Djamel Belmadi, coach of the Algerian national team, renewed his defense of the “Greens” captain, Riyad Mahrez, in the face of criticism directed at him due to his poor performance so far in the African Cup of Nations held in Ivory Coast, calling for not “killing him early.”
“I don’t want anyone to forget what Riad can do,” Belmadi said from the city of Bouaké before the decisive confrontation against Mauritania in the third and final round of Group D competitions.
The 32-year-old Al-Ahly Saudi team winger and former English Manchester City star played a decisive role in leading Algeria to win the title in 2019 in Egypt, but he did not provide anything significant in the draws with Angola (1-1) and Burkina Faso (2-2) during The current version, and he was even replaced in the last match – last Saturday – when his country was behind before Baghdad Bounedjah saved it with a goal at the fatal time.
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#DesertWarriors | #1 2 3 long live Algeria🇩🇿 pic.twitter.com/0es1LQ69F6— Algerian football team (@LesVerts) January 20, 2024
The Algerian national team now needs to win tonight’s match against Mauritania to avoid being eliminated from the group stage for the second edition in a row.
Belmadi admitted, “I agree with you that they were not his best matches with Algeria, but do not kill him early,” mentioning that Mahrez won the Champions League last season with Manchester City before he left in the summer after 5 years in his ranks in order to defend the colors of Al-Ahly Saudi Arabia.
Belmadi continued, “He is the leader. I know what he can do. I have full confidence in him and the team has full confidence in him,” without confirming whether Mahrez will play as a starter against a team seeking to achieve its first victory ever in the continental championship.
