Hosts Algeria say they want to hit the ground running when they clash with neighbours Libya in the opening match of the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) on Friday.
Coach Abdelmadjid Bougherra says they are focused on the Group A clash as they plan to make a big impact during the tournament meant exclusively for home-based players.
The Desert Warriors coach made the comments after being held to a goalless draw in a friendly against Ghana to inaugurate the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers on Saturday.
Algeria missed several scoring opportunities with attackers Soufiane Bayazid and Abderrahamne denied by Ghana goalkeeper Ibrahim Danlad.
Even though the home side were unable to find the back of the Ghanaian net during the friendly, Bougherra says they are ready to face the Libyans.
“We know how Libya plays, its strengths and weaknesses, especially since these teams are waiting for us at the last 18-meter line,” the former international defender said.
“We must prepare ourselves well.”
The coach of the Algerian national team also spoke about the performance of his players during the Ghana friendly which was their last before the tournament kicks off on Friday.
“In this friendly match against Ghana we discovered several good things, especially with our defence. There are also negative points which we must improve on,” Bougherra said.
“It was an almost equal friendly match between Algeria and Ghana. We had some chances during the match, but unfortunately we were not able to convert them into goals.
“In any case we must work to eliminate the negatives from our game. We’ll improve the attack of the team before the tournament starts.”
Algeria will start their Group A campaign against Libya on Friday before playing Ethiopia and Mozambique.
Source: Confederation of African Football