Algerian national team coach, Madjid Bougherra revealed that it is the goal of the Desert Foxes to finish their group campaign on a high as they prepare to take on Mozambique in their final Group match of the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship on Saturday.
"The goal is to finish the group stage in first place. We have fully recovered from the Ethiopia match. We now need to assess whether there needs to be changes to the starting line up or not. We have a great squad, so we have enough options", Bougherra said during the press conference he held at the Nelson Mandela Stadium on Friday.
The coach confirmed that he had seen Mozambique and confirmed that they have good tactical organisation: "We saw the Mozambique national team against Ethiopia, and it has good tactical organization. They are dangerous, especially on counter attacks. They are a team that plays good football but we will be prepared for the 90-minutes", said the coach.
Asked on which team he would prefer facing in the quarter-finals, Bougherra boldly said any team between Côte d'Ivoire or the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
"Every match must be played like a final. We can take on either Cote d'Ivoire or DR Congo. Côte d'Ivoire is a well-known team that applies good football and has good capabilities, and from a good physical point of view, it is a high-level team, and we will see who qualifies in the quarter-finals to meet it."
The coach also touched on the support received from Algerian football legends, such as Mohamad Maouche, and Rabah Madjer, for his team during the CHAN tournament.
"We highly respect all Algerian football legends and players, and we are very happy to see them support us. Madjer is a legend in Africa and the world, and all the legends who attended our matches contributed to us working hard and achieving these results. The younger generation really appreciates it when a legend comes to watch them play" concluded the coach.
Algeria's national team goalkeeper, Alexis Guendouz, who was also present with his coach said they would give it their all against Mozambique.
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"We had a very competitive group and now we focus on the last match to conclude on a high. We will give everything we have and work to win the last match. We are working hard to get ahead and so far everything is going well", said Guendouz.
"Yes, this competition is very important for us. It is being followed by people across the world who are looking for new players who will play professionally in Europe or other clubs. We therefore have to do our best to achieve victory" concluded the shot-stopper.
