After missing the Desert Foxes’ outings at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium last week, the two players made to the trip to Tunis on Thursday
Nice right-back Youcef Atal and Crotone midfielder Adam Ounas have recovered from the injuries and they are available for selection when Algeria battle Tunisia in an international friendly match on Friday.
The duo missed the Desert Foxes’ victories against Mauritania and Mali on Thursday and Sunday respectively, but they are now in contention for the warm-up encounter at the Stade Olympique de Rades.
The Algerian Football Federation announced on Thursday that Atal and Ounas joined Djamel Belmadi’s team for the trip to Tunis.
They arrived in the Northern African country on Thursday afternoon and they were received by the Algerian Ambassador in Tunisia, Mr. Azzouz Baalal and the President of the Tunisian Football Federation, Mr. Wadie Jary.
“The good news is to see Youcef Atal and Adam Ounas again, slightly injured, the first against Mauritania and the second against Mali, to resume work with their teammates, even if the member of FC Crotone was taken care of in differentiated by Remi Lancou,” the statement read.
This month’s friendly games were planned to prepare the reigning African champions for the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers that will begin in September.
Algeria are in Group A with Burkina Faso, Djibouti and Niger, and they will aim to return to the global showpiece after missing the 2018 edition in Russia.
Tunisia, unfortunately, will be without key players Ferjani Sassi and Youssef Msakni for Friday’s encounter after both players limped out of last Saturday’s win over DR Congo with injuries.
Algeria are on a 26-game unbeaten run with their last defeat dating back to October 2018 during an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Benin, while the Carthage Eagles are yet to lose their last 11 games since their 1-0 loss to Nigeria in the third-place match at 2019 Afcon.
The last time the two countries faced each other was during a friendly match in Algeria back in March 2019 and the hosts won the encounter by 1-0, thanks to Baghdad Bounedjah’s 70th-minute strike from the penalty spot.
After Friday’s Tunisia will take on Mali at the same venue on June 15 before the Desert Foxes will conclude their busy international break with another friendly fixture against Burundi a day later.
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