The Morocco boss names Algeria as the most impressive team at Africa Cup of Nations heading into the knockout stages
Morocco coach Herve Renard has singled out Algeria as the toughest team at the Africa Cup of Nations finals.
Both Morocco and Algeria reached the knockout stages of the competition in Egypt, but it was the nature of Algeria’s 1-0 victory over title favourites Senegal which caught the eye of two-time title-winning coach Renard.
“I think there will be a lot of observers who will agree with me. I think up until now Algeria have been the best team at this tournament, notably in the match against Senegal where they performed very, very well,” Renard is quoted by Capital News.
“There’s speed and spontaneity, with top quality players, a world-class player in [Riyad] Mahrez, and youngsters like [Youcef] Atal and [Ismael] Bennacer who are doing a remarkable job.”
Djamel Belmadi’s Algeria meet Guinea in the Round of 16 on Sunday and the two North African sides could potentially square off in the final in Cairo on July 19.
“The coach (Belmadi) has succeeded in coming up with a good mixture which is not always easy in Algeria, you have to congratulate him,” continued Renard, who is attempting to guide Morocco to a first title in 43 years,” Renard added.
“Now from the perspective of the final, we’re only in the last 16. We’re concentrating on our match we have to play on Friday, ensuring there are no nasty surprises.
“We’re just being ourselves and hoping we can move on to the quarter-finals which will an even harder match.”
Algeria qualified to Round of 16 after winning their three matches against Kenya, Senegal, and Tanzania respectively.
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