Algeria’s National Team coach, Madjid Bougherra, explained how they are preparing for their upcoming match against South Africa’s CHAN squad without any game footage to study.
The Desert Foxes face a Bafana Bafana makeshift squad, dominantly made up of unattached PSL players, on Friday at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Kampala, Uganda. Kick off is 16:00 [South African time].
Algeria started strongly, defeating co-hosts Uganda 3-0 on Monday, and are eager to secure another victory to boost their chances of winning the group. However, Bougherra admits facing South Africa is challenging, as the players have not featured in the recent COSAFA tournaments or FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
South Africa’s CHAN coach Molefi Ntseki has had to select a squad of unattached players because clubs could not release players with the Betway Premiership starting this weekend.
He features players such as Zakhele Lepasa, Ndabayithethwa Ndlondlo, Thabiso Kutumela, Wayde Jooste, Keagan Dolly, Neo Maema, and Terrence Mashego. Lepasa and Ndlondlo recently left Orlando Pirates, while Jooste and Dolly moved on from AmaZulu and TS Galaxy, respectively. Meanwhile, Maema and Mashego have struggled to secure regular playing time at Mamelodi Sundowns.
HOW ALGERIA IS PREPARING FOR BAFANA WITHOUT GAME FOOTAGE
“Most of the coaches have difficulties getting image [footage], and for South Africa, we have some image [footage] of the individuals,” said Bougherra. ”
We have information about them… They have some players who don’t have clubs. We have all this information, and we are prepared for this. It’ll be an interesting game, especially for the fans.”
Meanwhile, Bafana CHAN captain Neo Maema said they intended to apply themselves well when they play Algeria. He believes the game against the Foxes will be good for them to set the tone for the rest of the tournament.
The CHAN tournament is being co-hosted by three East African nations —Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. It kicked off last weekend and will run until August 30, 2025. Bafana are based in Kampala for the group stages.
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