Reigning African champion, the Algerian national team is a little more into the history of African football. Victorious over Tunisia (0-2) on Friday in a friendly, the Fennecs broke the unbeaten record for an African nation with now 27 consecutive games without the slightest defeat.
Algeria has not lost since October 16, 2018 against Benin.
Ms. friendly, a Maghreb derby is never a match like any other. The 10 yellow cards and the red card distributed by the Egyptian referee Mohamed Maarouf attest to this.
But as very often in recent months, the ax game ended up tipping in favor of Algeria, which logically won in Tunisia (0-2), Friday Rads, thanks to Baghdad Bounedjah and Riyad Mahrez. A success at first glance anecdotal but which definitely makes the Maghreb formation one of the most significant in the history of Africa.
32 months without losing
And for good reason, Algeria has won against its neighbor with a 27th match in a row without the slightest defeat. It is a first in the history of the continent. The great Nigeria of the 1990s, the Cameroon of Samuel Eto’o, Egypt three-time winner of the CAN between 2006 and 2010, none of these teams has managed to achieve such a feat. Record holder with 26 games without losing between 2011 and 2013, Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast saw the Sofiane Feghouli gang grow even stronger, less than a decade later.
This series, which began after a defeat in Benin (1-0), on October 16, 2018, is impressive in different respects. First because Algeria won the first CAN 24 teams in 2019, in Egypt, with its biggest rival, with the manner. But also and above all because it has encountered large pieces on its way: Senegal, Nigeria and Tunisia twice, the Ivory Coast, Mali, Colombia and Mexico. None has managed to bend the Fennecs, who have a record of 20 wins, 7 draws for 60 goals scored and only 17 conceded.
Big goals to come
And now ? The training of Djamel Belmadi seems very far from being satisfied. The appetite coming while eating, Algeria, which can rely on a very talented generation to come, will have to confirm in the coming years.The dream of a double at the next CAN in Cameroon is obviously nurtured, while qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar in 17 months is also a priority. With a qualifying group with Burkina Faso, Niger and Djibouti, the Algerians have ample means to reach the dams.
So many matches that could allow the Maghreb nation to continue its very good series to try to get records of invincibility of the biggest teams. For now, they are only 5 to have done better: Spain and Brazil (35), Argentina (31), France (30) and Italy (30). Squadra Azzurra, with 28 games in a row without losing following its success over Turkey (3-0), Friday, for the opening of the Euro, is also the only team to offer a longer series in 2021. A distance duel that promises!
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