“Time to be competitive!” Algeria CHAN coach Madjid Bougherra

Algeria ‘A’ national team coach Madjid Bougherra said his charges suffered in the first half but a strong second half performance against Gambia helped them to trounce Gambia 3-0 on Friday and achieve qualification to the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN).

The former Algerian international noted limited preparation time and the first half performance made him nervous at first:

Bougherra credited the second half performance of his team. He pointed out the left flank as a potent line of attack. “I had told them to play a lot down the flanks, especially their left side, where we were more dangerous. In fact, the first goal came from that side. But that’s the maturity I keep telling them about every day. Control the tempo, impose the rhythm we want—slow it down, speed it up, don’t rush. Even if there isn’t space, move the ball around to create it.”

The former center back managed to qualify Algeria to the CHAN tournament for the third time in their history. Algeria never qualified for back-to-back editions of the CHAN before they achieved the feat this week.

Bougherra stated now is the time to be competitive. “In any case, the essential is done. I applaud the players because some were very tired, but they pushed through until the end. So here we are, qualified for CHAN. That is what we want. We haven’t qualified much. Once in Sudan and once automatically in Algeria. Before that, we had eliminations. So now, we need to be competitors, we need to go for it.”

It will be a busy summer for Bougherra as he is tasked with preparation of the ‘A’ side for the upcoming FIFA Arab Cup and the CHAN tournament. Algeria are drawin in Group C of the CHAN with co-hosts Uganda, Niger, Guinea and South Africa. Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania will host the finals beginning on August 2.