Lets do all the talking on the pitch – Algerian Captain Mahrez

Lets do all the talking on the pitch – Algerian Captain Mahrez

www.athleticshour.com | African Cup of Nations | AFCON | Algeria | Ivory Coast | Confederation of African Football | CAF | Cameroon 2021 |

The defending champions were humiliated by Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, and must now defeat the Ivory Coast in Douala in their final Group E match on Thursday to have any hope of progressing to the last 16. Lets do all the talking on the pitch – Algerian Captain Mahrez charges his players ahead of their final Group E match.

Algeria is bottom of the group with a single point after their 35-match unbeaten streak was shattered in one of the tournament’s biggest surprises.

That followed another poor showing at the opening of the 24-team tournament in Cameroon, when they were held by lowly-ranked Sierra Leone, who were making their return to the championships for the first time since 1996.

“The message is simple: we have to win. We lacked efficiency and we must be more spontaneous in our attacking,” Mahrez told a news conference.

“When your back is against the wall, you shouldn’t talk too much. Everyone knows what they have to do.”

“We absolutely have to win if we want to continue. It’s a big challenge but we have the ability to respond,” he added.

Algeria had only beaten the Ivorians twice in eight prior finals games, but beat them on penalties in the most recent edition in Egypt in 2019, and went on to win the title.

Will history happen again for the defending champions to qualify and lift the trophy in Cameroon this time.