World Cup 2010 News: Algeria

Showing posts with label Algeria. Show all posts

Saturday, 12 June 2010

Algeria, Slovenia eye big chance after USA, England draw

Algeria and Slovenia open their World Cup Group C schedules on Sunday under a ton of pressure for a result.

Both clubs are underdogs to advance past England and the USA in the group, meaning getting off to a good start in the opener is imperative.

"In football you never know," Algeria midfielder Hassan Yebda told fifa.com. "We will do our best and play the first game against Slovenia and try to win. The first game is very, very important, if we can win it will be better for us. Slovenia though have a good team."

While Algeria is gearing up for just its third-ever World Cup, a familiar face is leading the way.

Coach Rabah Saadane, who also coached the team 24 years ago in its last World Cup appearance in Mexico, is at the helm again - for the fifth time - and it will take all his wisdom to get the Desert Foxes to the knockout stage.

On the field, midfielder Karim Ziani will be the key, not only against Slovenia on Sunday, but for the entire tournament. The playmaker plies his trade with German Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, and he has the versatility to pull the strings in the middle of the field, or shift out wide in a more indirect attacking role.

Madjid Bougherra talks positive on Algeria's World Cup adventure.

Algeria will play the first match of their third World Cup against Slovenia on Sunday but their players already have an eye on their second Group C match, against England.

The Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra said today that his experience in British football would help him to deal with the likes of Wayne Rooney when Algeria meet England at the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town next Friday night. The centre-back, who has played for Crewe Alexandra, Charlton Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday, has also played European football with the Scottish champions.

"It can help me," said Bougherra of his experience in Britain. "I play in a big team, I played Champions League so I have learned a mentality change – I want to win every game."

Will internal dissent destroy Algeria's chances

Algeria's quest to sabotage England's World Cup dream is being wrecked by an astonishing dressing-room row which almost saw their captain walk out.

The north Africans, who play Fabio Capello's men in Durban on Thursday, are in disarray on the eve of their Group C opener against Slovenia.

The upheaval started last Wednesday when captain Yazid Mansouri was told by coach Rabah Saadane that he would not be in the team to play Slovenia - and he furiously threatened to quit the team.

Benched: Captain Yazid Mansouri says he will fight to win back his place in
the Algeria side after a fallout with coach Rabah Saadane

The 32-year-old midfielder stormed off to his hotel room and was packing his bags before desperate team officials managed to persuade him to rethink his decision after an hour of heated chat.

'It's hard to accept the decision,' said Mansouri. 'I've been in this side for 10 years and that is why I'm struggling to digest the news.' Saadane's decision was also greeted with dismay by Mansouri's team-mates. Portsmouth defender Nadir Belhadj said: 'It will be difficult for us without Yazid because we listen to him all the time.'

Sunday, 30 May 2010

Algeria have a lot of work to do after Irish defeat

Algeria has to go back to the drawing board after suffering a heavy 3-0 defeat to Ireland in their latest friendly.

The euphoria of qualifying at the expense of bitter rivals Egypt has now turned into a cold reality for the Desert Foxes.

There is serious work to be done if they want to prevent their stay in South Africa from being a brief and painful one.

Saadane's decision to delay his team's first World Cup warm-up until just a fortnight before kick-off now appears to have been misguided as his team looked rusty and disorganised in Dublin.

And the coach acknowledged afterwards that his team has much to do to avoid defeat in South Africa, not least at the hands of England, and improve on their abject performance against an Irish side who have not qualified for the World Cup.

Thursday, 13 May 2010

The USA names 30 man squad for South Africa 2010.

Coach Bob Bradley names 30 man squad for South Africa 2010.

USA coach Bob Bradley has named his provisional 30 man squad from which he will select the final 23 men to travel to South Africa for this summer’s 2010 World Cup.

The coach has included a host of players based in Europe, including an all Barclays Premier League selection of three goalkeepers: Brad Guzan, Tim Howard and Marcus Hahnemann.

USA face England, Slovenia and Algeria in Group C of the FIFA World Cup 2010.

Squad: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Marcus Hahnemann (Wolves); Carlos Bocanegra (Rennes), Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas USA), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Jay DeMerit (Watford), Clarence Goodson (IK Start), Chad Marshall (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (AC Milan), Heath Pearce (FC Dallas), Jonathan Spector (West Ham); DaMarcus Beasley (Rangers), Alejandro Bedoya (Orebro), Michael Bradley (Borussia Monchengladbach), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Clint Dempsey (Fulham), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Benny Feilhaber (Aarhus), Stuart Holden (Bolton), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Robbie Rogers (Columbus Crew), Jose Torres (Pachuca); Jozy Altidore (Villarreal), Edson Buddle (Los Angeles Galaxy), Brian Ching (Houston Dynamo), Robbie Findley (Real Salt Lake), Herculez Gomez (Puebla), Eddie Johnson (Aris Thessaloniki)

Slovenia names 30-man World Cup provisional squad named.

Slovenia has named a 30 man provisional squad for the coming World Cup.

The Slovenia coach, Matjaz Kek, has named his 30-man provisional squad for the World Cup finals.

Slovenia who are in Group C alongside England, Algeria and the USA, must submit a final squad of 23 players on or before 1 June.

Robert Koren, the West Bromwich Albion midfielder, is Slovenia's only British-based player.

"I'm particularly happy about the last report from South Africa where the training headquarters of the Slovenian team, including an excellent pitch, are already waiting," Kek said in a statement.

The team qualified for the World Cup by ousting Russia in a big upset in the November playoffs on away goals. With a population of two million, Slovenia will be the smallest nation at the tournament.

Goalkeepers: Samir Handanovic (Udinese), Jasmin Handanovic (Mantova), Aleksander Seliga (Sparta Rotterdam), Jan Koprivec (Maribor).

Defenders: Bojan Jokic (Chievo), Marko Suler (Ghent), Bostjan Cesar (Grenoble), Branko Ilic (Lokomotiv Moscow), Matej Mavric (Koblenz), Dejan Kelhar (Cercle Brugge), Elvedin Dzinic (Maribor), Miso Brecko (Cologne), Aleksandar Rajcevic (Koper), Suad Filekovic (Maribor).

Midfielders: Andraz Kirm (Wisla Krakow), Andrej Komac (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Rene Krhin (Internazionale), Mirnes Sisic (Giannina), Darjan Matic (Rapid Bucharest), Dare Vrsic (Koper), Dalibor Stevanovic (Vitesse Arnhem), Robert Koren (West Bromwich Albion), Aleksander Radosavljevic (Larissa), Valter Birsa (Auxerre).

Forwards: Milivoje Novakovic (Cologne), Zlatko Dedic (VfL Bochum), Zlatan Ljubijankic (Ghent), Nejc Pecnik (Nacional), Miran Burgic (AIK), Tim Matavz (Groningen).

Tuesday, 4 May 2010

Algeria names provisional squad for World Cup

Rabah Saadane names his provisional squad for the World Cup. With only three recognised strikers in the squad it looks like Saadane is falling back on his instinct to be overly cautious and defensive.

The 25-man squad was made up largely of those players who contested January's African Nations Cup, where the Desert Hawks finished fourth. Fawzi Chouachi, Lounes Gaouaoui, Mohamed Zemmamouche and Abdelkader Laifaoui are the only squad members who play their club football in Algeria.

Seven players ply their trades in France, while four are based in Britain - Rangers' Madjid Bougherra, Portsmouth duo Nadir Belhadj and Hassan Yebda, and Adlene Guedioura, who is currently on loan at Wolves from Belgian side
Charleroi.

Algeria, who have reached the World Cup for the first time since 1986, will face England, United States and Slovenia in Group C in South Africa. They will hold a fortnight-long training camp in Switzerland from May 13 before contesting friendlies against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on May 28 and the United Arab Emirates in Nuremberg on June 5.

Saadane will be required to trim his squad to 23 players by June 1.

Preliminary Algeria squad: Fawzi Chouachi (ES Setif), Lounes Gaouaoui (ASO
Chlef), Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche (MC Alger), M'bohi Rais Ouheb (Slavia Sofia);
Abdelkader Laifaoui (ES Setif), Madjid Bougherra (Rangers), Carl Medjani
(Ajaccio), Rafi Halliche (Nacional), Anther Yahia (Bochum), Haib Belaid
(Boulogne), Nadir Belhadj (Portsmouth), Djamel Mesbah (Lecce); Hassan Yebda
(Portsmouth), Mehdi Lacen (Racing Santander), Yazid Mansouri (Lorient), Adlene
Guedioura (Charleroi), Riad Boudebouz (Sochaux), Djamel Abdoun (Nantes), Fouad
Kadir (Valenciennes), Mourad Meghni (Lazio), Karim Ziani (Wolfsburg), Karim
Matmour (Borussia Monchengladbach); Abdelkader Ghezzal (Siena), Rafik Djebbour
(AEK Athens), Rafik Saifi (Istres).

Saturday, 20 March 2010

Algerian Keeper Chaouchi fails to overturn ban.

Algerian keeper Chouchi and defender Belhadj are set to miss the opening rounds of Algerians World Cup campaign after they failed to overturn bans they incurred during the last African Cup of Nations.

Earlier this month, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) handed Belhadj and Chaouchi two-match and three-match bans respectively.

But Caf have upheld both those disciplinary decisions.

Both were punished for red cards in the 4-0 loss to Egypt during January's Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals.

Defender Rafik Halliche was also dismissed in that game and earned a one-game ban.

With the trio having already missed the third-place play-off through suspension, Halliche can contest all Algeria's Group C ties while Portsmouth's Belhadj must only sit out the opener with Slovenia.

However, Algeria will have to make do without their number one goalkeeper Chaouchi for the first two group games against Slovenia and England.

After meeting Slovenia in Polokwane on 13 June, the Desert Foxes face England before finishing Group C against the United States in Pretoria on 23 June.

Sunday, 6 December 2009

World Cup Draw Reaction : Slovenia

After upsetting much fancied Russia to clinch a place in the World Cup, Slovenia now have the opportunity to prove themselves on the World Stage. The draw saw them facing England, USA and Algeria and Slovenian Manager Matjaz Kek is determined to see his country through to at least the second round.

Speaking after the draw Kek said "Depending on how we prepare, what condition we are in, I am convinced Slovenia will leave a good impression on the 2010 World Cup.

"We are able to play in the second round."

This is Slovenia's second ever appearance in the World Cup and they will be eager to avoid the fate of their first appearance where they finished last out of a group of South Africa, Spain and Paraguay losing all their games along the way.

World Cup Draw Reaction : Algeria

Algerian coach Rabah Saadane has targeted the match against group rivals Slovenia as key to their World Cup ambitions.

Speaking in an interview after the World Cup draw which saw Algeria drawn with England, USA and Slovenia Saadane "We were not expecting that group but it is playable but difficult, we will show our qualities and give everything we have got, Slovenia will be an important game, we have to win that game or get out at least something."

"USA and England will be difficult but we have a chance, so let's go for it."

World Cup Draw Reaction : USA

The USA are evoking memories of their sensational 1950 World Cup defeat of England as they prepare for the meeting of the two sides at next year's World Cup in South Africa.

The American coach Bob Bradley speaking to the BBC said "Belo Horizonte - every US soccer fan knows those details, and so we look forward to another opportunity (to repeat it)."

He expressed optimism about the chances of the USA and thinks their Confederation Cup experience from early on in the year will prove beneficial.

"It's amazing to start against England, everyone in the United States will be excited. Algeria and Slovenia (the two other Group C sides) are not big name teams but they are sides who could very well qualify."

"The Confederations Cup was a great experience. The stadiums for the world Cup will be packed to capacity, the passion for the game here is fantastic. And with it being winter in South Africa and the cooler temperatures the games are fast and at a high tempo - fans around the world are going to enjoy it."

World Cup Draw Reaction : England

Fabio Capello England's manager is quietly confindent after the draw saw England up against two sides they have beaten recently USA and Slovenia, as well as Algeria making a return to the World Cup after a 28 year abscence.

Speaking to reporters after the draw Capello said "It’s going to be good not to have to move from the place where we’re going to stay for our opening game, but we have difficult opponents who we must respect. USA are a good team, but so are Algeria and Slovenia. Every opponent at a World Cup is going to be difficult. We’re playing the last two group games at sea level, so that’s going to be a different challenge from our opening match in Rustenburg. But I won’t be offering excuses."

"Every team will have to meet awkward opponents, play in difficult conditions and win matches to win the World Cup. We’ve played and beaten USA and Slovenia recently, both are well-organised, they like to pass the ball and they’ll be good opponents. Algeria beat Egypt and they are a good team too, but I have to learn more about them. I know from experience as a player that when you play here (in the FIFA World Cup) the pressure is different and the mentality is different. But are we going to win the World Cup? We have to!"

Wednesday, 18 November 2009

Algeria pips Egypt 1-0 to book Africa's last World Cup place

It has taken three matches between the Algeria and Egypt but finally the last of Africa's five groups has produced a winner.

Both teams finished the group qualifiers with 13 points each and a goal difference of 5 points which meant a plyoff was needed to determine the group winner and it was a stunning first-half strike by defender Antar Yahya that crushed Egyptian dreams and booked Algeria's ticket to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Algeria joins Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana and hosts South Africa as africa's representatives at the World Cup.

Egypt had majority of possession but lacked the bite upfront, while Algeria always looked dangerous on the break.

Yahya's 39th minute winner came against the run of play when he took advantage of a lapse in concentration by Egypt's defenders to hit a perfect volley in off the underside of the crossbar with his right foot from an acute angle.

The win means Algeria will make their first appearance at a World Cup since 1986 and once again highlighted Egypt's inability to carry their impressive form in Africa - they have won the African Cup a record six times - into World Cup qualification tournaments.

World Cup 2010 News