Belmadi praises Cisse ahead of AFCON final

CAIRO – 15 July 2019: Algeria national team manager, Djamel Belmadi, expects an interesting clash against Senegal’s manager, Aliou Cisse, at 2019 Africa Cup of Nations final next Friday.

“Cisse is a very good friend of me and facing him is going to be interesting. The difference between us is that he is working with Senegal since 4 years, I have barely been here for a year. He is a very good coach and doing a great job with Senegal” Belmadi said on Monday.

The Desert Warriors, led by Manchester City’s star, Riyad Mahrez, showed a wonderful performance in front of Algerian and Egyptian fans who packed the stadium to witness Algeria’s 2-1 victory over Nigeria.

Algeria opened the score minutes before half time from an own goal but Nigeria equalized the score 15 minutes before the final whistle from the penalty spot.

During the last minute of the game, Mahrez granted his team a victory when he scored an amazing free kick that sent Algeria to their first final since 1990.

Belmadi added “We are facing an opponent who always wants to win the cup, so it’s going to be a very tough game. Now we will have some rest and then we will start preparing”

Algeria face Senegal on Friday night at Cairo Stadium.