Unsurprisingly, the press conference which followed Algeria’s new rout at the African Cup of Nations was marked by intense tension.
Algeria experienced a new tragedy on Tuesday. Opposed to modest Mauritania, the Fennecs lost 1-0 and were left with another elimination from the group stage of the African Cup of Nations. The fiasco of 2021 was not an accident and like two years ago, Algeria leaves the competition without having won a single match since before hitting rock bottom with this shameful defeat against Mauritania (1-0) , Djamel Belmadi’s men had to settle for two draws against Angola (1-1) and Burkina Faso (2-2).
This new failure for Algeria is undoubtedly one too many for the Algerian coach. According to RMC, the former midfielder would have announced his resignation to his players at the end of the meeting. The former Marseillais, however, did not want to say anything about his intentions at a press conference, waiting for “the return to the country” to talk about his future. This appearance in front of the media was also marked by a bloodbath from the first question against a journalist from DZ Foot.
“Anyway, from the start, you’ve been on a mission, he said to him. It’s known, DZ Foot, since the beginning, it’s like that. You did not specify that I was one of the rare coaches, perhaps the second to have won the African Cup of Nations. »And Djamel Belmadi probably did not see at that time that the site specializing in Algerian football had not hesitated to put a zero for all Algerian players in its notes.
First response from Belmadi to Dzfoot:
“You are on a mission, I have known you for six years, you say that I am the first Algerian coach to be eliminated in the first round, also say that I am the second coach to have won the CAN… I do not need of… pic.twitter.com/q7LYfmZxab— Chebli Ishaq (@IshaqChebli) January 23, 2024
“I don’t care about your thanks because I’ve known you for six years, he continued, still as angry as ever. The question, I don’t even know what to answer to that. If it starts like that… It’s not even journalism. You have been on a mission from the start, I already told you that anyway. Next question. »
