The Algerian football team and its Malawian counterpart will take on each other Saturday in Blantyre, as part of the 2015 African Cup of Nations playoffs day 3 (Gr B), for the sixth time in their history. The teams are perfectly tied.
Algeria had managed to win against the "Flames" twice, ditto for Malawi, while the fifth match ended with draw.
Their first match dates back to 1978. It took place on the sidelines of the African Games in Algiers, Algeria won (3-0).
Six years later, the two teams encounter again, for the first round of the CAN-1986 in the Cote D’Ivoire. Rabah Madjer’s teammates snatched te second win on the same score (3-0).
For the other two games, there were two friendly matches between the two teams in the Malawian capital, Lilongwe, where the two teams drew (1-1) in the first game, before the hosts rose up in the fourth match and win with a same-but-reversed score of 3-0.
The last time, the two teams played each other was in the CAN 2010 in Angola. That day, Malawians severely beat the men of former national coach Rabah Saadane (3-0), in Group A opener.
Saturday’s match will be the tiebreak between two teams. Although on paper, the Desert Foxes are favorites, after two wins in their playoffs, they have to be vigilant against Malawians (106th in FIFA rankings), unbeaten on their soil, in Blantyre, for the last five years.
Indeed, the Malawians have succeeded to make it very difficult to Africa’s best football teams like Cote D’Ivoire’s Elephants they managed to hang in 2009 in 2010 World Cup playoffs by finishing the game in a draw (1-1) or Nigerians in 2012 when they drew (1-1) in World Cup 2014 playoffs.
With a loss and a win, the teammates of star Atusaye Nyondo (University of Pretoria/South Africa), will try to revive their qualification chances, and this depends on good performance and win against Algeria.
Source: APS