While the local Fennecs may have done their country proud during the 2011 African Championship of Nations by reaching the semis and barely losing out on penalties to eventual champions Tunisia, the same certainly can’t be said about the senior side which is in serious danger of not even qualifying for a more important tournament, the 2012 African Cup of Nations. After just two games, the Fennecs find themselves rock bottom in group D despite being tipped as favorites considering their status as World Cup participants and fourth place finishers at Angola 2010.
While their showing in South Africa was rather lackluster, the smart money was still on them and neighbors Morocco battling it out for the sole ticket to Gabon and Equatorial Guinea but, amazingly, the Central African Republic are currently edging the Atlas Lions on goal difference for first place. The Desert Warriors owe their solitary point and lone goal to their first qualifier in Blida where they could only salvage a draw after Tanzania forward Jerson Tegete stunned them and their supporters with a long range free kick. As if dropping points against the Taifa Stars at home wasn’t enough, Abdelhak Ben Chihka’s men followed it up with a more disastrous performance by suffering a 2-0 loss at the hands of “Les Fauves” in Bangui.
Now the Algerians find themselves in a very difficult situation as a loss against a resurgent Morocco will almost certainly take them out of the running for the 2012 AFCON, with three qualifiers left to play… To make matters worse, political uprisings in the north Africa have also worked against them, forcing the FAF to cancel a friendly against Tunisia that would have served as ideal preparation for this crucial matchup. Instead, they come into this one mostly relying on their well-known fighting spirit and vocal fans.
Eric Gerets’ First Real Test
While Moroccan fans knew Eric Gerets was going to lead them for the better part of a year, it hasn’t been long since the former Olympique Marseille coach officially took over the Atlas Lion pride. The Belgian coach was said to have been picking the rosters during the first two qualifiers but his contractual situation with Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia meant that Dominique Cuperly had to coach the side, with mixed results. Much like their upcoming opponents, Morocco started qualifying off on the wrong foot by being held to goalless home draw against the Central African Republic. However, to their credit, they bounced back with a slim but important 1-0 win against Tanzania in Dar-es-Salaam.
When Gerets first arrived, he could only manage a 1-1 away draw against Northern Ireland but he’s since spent a large part of his time recruiting new European born talent such as Younes Belhanda and Mehdi Carcela, while also making it a top priority to unify the team and do away with the divisions that plagued the side during their catastrophic 2010 African and World Cup qualifying campaign. If the most recent 3-0 win against Niger, who famously beat African champs Egypt in qualifying, is anything to go by, then it appears that the Atlas Lions are on the right track.
Nevertheless, downing Niger at home in a friendly and traveling to Annaba for an immensely important qualifier that also doubles as a Maghreb derby are two different things entirely and, thus, this will be considered Gerets’ first real test. A win here would do wonders for his team’s confidence and potentially come very close to eliminating what was thought to be their most dangerous group rivals but a loss will raise the pressure ahead of the return leg in June and also give surprise leaders the Central African Republic a chance to tighten their grip on first place.
TEAM NEWS
Algeria
After being overlooked following his miserable performance in Bangui, the influential Nadir Belhadj is back in the team. It’s unclear if he’ll start or if Ben Chikha will rely on Djamel Mesbah instead. Other returnees are Abdelmalek Ziaya, Abdelkader Ghezzal, and Lazhar Hadj Aissa who benefitted from his impressive CHAN showing. Another recruit from the tournament is ES Setif’s Abdelmoumen Djabou but no one doubts that the player Ben Chikha would have really wanted to be fit for this encounter is Lazio’s Mourad Meghni. Faouzi Chaouchi’s post World Cup exile has also come to an end but M’Bolhi is still expected to start ahead of him. The biggest worry for the coach is Madjid Bougherra’s thigh injury which may rule him out of the encounter.
Squad: Raïs M'Bolhi (PFC Krylia Sovetov), Faouzi Chaouchi (ES Sétif), Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche (MC Alger), Ismaël Bouzid (Hearts), Nadir Belhadj (Al-Sadd SC), Antar Yahia (VfL Bochum), Carl Medjani (AC Ajaccio), Rabie Meftah (JSM Béjaïa), Madjid Bougherra (Rangers FC), Mehdi Mostefa (Nîmes Olympique), Djamel Mesbah (US Lecce), Djamel Abdoun (Kavala, Grèce), Ryad Boudebouz (FC Sochaux, France), Abdelmoumene Djabou (ES Sétif), Lazhar Hadj Aissa (ES Sétif), Mehdi Lacen (Racing Santander, Espagne), Khaled Lemmouchia (ES Sétif), Hocine Metref (ES Sétif), Hassan Yebda (Naples, Italie), Karim Ziani (Kayserispor, Turquie), Rafik Djebbour (Olympiakos), Abdelkader Ghezzal (AS Bari), Abdelmalik Ziaya (Ittihad Jeddah)
Morocco
A quick look at the Atlas Lions’ roster leaves one in awe of their attacking talent but one player who standous out by his absence is Mounir El Hamdaoui who owes his omission to his tumultuous season at Ajax. Another Moroccan attacker who won’t be available for Eric Gerets is Youssouf Hadji who suffered an adductor injury in training. Meanwhile, Adil Hermach and Hicham Mahdoufi are back in the mix after their respective absences.
Squad: Nadir Lamyaghri (WAC), Badda Issam (FUS), Mohamadina Ahmed, OCK), Mehdi Benatia (Udinese), Hicham Mahdoufi (RCA), Ahmed Kantari (Stade Brestois), Soulaimani Rachid (RCA), Michael Basser (Nancy-Lorraine), Mrani Mustapha (MAS), Mehdi El Karnas (DHJ), Hicham Mahdoufi (RCA), Mohamed Berrabeh (WAC), Mohamed Chihani (MAS), Houssine Kharja (Inter Milan), Younes Belhanda (Montpellier HSC), Mbark Boussoufa (RSC Anderlecht), Adel Taarabt (QPR), Youssouf Hadji (Nancy-Lorraine), Adil Hermach (Lens), Mehdi Carcela (Standard de Liege), Oussama Assaidi (SC heerenveen), Marouane Chamakh (Arsenal), Youssef El Arabi (SM CAEN)
PREDICTION
Even though Morocco are much better prepared for this encounter than their hosts, one can never count out Algeria, especially when they’re playing at home. What’s more, this is a derby and that means that anything can happen. Expect a heated and physical encounter that will start off very tense and then open up as time ticks by, and, hopefully, as the goals add up.
Algeria 2-2 Morocco
