Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi has explained why he opted to face difficult opponents Nigeria and Mexico in international matches this month.
Of the last seven games played between the Super Eagles and Desert Foxes, the West African giants have won five and lost two and one of the defeats came in the boardroom when Nigeria used in an ineligible player Abdullahi Shehu in their final game of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Algeria managed to beat Nigeria 2-1 in the semifinals of last year's Africa Cup of Nations thanks to a brilliant free-kick scored by Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez with the last kick of the game.
Speaking to reporters at Wednesday's press conference, Belmadi explained : "Nigeria is a benchmark match, especially in the first half, we could have led 3-0.
"They are always very close matches against them, moreover they won more than we did. I am looking for the difficulty against Nigeria to progress "
He continued : "We could have opted very quickly against smaller teams but I had the requirement to obtain these two prestigious matches against Nigeria and Mexico.
"Nigeria everyone knows, it is the third best team in the FIFA / CAF ranking."
"Nigeria everyone knows, it is the third best team in the FIFA / CAF ranking."
Nigeria are undefeated in their last five matches since losing to Algeria on July 14, 2019, drawing against Brazil and Ukraine, and picked up wins against Tunisia, Benin and Lesotho.
Ifeanyi Emmanuel
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