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Forget Nigeria, Senegal, and Tunisia, Algeria are the real deal.

4 wins in 4 matches, 9 goals scored in 4 matches, and 0 goals conceded in 4 matches. They are a force in this Africa cup of nations.

With rivals Egypt and Morocco out of the tournament, Algeria are expected to breeze past the remaining teams. It will not be easy but it can be done.

They were solid in the group stage and many expected them to lose against Senegal or atleast draw. Well, they grind out a 1-0 win. They have certain qualities that sets them apart from other teams in the tournament.

Urgency

You won't see Algeria passing the ball around waiting for the opportunity to come. They will force things to happen. That was what led to host Egypt ouster. They were just passing the ball around hoping for a mistake from the Bafana Bafana instead of forcing the goal to come. A counter attack and Egypt are out of the tournament.

You can't see that with this well-drilled Desert foxes of Algeria. They play with the intent of getting the goal right from kick-off. You see Mohamed Youcef Belaili, Riyad Mahrez, and Baghdad Bounedjah charging at your defense for the whole 90 minutes. They never stop doing that and that has gotten them the 9 goals now.

Well drilled defense

Ask the Syli of Guinea to tell you how the Algeria defense is watertight. Kante received brutal treatment from the centre backs. They are not afraid to tackle, slide, and kick you. They are also ready to out their body in the line of a goal bound shot. They suffered a goalmouth scramble against Guinea in their round of 16 match and you see that they defended the ball well preventing it to go in.

Good players and teamwork

This is the main thing. They have good players in all departments. Benching the Europe based Yacine Brahimi for Baghdad Bounedjah upfront shoes the quality they have. This has put the players on their toes knowing that a single mistake can see them on the bench for the next match. The only team that can rival them in terms of quality is Senegal.

However, there is a huge difference between them. Senegal have stars who prefer the individual style of play compared to Algeria who are more of a team.

The stage is set for Desert foxes of Algeria to win their second Africa Cup of nations.

Originally posted here