
WAU
0
3
MEC
25 Oct 2024 19:00
ADA
2
0
HAW
26 Oct 2024 09:30
AMK
1
0
BDR
26 Oct 2024 16:00
KDG
0
0
EIC
26 Oct 2024 19:00
SID
2
0
BUN
27 Oct 2024 16:00
ELE
0
0
HOS
27 Oct 2024 21:09
WOD
1
0
SHI
Round 6
29 Oct 2024 16:00
EIC
1
0
WAU
29 Oct 2024 19:00
FSK
0
1
AMK
30 Oct 2024 16:00
BDR
2
0
SID
30 Oct 2024 19:00
HOS
0
1
WOD
31 Oct 2024 16:00
MEC
1
0
CBE
31 Oct 2024 19:00
BUN
2
0
MEK
1 Nov 2024 16:00
DIR
1
1
ADA
1 Nov 2024 19:00
HAW
1
2
ELE
Round 7
3 Nov 2024 16:00
BDR
0
0
WOD
3 Nov 2024 19:00
KDG
1
0
AMK
4 Nov 2024 16:00
MEC
2
0
ADA
4 Nov 2024 19:00
EIC
4
0
MEK
5 Nov 2024 16:00
FSK
2
3
ELE
5 Nov 2024 19:00
DIR
0
1
HOS
5 Nov 2024 19:00
BUN
1
1
SHI
6 Nov 2024 19:00
WAU
1
2
CBE
Round 8
23 Nov 2024 16:00
AMK
2
0
WAU
23 Nov 2024 19:30
HAW
0
1
DIR
24 Nov 2024 16:00
SID
0
0
KDG
24 Nov 2024 19:00
ADA
0
2
EIC
25 Nov 2024 16:00
ELE
1
1
MEC
26 Nov 2024 09:30
HOS
1
0
BUN
26 Nov 2024 16:00
WOD
1
1
FSK
26 Nov 2024 19:00
SHI
0
2
BDR
Round 9
28 Nov 2024 16:00
CBE
1
1
EIC
28 Nov 2024 19:00
ELE
0
0
DIR
29 Nov 2024 16:00
ADA
2
1
BUN
29 Nov 2024 19:00
AMK
1
3
MEC
30 Nov 2024 16:00
SID
0
1
FSK
30 Nov 2024 19:00
MEK
1
1
BDR
1 Dec 2024 16:00
WOD
1
1
HAW
1 Dec 2024 19:00
SHI
0
1
HOS
Round 10
3 Dec 2024 16:00
DIR
3
1
SID
3 Dec 2024 19:00
MEC
4
3
KDG
4 Dec 2024 16:00
BUN
2
0
AMK
4 Dec 2024 19:00
BDR
3
0
CBE
5 Dec 2024 09:30
SHI
-
-
ELE
5 Dec 2024 19:00
FSK
-
-
WAU
6 Dec 2024 16:00
HAW
-
-
MEK
6 Dec 2024 19:00
HOS
-
-
ADA
Round 11
8 Dec 2024 16:00
BDR
-
-
KDG
8 Dec 2024 19:00
DIR
-
-
CBE
9 Dec 2024 16:00
HAW
-
-
AMK
9 Dec 2024 19:00
HOS
-
-
SID
10 Dec 2024 16:00
WOD
-
-
ADA
10 Dec 2024 19:00
BUN
-
-
WAU
11 Dec 2024 16:00
MEC
-
-
EIC
11 Dec 2024 19:00
SHI
-
-
MEK
Round 12
13 Dec 2024 16:00
AMK
-
-
SID
13 Dec 2024 19:00
FSK
-
-
HAW
14 Dec 2024 16:00
WAU
-
-
ADA
14 Dec 2024 19:00
KDG
-
-
ELE
15 Dec 2024 09:30
MEC
-
-
HOS
15 Dec 2024 19:00
CBE
-
-
MEK
16 Dec 2024 16:00
BDR
-
-
DIR
16 Dec 2024 19:00
EIC
-
-
SHI
Round 13
18 Dec 2024 19:00
ADA
-
-
KDG
19 Dec 2024 16:00
MEK
-
-
WAU
19 Dec 2024 19:00
SID
-
-
CBE
20 Dec 2024 16:00
SHI
-
-
MEC
20 Dec 2024 19:00
HOS
-
-
FSK
21 Dec 2024 09:30
WOD
-
-
EIC
21 Dec 2024 16:00
HAW
-
-
BDR
21 Dec 2024 19:00
DIR
-
-
BUN

Standing Table

#
Club
P
W
D
L
Pt
1
9
6
2
1
20
2
10
5
2
3
17
3
9
4
3
2
15
4
9
4
3
2
15
5
9
3
5
1
14
6
8
3
4
1
13
7
8
4
1
3
13
8
9
4
1
4
13
9
9
3
2
4
11
10
8
3
2
3
11
11
9
2
5
2
11
12
8
3
2
3
11
13
9
3
1
5
10
14
8
2
3
3
9
15
7
2
2
3
8
16
8
2
2
4
8
17
8
1
4
3
7
18
7
0
0
7
0

Top scorers chart

#
Player
Played
Goals
1
Diredawa Ketema
9
7
2
Mekele 70 Enderta
7
5
3
Diredawa Ketema
8
5
4
6
5
5
Ethiopia Bunna
9
5
6
Kidus Giorgis
8
4
7
Wolaitta Dicha
9
4
8
Hawassa Ketema
8
4
9
Kidus Giorgis
8
4
10
Ethiopia Nigd Bank
7
4

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