Algerian coach Djamel Belmadi spoke of a “total failure” at the end of the crushing defeat against Côte d’Ivoire (3-1), synonymous with elimination from the CAN. The Fennecs captain Riyad Mahrez‘s turn to speak about this fiasco. The Manchester City star spoke on his social media on Tuesday afternoon.
“We are not going to look for excuses despite the conditions: we were simply not at the level, me the first (sic)”, he began by writing. Before insisting on the inevitable wave of criticism that has swept over the reigning African champion in recent days. “I read a lot of negative messages, and it shows once again that football goes very quickly in both directions. This competition will have served as a reminder, and we will come back stronger from that, be sure of it. We will make the people proud again in the important matches that are coming up to be able to go to the World Cup in sha Allah”.
With one goal scored, two defeats and a draw, Algeria sank into the tournament. Symbol of this collective defeat, the penalty on the post of Mahrez against the Ivorians, while the winger, hero of the title in 2019, did not score a single goal in the competition.
African champions in 1990, the Fennecs were also eliminated in the first round at the following CAN, in 1992 in Senegal, with already a defeat against Côte d’Ivoire (3-0). If he remains in place, after such a fiasco, the coach must quickly bounce back to prepare for another huge meeting: the play-offs on March 23 and 29 of the 2022 World Cup. It will be, as we learned on Sunday, against Cameroon , still in contention in its CAN after its sluggish victory Monday evening against the Comoros (2-1).
