AFCON 2023: Algeria Coach Predicted His Team’s Downfall With Comments Before Tournament

• Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi was lost for words after his side’s shock AFCON exit
• The Desert Foxes suffered a 1-0 defeat to Mauritania on Tuesday, January 23
• Before the tournament kicked off, Belmadi hinted that Algeria would struggle

Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi’s comments prior to the start of the Africa Cup of Nations seem to have rung true after the Desert Foxes suffered a shock exit from the competition.

Touted as one of the favourites to win it, the 2019 champions have had a campaign to forget in Ivory Coast as they finished bottom of Group D with a mere two points.

Successive draws against Angola and Burkina Faso in their opening two games left Algeria needing to beat Mauritania to keep their ambitions to proceed to the knockout stages in their own hands.

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But it was not meant to be for the African heavyweights, as Mauritania pulled off one of the shockers of the tournament with a 1-0 win on Tuesday, January 23 - their first-ever win in the competition, according to EuroSport.

Belmadi says he "cannot explain exit”

Speaking after the game, Belmadi was at a loss for words as he found it difficult to explain how his side lost to Mauritania.

“The observation right here is that we have conceded a goal, we can come back here and look at the goals that we conceded. There are some things that I cannot explain; we haven’t been able to score even though we had good plans and tactics," he said, per CAF Online.

He added: “We are out of the Afcon for the second time and that’s football. That’s how it is. We have not been able to score, and we have not been able to make a difference.”

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Did Belmadi predict his side’s struggles?

Only two weeks ago, Belmadi made headlines for his comments before the start of the African spectacle.

While speaking on the Africa Cup of Nations favourites, the 47-year-old snubbed his own team as he named sides like Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, and hosts of Ivory Coasts as the nations to watch.

“But we are reminded of our elimination from the first round of the last edition, followed by our failure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. We are not favourites.”

After everything that has transpired, his comments at the start of January now look like they were a prelude to what was to come for the Desert Foxes.

An interesting point to note is the fact that four of the teams Belmadi named as favourites at the time are showing glimpses of promise and could go all the way.

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Sports Brief also reported on the Ghana FA taking decisive action on Chris Hughton after the Black Stars’ failure to get out of their group in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Despite leading 2-0 against Mozambique on Monday, Ghana succumbed to two late goals from the underdogs as the game ended in a 2-2 stalemate.

Cameroon’s win over The Gambia effectively sealed Ghana’s fate as they cannot finish as the best third-placed team.