Friendly: Algeria comes up just short in high scoring defeat to Sweden

The Algeria national team recovered from a disastrous opening sixty minutes in their friendly with Sweden on Tuesday, scoring three goals in the final half hour for a 3-4 defeat at the Strawberry Arena in Solna.

match was much more even than the score indicated but opportunistic Sweden took their chances with aplomb. Ken Sema scored twice in the first half and finished the match with a hat-trick for the hosts before Anton Salétros made it 4-0 in the 56th minute.

Faced with the prospect of a humiliating defeat, Les Verts improved their effort and made the result more than respectable. Ismaël Bennacer’s powerful strike from distance pulled one back and inspired the visitors, who added another goal through Yassine Benzia seven minutes later.

Nabil Bentaleb’s penalty kick in the 86th minute put Les Fennecs back to within a goal but despite dominating the second half, Algeria could not quite pull level by the time the full time whistle arrived. Algeria finish the June FIFA window with a victory at home against Rwanda before Tuesday’s defeat.

In addition, the Algeria domestic-based ‘A’ national team defeated Rwanda in a second meeting between the nations with the same score as the senior team, a 2-0 victory.

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