Algeria head coach, Vladimir Petkovic, has warned that his team must balance between attack and defence against the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the quarterfinal stage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations ongoing in Morocco.
The two sides have been the most productive team at the 35th AFCON with the Super Eagles scoring 12 goals in four games while conceding four goals in same number of games.
Algeria on the other hand have scored eight goals, conceding one in four matches with the coach saying he must balance his team’s approach to the game knowing fully well the attacking power in the Super Eagles.
“The most important thing is the mentality, everything starts with that, and from that perspective we have been flawless. We have confidence and quality,” he said.
“Every detail will matter against Nigeria. Nothing can be left to chance. We have the quality and we believe in ourselves. Now it’s up to us to deliver a great performance. We’ll have to play offensively and defensively, we must merge the two together, smallest thing could decide the game.”
Meanwhile, the captain of the team, Riyad Mahrez, has set his sight on winning another AFCON title having won his first title in 2019, where they defeated Nigeria 2-1 in the semifinal with the former Manchester City star scoring the winning goal in the added time.
Having played 120 minutes in their final game against Congo DR in the round-of-16, 24 hours after Nigeria thrashed Mozambique 4-0, giving the Super Eagles a day more rest, Mahrez said although it is important to have enough rest, but added that motivation is always the key in such important games.
Speaking further, the Algeria skipper said scoring the last minute freekick that broke Nigeria’s heart in 2019 will serve as a motivation for him, but it will be a different game entirely as the two teams are now different.
Mahrez said: “It is indeed a motivation, scoring that goal in 2019 and subsequent AFCON we were not able to go far, I am not the type that gave a lot of promises, I always look forward to do it on the field.
“I am highly motivated and ready to give my best. It mean a lot to me winning another AFCON, every big competition its always a motivation and with this my last AFCON, I want to go out on a high and I really want to give it my all and it is going to mean a lot to me, the players, our family and the country.”
