Algeria Unimpressive in Angola

Sunday, January 31, 2010 | View Comments
Egypt vs Algeria

by Matt - US Soccer Daily

For those who haven’t been paying attention to the 2010 African Cup of Nations, Algeria’s campaign ended yesterday with the consolation game against Nigeria. Though their appearance in that match may give off the impression that they had a successful run in the tournament, their actual play was underwhelming, to say the least, and should give USMNT fans reason for optimism. In 6 games, they were 2-3-1 (W-L-D), out of which there was really only one strong performance, that being their extra time victory over Cote d’Ivoire (which looks like an aberration in retrospect). Other than that lone exception, Algeria really looked like a mediocre side; they were embarrassed 3-0 by 99th ranked Malawi, they scraped by an average Mali team for a 1-0 win, and they were gifted a 0-0 draw by a disinterested Angola side to make it to the knockout rounds (the extent of the perceived lack of effort from Angola even leading third place Mali to claim the sides colluded).


After their one impressive win against Didier Drogba and company, the Algerians were utterly dominated in the semifinals by Egypt, who avenged their World Cup qualification loss with a convincing 4-0 victory. The match added another example of what seems to be a lack of mental fortitude from the Desert Foxes, who absolutely lost their composure, picking up three red cards and surrendering goals just minutes after each. If this were an isolated incident, it might not be worth mentioning, but Algeria showed a good deal of mental weakness in their opener, when they folded like lawn chairs after Malawi took a two goal lead in the first half. Advantage USA in this department, if you ask me.


Throughout the tournament, Algeria also suffered from some very shoddy defending inside the box. Whether it was poor marking on set pieces, awful clearance attempts, or some “olé” defending, Algeria gave up a lot of goals that were more the result of their own shortcomings, rather than the skill or cleverness of their opponents. It was the type of defense that makes me optimistic that the mismatches that Bob Bradley’s side will create on corners and free kicks will almost certainly lead to at least one goal, and that quick dribblers like Landon Donovan or Charlie Davies (fingers crossed) could slice through the Algeria defense like a hot knife through butter.


Now, at this point, you may be thinking to yourself, “it’s a tournament in January; they’ll be a better team once the World Cup rolls around.” But why do so many of us make that conclusion when we would almost definitely not do so with regards to our own national team? As much as some USMNT fans like to underestimate their own team’s ability, I think there is an equal propensity to be overly complimentary of another team’s talent or more forgiving of their flaws. If the USMNT put together the same stretch of results against average to strong teams, the internet might crash from the ensuing message board and blogosphere panic.


So let’s be real for a second: Algeria did not look like a strong team against teams that are at best on the USMNT’s level. It took them 3 matches and 20 minutes to put in anything resembling a strong performance, something they won’t have the luxury of come June. There is only five months until the World Cup, and this will only hurt the confidence of a camp that already has been the target of a good deal of criticism from fans and the media. We wouldn’t dismiss a USMNT showing like this one, so why do so for another team?


Does it mean 3 easy points in June? Not at all. But while it does not guarantee a good result for the Yanks, Algeria’s abysmal African Cup of Nations gives good reason for you to feel optimistic about facing at least one Group C opponent in South Africa.
blog comments powered by Disqus
    KKTC Bahis Siteleri, Online Bahis

    Archive

    Legal


    Privacy Policy