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A few days before the highly anticipated clash between Algeria and Saudi Arabia, scheduled for Tuesday at the Al-Inmaà stadium in Jeddah, Hervé Renard delivered strong statements which testify to the importance of this meeting for the Saudi “Greens”. The French coach, who knows African football perfectly, was keen to point out that the programming of this poster was not the result of chance, but a strategic decision to boost his team’s strength. Renard, who remains one of the most experienced coaches on the African continent, considers Algeria to be one of the most formidable selections of the moment.
For him, facing Vladimir Petkovic’s men represents an essential test before major events, in particular the Arab Cup. He insists that only duels of this caliber can really allow his group to progress. “I chose Algeria because we need to face teams with great quality. Algeria is a strong, organized team that plays with a lot of intensity.
These kinds of matches are the only ones that make us progress. Facing strong teams like Algeria and Ivory Coast is necessary, because it helps to increase the team’s preparation before a major tournament like the World Cup,” he declared. These statements come the day after the precious victory obtained by Saudi Arabia against Ivory Coast (1-0), reigning African champion, aligned with the majority of its executives. A performance which confirmed the rise in power of the Saudis and which sets the tone before the clash against Algeria Supported by a large audience and by a coach who knows the codes of African football perfectly, the partners of Saleh Abou Al-Shamat – scorer against the Ivorians – now want to confirm On the Algerian side, this meeting promises to be a high-level meeting.
Petkovic should field his typical team to gauge the progress of his group after the convincing victory against Zimbabwe. This duel against a confident Saudi Arabia will allow us to assess the solidity of the Greens in a hostile context, facing a disciplined, athletic opponent who is now accustomed to high-level games thanks to the experience of Hervé Renard.
what plan against Saudi Arabia?
The national team won easily against Zimbabwe in a match which allowed Vladimir Petkovic to test the 3-5-2 for the first time, a year and a half after his arrival at the head of the Greens. Upon his arrival in Algeria, the coach was presented as a follower of this scheme, which had constituted his strength with the Nati. However, with the EN, and against all expectations, he preferred to experiment with other tactical options, such as 4-2-3-1, 4-1-4-1, even 3-4-3, before returning to his favorite system a few weeks before the CAN.
We do not know if the absence of Bensebaïni motivated this choice, but the summoning of six elements playing in the axis already suggested that the staff was preparing something in this direction. Despite the absence of Ramy, Petkovic tried it against an opponent who had little impact in attack, an ideal context for this device, especially with full-backs capable of playing as pistons rather than as simple defenders. One of the new features was the integration of Hadjam into the left axis. For observers, this constitutes tangible proof that the coach was preparing this plan even in the presence of Bensebaïni. Hadjam has, in fact, replaced Bensebaïni position for position, but it remains to discover Petkovic’s exact intention for the match the day after tomorrow against Saudi Arabia.