The 1990 AFCON champions Algeria lock horns with the warriors of Zimbabwe in a Group B opener in Stade de Franceville on Sunday 15th January 2016.
This will be the second time both sides will be meeting in the prestigious tournament after a match that they played during the 2004 edition that was hosted by Tunisia.
Algeria enjoyed a sumptous ride in the qualification stage of the tournament, scoring the highest number of goals out of the all teams that participated in the qualifiers.
Ranked 5th in Africa,Algeria made it to quaterfinals of 2015 edition.Nicknamed the Desert Warriors, the side has failed to go past the semis since 1990 with their closest fit seen on 2010 Afcon edition in Angola.
The Desert warriors registered five wins and one draw,results saw them finish top of Group J that also had Ethiopia who finished five points behind. El Arabi Hillel Soudani was the main talisman during the campaign as he slotted home an impressive seven goals.
A team that was heavy favourites to win the 2015 tournament after a similarly outstanding qualifying campaign but failed to deliver.Their dip form when it comes to tournaments has been point of disscussion among supporters.
Basing on the qualifiers and the strength of current squad, Algeria comes to the game as the favourites and it will not be a suprise when the top the group.
The young squad is under the watch of coach Georges Leekens, a familiar figure in Afcon having been in charge of Tunisia at the 2015 Nations Cup.A Belgian by nationality took over the reigns three months ago.
Leeken’s squad ecumenical appeal looks harmful with presence of the 2016 BBC and Confederation of African Footlball African Footballer of the Year,Riyad Mahrez.Deadly at set-pieces, the North Africans will largely depend on his form and tricks from the Leicester City forward.
However,Algeria will be missing two of their key players.Ramy Bensenabi who plays for Stade Rennais in France is out of the tournament with a knee injury.
Former Sheffield Wednesday versatile defender,Madjid Bougherra, who captained the team for long is another player missing in the team.The 34 year old retired from international football in year 2016 and he is remembered to have terrorized Zimbabwe in a World Cup qualifier in 2004.
Zimbabwe team news
Zimbabwe will be making will be making their third appearance in Africa Cup of Nations.Ranked 29th in Africa,makes them the lowest ranked tesm in Group B which also incluses Tunisia and Senegal.
The South African nation who are sole representatives from COSAFA region came through the qualifiers at the expense of Guinea,Malawi and Swaziland, winning three and drawing two of their first five matches to secure place in the finals for the first time since 2006.
Coached by Calisto Pasuwa,a Zimbabwean, who served as Zimbabwe’s under-23 coach before being promoted to the senior team,the side consists of players familiar with South African football as many play in PSL league.
Zimbabwe last win at Africa Cup of Nations in year 2006 in Egypt when they beat Ghana 2-1 in the group stage.Their progress in this tournament is predictable as the group is a tough one and it will not be suprising if they exit in this stage without a win.
But to help them push forward is experienced talismen Khama Billiat who plays for Africa Champions,Mamelondi Sundowns and Belgium based Knowledge Musona.Both will be the key men in lighting up clinical aggression infront in tough task to score the needed goals.
Before the team left Zimbabwe,coach Calisto Pasuwa who is the third coach to take the Warriors in the tournament after Sunday Chidzambwa in 2004 and Charles Mhlauri in 2006,assured the fans that his aim is to guide Zimbabwe to qualify for the quarter-finals and they should expect anything else apart from that.
