Algeria to kick off AFCON with win over Sierra Leone

Algeria vs Sierra Leone - 11/01/2022

Africa Cup of Nations | Preview

10/01/22

Algeria to kick off AFCON with win over Sierra Leone

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Reigning Africa Cup of Nations winners, Algeria, find themselves in a difficult group with Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, and Ivory Coast all vying for a place in the knockout stage.

The Greens will kick off their defence of the AFCON trophy against Sierre Leone on Tuesday. It is a game coach Djamel Belmadi will expect the team to come through with flying colours. Ahead of the AFCON tournament, Algeria and Ivory Coast would have been expected to qualify from Group D.

📊 Algeria vs Sierra Leone FIFA ranking points:

🇩🇿 Algeria win ➡️ Algeria gains 7 points 📈
⏺️ Draw ➡️ Algeria loses 10 points 📉
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone wins ➡️ Algeria loses 27 points 📉#TeamAlgeria #AFCON2021 #TeamDZ pic.twitter.com/lkEOX4p7Q2
— Walid Ziani (@bylka613_) January 9, 2022

Sierra Leone will hope to upset Algeria’s plans of topping Group D. Coach John Keister may not have one of the tournament’s most-fancies teams, but Sierra Leone could turn a few heads.

Algeria are led by Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez. The team is ranked No. 29 in the world ahead of the tournament while Sierra Leone are the No. 108 ranked national team.

The Greens have not lost an international fixture in three years. In December, Algeria lifted the Arab Cup by defeating Tunisia in extra-time in a competition organised between north African teams.

Sierra Leone’s last competitive match was a friendly against Comoros in November. The game ended 2-0 in favour of Comoros, ending a three-match undefeated streak for Sierra Leone.

In terms of African football heavyweights, Algeria are certainly one of the top sides. Sierra Leone, on the other hand, are in the area just below or further down from the likes of Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon.

Sierrea Leone have not reached the AFCON finals tournament since 1996. Keister doesn’t have a lot of international experience in the team. Just five players called in for the tournament have received 20 or more international caps.

Algeria’s Arab Cup win in December was completed with most, if not all, of the team’s European-based players being absent. Many of the players that played key roles in the December competition will not drop out of the starting XI to make way for the likes of Mahrez and others.

Villarreal’s Aissa Mandi, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Ramy Bensebaini, AC Milan’s Ismael Bennacer, and West Ham’s Said Benrahma should all play big roles in the Algeria team.

Sierre Leone do have played in the team that compete in European-based leagues. Kei Kamara, Osman Kakay, Steven Caulker, and Idris Kanu all play in Europe. All four players have at one time or currently play in England.

Algeria’s power will show in their first match of the AFCON tournament. The Greens should have no issue dispatching Sierre Leone. Algeria have posted an all-time record of 2W-2D-1L against Sierre Leone.