Algeria, undefeated for 27 matches, is the selection that everyone wants to avoid Tuesday during the draw for the future groups of the Cup of African Nations (CAN) in Cameroon, the host country of the competition from January 9 to February 6, 2022.
Algeria is scary. While the draw for the 2022 Cup of African Nations is due to take place on Tuesday, August 17 in Yaoundรฉ, Cameroon, each of the qualifying nations hopes not to end up in the group of the defending champion, invincible for 27 matches.
Cameroon, Senegal, Tunisia, and Algeria in favorites
Cameroon, Senegal, and Tunisia are also title contenders, as seeds alongside Morocco and Nigeria. A status that does not have Egypt, seven-times champion, Ghana, Ivory Coast, or Mali, main outsiders of this CAN.
Favorites for a third title in the competition, the Algerian Fennecs are part of the 24 qualified, who will be divided into six groups. The first, second, and the four best thirds from each group will advance to the round of 16.
Holders of the title after their victory in the final over Senegal (1 to 0) in the 2019 edition, Mahrez’s teammates are in the process of establishing a record series of invincibility: in June, by beating Tunisia in a friendly ( 2-0), they brought their number of consecutive unbeaten matches to 27, shattering the African record set by the Ivory Coast of Didier Drogba and Yaya Tourรฉ in 2013.
Since their defeat (1-0) against Benin almost three years ago, as part of the CAN 2019 qualifiers, the record of the Fennecs is 20 wins for 7 draws, with 58 goals scored for 17 conceded.
Riyad Mahrez and Belmadi at the wand
Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez is the star of a team made up of players, many of whom were born abroad to Algerian parents and play in European or Middle Eastern clubs.
Several executives of the team will play in the Champions League this season: Mahrez, but also defender Aรฏssa Mandi, who plays for Villarreal, and AC Milan midfielder Ismaรซl Bennacer.
Mahrez is now the captain of the selection. He attributes much of the credit for the current good results of the Fennecs to the work of coach Djamel Belmadi, former Manchester City midfielder now aged 45.
“He is a national treasure. We cannot overstate his importance to the team. What Djamel does is deeply respected by all Algerians,” according to Mahrez.
Belmadi is worried, however, that the favorites have not been able to win the CAN since 2010. At the time, Egypt had become the first nation to win it three times in a row.
A competition that rarely smiles at the favorites
But since then, the top seeds have faltered every time. In 2012, it was Zambia who surprised their world by winning against the Ivory Coast of Drogba. A year later, Nigeria had beaten the pawn to the Ivorian or Ghanaian favorites.
The Ivorian Elephants were titled in 2015, a year when they were not expected. And two years ago Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia seemed better equipped than the Fennecs to win the CAN.
For Cameroon, the organization of the CAN has had everything to do with obstacles. Dispossessed of the 2019 edition in favor of Egypt due to delays in preparations, the Central African country was forced to change the dates of the tournament on two occasions, first citing climatic reasons and then due to the fact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
On the pitch, some coaches will be under strong pressure for results, notably Vahid Halilhodzic with Morocco and Gernot Rohr with Nigeria. The Bosnian is forced to reach at least the semi-finals with the Atlas Lions. The German was summoned to win the competition by the bosses of Nigerian football.