Algeria's head coach Arezki Remmane says he is delighted with the performance of his players as they started their TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign with a 2-0 victory over Somalia.

Remmane admitted they had to work hard to churn out victory against a difficult Somali side.

"The match was difficult as I had predicted with the tournament's opening game, but we managed to win. We scored the first goal from a mistake from the opponent and in the second half, we corrected some mistakes and made the second goal. It was a good start and now we will try to recover for the second game," the coach said.

He added; "It was important that we won our first game and started the competition in the best possible way. These first three points will boost our motivation for the remaining matches in the group."

He also revealed that he worked a lot psychologically with his players before the match, especially since the Somali side enjoyed a good reputation despite being debutants.

"Somalia won the qualifying tournament against very good countries. We worked before facing them, especially on a mental level, to free the players and allow them to confront the game with confidence," the coach said.

Remmane is already looking forward to their next tie against Senegal, which he says the team will approach with calmness.

"Senegal is considered one of the favorites because they are a strong team. Our match against them will be like all matches, because all the teams have the same level in the group stage," the coach offered.

The tie between the Senegalese and the Algerians is scheduled for next Tuesday at the Nelson Mandela Stadium.