Algeria vs Africa I: Tunisia

November 10th, 2011 | by: Kazi |

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*Squeals* The partners begin their NT journey for a prosperous and long campaign insha Allah

It’s the time of year again; International Friendly time!

And this time it’s an absolute cracker, not one but two friendlies against two of the top African nations! Tunisia and Cameroon will pose serious threats offensively and it’s about time Halilhodzic finally got his team in into the deep end. The likes of Eto’o and Allagui will be present to give our defense the first real test it’s had since the harrowing Morocco game. And they will be no let ups offensively, it will take us playing some of our best football in quite some time to get something from this one.

But of course, first thing’s first, the roster:

Goalkeepers:
Azzedine Doukha
Rais Ouheb M’Bolhi
Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche

Defenders:
Nadir Belhadj
Madjid Bougherra
Ismael Bouzid
Abderrahmane Hachoud
Carl Medjani
Mohamed Rabie Meftah
Mehdi Mostefa
Anthar Yahia

Midfielders:
Hameur Bouazza
Said Bouchouk
Ryad Boudebouz
Abdelmoumene Djabou
Sofiane Feghouli
Adlene Guedioura
Foued Kadir
Mehdi Lacen
Khaled Lemmouchia
Hocine Metref
Saad Tedjar
Hassan Yebda
Karim Ziani

Forwards:
Mohamed Amine Aoudia
Kamel Fathi Ghilas
Karim Matmour
El Arbi Hillel Soudani

One thing to note is that Djebbour, Mesbah, Ghezzal and Fabre were all in the original squad, but got injured. Aoudia was called up to replace Djebbour and no other change has been made since. Fabre didn’t turn up and a fax was sent from RC Lens regarding injury to him. Halilhodzic said there will be no double standards, so Fabre should not expect to be called up for the next 2 games as punishment for not showing up as Mesbah and Ghezzal did even though they were injured prior to the camp.

A talking point has been the non-calling of Djamel Abdoun who has been on good form with Olympiakos, but has missed out on playing time through lack of fitness. Also, the recall of Karim Ziani who was left out of the last squad. He was in no uncertain terms unhappy about it last time, but Halilhodzic explained his reasons to Ziani at Sidi Moussa and both men left with a smile on their face.

Feghouli, Boudebouz and Soudani all come into the squad on good runs of form with their clubs, and the opportunity to see the start of what could be a Boudebouz and Feghouli partnership in midfield may just be too tantalising to miss.

Whilst we do have two friendlies to prepare for, this article will focus on the Tunisia match, with the Cameroon match being taken care of after this match has taken place and any events can thus be chucked in.

Tunisia’s main strength over us is their offensive ability in the final third. With strikers like Chermiti, Allagui and the on-form Saber Khelifa, we will need to be on our game to keep them out. Also, their supply to their forwards is quite good, with the likes of Dhaouadi and Msekni who will need to be watched at all times and closed down whenever possible.

The key players on our side who will need to make sure they clamp down on these potential offensive threats, are no doubt Lacen, Bougherra and Yahia. Whilst we can hope Lacen produces yet another good performance as he is consistently chucking out, it is Boughy and Anthar who we will be watching with anxiety. They have had far from the best form with the NT of late, and they will need to turn it around quickly to make sure they’re on top of things. Another option would be Bouzid but with such a lack of playing time it will be hard for him to regain fitness in time.

Unfortunately, Yassine Chikhaoui will not play against us, reducing the spectacle somewhat but nonetheless adding in our chance to capitalise on the rejuvinated midfield we have. No doubt we will be looking to a trio of Kadir-Feghouli-Boudebouz to cause the Carthage Eagles serious problems. All three are on good form now, and can be held in a 4-4-2 diamond with Lacen holding, and Soudani and Djabou (most likely Matmour) up front, or as a 4-5-1 with Lacen and Guedioura holding and Soudani up front.

I really am quite looking forward to Djabou and Aoudia’s returns to the NT fold and seeing them on the pitch. Halilhodzic really is a big fan of Djabou’s abilities and will no doubt look to test him out, and neither really got a fair enough chance after the Luxembourg game in which they were both lacklustre. Seeing Djabou combine with Feghouli, Kadir and Boudebouz is also something that would interest me, and would provide added trickery and pace down the middle of the pitch. Seeing Said Bouchouk for the first time is also something that would provide some intrigue, hopefully the occasion will not overwhelm him.

That taken into account, I’m gonna predict my starting line ups as the following:
4-4-2
GK: M’Bolhi
LB: Belhadj
CB: Yahia
CB: Bougherra
RB: Hachoud
DM: Lacen
LM: Boudebouz
RM: Kadir
AM: Feghouli
SS: Djabou
CF: Soudani

4-5-1
GK: M’Bolhi
LB: Belhadj
CB: Yahia
CB: Bougherra
RB: Hachoud
DM: Lacen
DM: Guedioura
LAM: Boudebouz
RAM: Kadir
CAM: Feghouli
CF: Soudani

Depends on what Halilhodzic goes for ultimately.

So long as the back line and the holding mids can hold up the line, and stifle the offensive supply to the Tunisian forwards, and our forwards are actually clinical enough, we can indeed get a good result from this game. But our North African neighbours will not take this game lightly, and will fight to the end even if it is a friendly.

Just be thankful Esperance players weren’t called up.

Prediction: 2-2 draw or 2-1 in our favour, most likely the first one.

And here’s a picture of the new home kit for you guys who haven’t seen it. I could post the away kit, but I’d cry a little from the horror.