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Djamel Belmadi: series of unbeaten matches is not a coincidence

Algerian national football team coach Djamel Belmadi affirmed that breaking the African record for the number of unbeaten matches, which culminated in the 27th  consecutive match without defeat, is “the fruit of three years of hard work and not a coincidence,” noting that “the credit goes to the players” in making this achievement.

Belmadi said to the national press, on the occasion of the return of the “Greens” to the country after their victory last Friday against Tunisia (2-0): that “A series of 27 matches without a defeat means a lot of things.

He added that this result reflects the stability after winning the 2019 African Nations Cup of nations by focusing on serious work to achieve more successes underlining that the credit goes to the players who worked hard to break this record. Now it will not be easy to maintain this pace, especially since all the teams can’t wait to beat us.”

The national coach emphasized that: “It was important to achieve a positive result against the Tunisian team, which ranked second in Africa in the FIFA ranking, and reached the semi-finals during the last African Nations Cup, in addition to its participation in the 2018 World Cup and its achievement of a series of 12 matches without defeat. Therefore, we were interested in winning against it at home and we did it thorough both result and performance.”

The Algerian outstanding attacking duo, Baghdad Bounedjah and Riyad Mahrez, led the “FENNEC” team with two goals (18th and 27th minutes) respectively to reach the 27th match without defeat, to break the African record held by the Ivory Coast team (26 matches without a defeat) since 2013.

Belmadi considered that the international preparation for the month of June, which the greens concluded with the third friendly victory in a row, initiated by Algeria against Mauritania (4-1), then Mali (1-0) at the “Mustafa Tchaker” stadium in Blida, and finally against Tunisia (2-0), allowed him to review the lineup and assess the players before the start of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.”

Belmadi praised the yield of the elements that were tested during these friendlies, starting with the midfielder of the Dutch club Twente, Ramiz Zerrouki, who performed his tactical duty within a squad marked by a lot of competition. “Zerrouki’s performance is not surprising, as he proved his talent against the national teams of Botswana and Mali. He is a player we can count on for the future.”

The national coach also praised the midfielder of the French club Brest, Haris Belkebla, as well as Ahmed Touba (Walwick Club / Holland) and Abdelkader Badran, who plays for Espérance Sportive of Tunis, who, according to him, succeeded in providing high level performance.

On the other hand, Jamel Belmadi revealed that he talked with the players regarding the summer transfer window in order to “take the right decisions” during this period that coincides with the start of the World Cup qualifiers. They have to strike their transfer deals quickly so that they are ready to join the national team, as of next August, in the best possible preparedness.”

In the end, he noted that the players are responsible for managing their sports career, hoping that they will not face problems at the level of their clubs, as it was the case in the past seasons.

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