ENGLAND VS ALGERIA
England-AlgeriaThe tussle for the top two spots in 2010 FIFA World Cup™ Group C will intensify when England take to the field against Algeria on Friday. For Fabio Capello’s men, the mission will be to put their underwhelming draw against USA behind them, while their opponents need to bounce back from their loss to Slovenia knowing that a second successive setback would spell the end of their qualification hopes.
The match
England-Algeria, Group C, Cape Town, Friday 18 June, 20.30 (local time)
The Three Lions let two precious points slip between their fingers when they kicked off their bid against the United States. Overall, they looked short of ideas going forward, but that could all change with the return of Gareth Barry from an ankle injury, the midfielder's presence allowing Steven Gerrard to get further forward after spending most of England’s opener chasing the ball. Despite Barry’s return, the spectre of fitness worries nonetheless continues to hang over the squad, with centre-back Ledley King a doubt for the rest of the tournament after suffering a serious groin complaint against the Stars and Stripes.
At the other end of the pitch, Algeria will be anxious to give a more convincing account of themselves than they managed against Slovenia, although they will have to cope without forward Abdelkader Ghezzal after he saw red in that game. Coach Rabah Saadane could turn to Rafik Saifi to fill the void, with the striker seemingly fit again following the ankle injury he picked up during his late substitute cameo last time out. Above all, Les Fennecs will hope for a sterling showing from their defensive quartet of Madjid Bougherra, Anther Yahia, Rafik Halliche and Nadir Belhadj, who all boast experience in Europe. Belhadj will be particularly familiar with the England line-up, having spent the last two seasons with Portsmouth.
Players to watch
Steven Gerrard v Karim Ziani
The battle for midfield mastery ought to be an enthralling contest, with England captain Gerrard coming up against Algeria’s beating heart in Ziani. The former will look to demonstrate his quality as he did when he opened the scoring early on against the United States, while Ziani will be focused on helping his team-mates spring a surprise and claw their way back into the qualification equation. The Wolfsburg man already boasts the upper hand over his Liverpool counterpart in terms of completed passes, having picked out a colleague 70 per cent of the time compared to Gerrard's 59 per cent success rate.
The stat
2 – The number of goals England have conceded in five matches against African teams at the FIFA World Cup. Cameroon fired both those efforts in a memorable quarter-final at Italy 1990, making them the only side from Africa to have found the net against the Three Lions on the global stage. Cameroon nonetheless lost that encounter, with England's record from the five matches reading three wins and two draws.
What they said
"We have a lot of players who can score goals, but for us to get a better result I'll need to play better than I did last time and score. I don't feel any pressure because the team are playing well," Wayne Rooney, England striker.
"We have several talented players who can make things happen. We're going to pose the England team plenty of problems and we'll be more ambitious than we were against Slovenia. It's a role that suits us well." Anther Yahia, Algeria defender and captain
Algeria vs. SloveniaIn a game that did not offer much excitement, and in which Algeria was slightly better in the first part of the match, Slovenia earned three points and took first place in the group C.
The only goal on the match scored captain of Slovenia, Robert Koren, after shooting from a distance, and helped with Jabulani ball, which has bounce and cheated the goalkeeper of Algeria, who was pretty good in today’s match.
Last 15 minutes of the match Algerina team played with ten players, because Abdelkader Ghezzal after only 20 minutes of game earned two yellow cards and has to left the game.
Ireland national football team players achieved a second consecutive victory in the friendly matches against the participants of the forthcoming FIFA World Cup in South Africa.Ireland players were better than Algerian national team. Match was played in the RDS Arena in Dublin and the result of the match was 3 - 0. Remember, three days before the Irish team on the same stadium won Paraguay with 2 - 1.
Ireland led against Algeria in the 31st minute of the game after Paul Green scores goal with his head. Team captain Robbie Keane increased the advantage to 2-0 in the 52nd minute, and the same player scored last goal from a penalty kick in the 85th minute.
Algeria will play at 2010 World Cup in Group C with England, the USA and Slovenia.
Algeria will end a 24-year absence from football’s top table when they kick their first ball at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™. Les Fennecs (the Desert Foxes) may have won the CAF African Cup of Nations since appearing at Mexico 1986, but they spent a long time in the wilderness before slowly working their way back as a competitive force at the start of the century. The current crop of players feel stronger than ever, with enough belief to put in a historic performance in South Africa.The road to South Africa
Until finally sealing their place via a one-off play-off match with Egypt in Khartoum, Sudan, on 18 November, Algeria both suffered and impressed in their qualifying campaign. They won all six of their home games in the second and third qualifying rounds but lost three of their away visits, while drawing twice and winning the other game. As a result, they finished one slender point ahead of Gambia, Senegal and Liberia in their first qualifying group, before ending on equal terms with the Pharaohs in their second, and bringing about the need for a play-off on neutral terrain. The duo nonetheless came in eight points ahead of Zambia and 11 ahead of Rwanda.
The star players
Scorer of the goal that took Les Fennecs through to South Africa, Antar Yahia is one of the pillars at the back for his team, a status he shares with Madjid Bougherra, Nadir Belhadj and goalkeeper Lounes Gaouaoui, although back-up custodian Fawzi Chaouchi is now making serious claims on the gloves. Midfield is Algeria’s strength, meanwhile, with captain Yazid Mansouri spreading the ball around and forward-thinkers Karim Ziani and Mourad Meghni the most likely players to spark danger. Lastly, striker Karim Matmour has steadily been proving himself more than useful on the right wing.
The coach
Following a modest playing career in his homeland and briefly in France, ‘Cheik’ (the Elder, the Wise or the Master) Rabah Saadane quickly tried his hand at coaching. He soon found employment with the national association, first taking charge of various youth teams. In 1982, he was part of the coaching staff as Algeria disputed the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. Four years later, he took over the reins of the national side but paid the price for poor results at the global showcase. He took up the post again for a short while in 1999, then from 2003 to 2004 and began his current stint in 2007. In the club game, the veteran trainer notably lifted the CAF Champions League with Raja Casablanca in 1989 and the Arab Champions League title with ES Setif in 2007.
Previous FIFA World Cups
South Africa will mark Algeria’s third appearance at a FIFA World Cup finals, and they will be looking to graduate from the group stage for the first time in their history. In 1982, they made history by defeating West Germany 2-1 and Chile 3-2, only to lose 2-0 to Austria. Four years on from their debut, with a certain Saadane in the dugout, they shared a 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland before losing 1-0 to Brazil and 3-0 to Spain.
Records
1 CAF African Cup of Nations (1990)
What they said
"Our qualification has made it possible for the country to put itself back on the map. It’s a joy and even an honour to be at the origin of that. I’m touched to the see the happiness we have given our people. It’s a splendid example to have set the young,” Rabah Saadane, coach
Algeria coach Rabah Saadane said: "Serbia are a similar kind of team to Slovenia, who we will play against in the World Cup."
Algeria will also play England and the United States in the group phase of the competition while Serbia, who are in Group D, will face Germany, Ghana and Australia.
The international friendly has been organised for 3 March 2010 and will be contested at the Stade du 5 Juillet in Algiers. The feverishly anticipated 2010 FIFA World Cup will commense some three months later, with the opening game being played on 11 June 2010.
