Algeria head coach Djamel Belmadi admits it is always difficult to play against the Super Eagles of Nigeria, reports Completesports.com.
The African champions will take on the Super Eagles in a friendly encounter at the Worthersee Stadium, Klagenfurt on Friday.
The match will be a remake of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final that saw Riyad Mahrez score a dramatic 94th minute winner.
It will be the first ever friendly between the two nations who have faced each other 21 times in official competition at the senior level.
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“Nigeria is a benchmark match, especially in the first half, we could have led 3-0. They are always very close match against them, moreover they won more than we did won. I am looking for the difficulty against Nigeria to progress,”Belmadi told a news conference on Wednesday.
“I was looking for matches that could put us in difficulty. Some might say we have to pick up slowly but I don’t see it like that, we have to take advantage of the FIFA dates, there aren’t many.
“We could have chosen smaller teams but I made the demand to obtain these prestigious matches against Nigeria and Mexico.
“Nigeria everyone knows is the third best team in the FIFA/CAF ranking.”
By Adeboye Amosu
