Algeria hope to upset England in Cape Town

While most see Saturday’s England versus USA as the key match in Group C in the World Cup in South Africa the so-called whipping boys of the group are insisting that they are capable of springing a major surprise.

Having lost their opening game to Slovenia, Algeria now face England on Friday June 18th in Cape Town and while the rest of the world may see this as a walk in the park for England, even without injured captain Rio Ferdinand, the only Arab country in the tournament beg to differ.

“England are a fantastic team with a fantastic coach but they are still just eleven men like we are,” insisted Algeria’s captain, Yazid Mansouri, a defensive midfielder who plays for L’Orient in France, and has 65 caps to his name.

“They have a good coach and have good tactics but we can beat England with our hearts and with our heads. We will work harder, we will try and win every tackle, we will be physical and we will play with passion. If we stop England playing we can beat them, for sure.”

Is this simply bravado? Well, not quite, because Algeria, appearing in their first World Cup finals since 1986, can make a case for themselves. When they are bad, as the Republic of Ireland discovered last week when they beat the “Desert Foxes” 3-0, they are very bad.

But when they are good, as the Ivory Coast discovered when they lost 3-2 to Algeria in the quarter-finals of the African Cup of Nations last January, and as this year’s African champions Egypt found out when they were beaten by their North African neighbours in a World Cup qualification play-off, Algeria can be very good.

“We are not consistent, this is true,” added Mansouri. “But on our day we are capable of beating any team in the world, as we have already proved in the last few months. The people back home believe we can beat England and maybe even win the group. Why not? I know we have more of a chance than people outside Algeria believe.”

Nadir Belhadj, who played for Portsmouth in their losing cup final against Chelsea last month, plans to provide his teammates as much insider information as he can on the England team.

“Although everyone knows the likes of Lampard, Gerrard and Rooney, and their strengths and weaknesses, I’ll still be giving lots of inside tips to the coach and my teammates,” said the left back who is unsure where he will be playing club football next season.

“We will be looking to exploit their weaknesses, for sure. I believe it can make a difference. We’re very, very motivated about competing in this World Cup, and especially against a big team like England. Algeria can be the best and the worst but if we’re at our best we can definitely win.”

One player he hopes to be playing against is his club teammate, goalkeeper David James. “As soon as we knew the world cup group draw we’ve been joking about the game,” Belhadj revealed. “David’s a great guy and I really hope he plays for England against us. Of course I want to beat him but I hope he has a good World Cup, too.”

Algeria’s head coach, the experienced Rabah Saadane, is in his fifth spell as national boss, having been on the backroom staff of the 1982 World Cup team, and in charge four years’ later at the 1986 World Cup.

He is realistic of his chances but far from discounts them. “A lot will depend on if we can do a great job on Slovenia,” he explained. “If we can win that game then we will be more confident for the England game.

“All the pressure will be on England. We are not expected to win so we have nothing to lose. It means we can play totally free and relaxed. Maybe it will not be the same for England, though. It could be a factor in us making history against a team who are supposed to beat us.

“I know we are capable of beating a team like England. What I don’t know is if we are capable of beating many top sides over the course of a month in a tournament.”

Saadane is happy to concede that England have the better set of players, and he is full of praise for his counterpart, Fabio Capello, too, but he believes Algeria have an advantage in another area.

“It will be tough, of course. Capello’s done a great job with England. We qualified for the World Cup not because we had the best players but because we have a great team. We have no famous players in the world but my players all play well together and the collective spirit within the squad is very good. I think this will play an important part in our campaign.

“Are we good enough to beat England? On our day, yes, for sure. I just hope it will be our day.”

Whatever the result Mansouri already has his plans involving a certain English midfielder.

“I’d like Frank Lampard’s shirt after the game,” said the man who will lead Algeria out to take on England in 12 days’ time. “I’ll try and get it sorted out at the start of the game. Then I can focus on trying to beat them.”  

The Algerian football team is sponsored by Puma, for more information please click on www.pumafootball.com