In depth: how Algeria beat Côte d'Ivoire after a public affair

Sports News from Friday, July 12, 2019

Source: Goal.com

2019-07-12

Cote d 'Ivoire and Algeria clashed in the quarterfinal of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Thursday night in Suez. After a 1-1 draw in regulation time when Algeria missed a penalty, the match went into overtime and was settled by penalty shootout. The Desert Foxes won 4-3 on penalties and will face Nigeria in the semifinals after the Ivory Coast tournament.

TEAM NEWS

After being completely eliminated in her eighth-final win against Mali, Ibrahima Kamara made two changes to her training. Max Gradel replaced Nicolas Pepe on the right side after the mediocrity of the performance, while Jean-Philippe Gbamin sat on the substitutes' bench to allow Ibrahim Sangare to make his entry – the center of the pitch went into action. turned out to be a problematic area for the tournament. At the back, Captain Serge Aurier remained injured outside while Mamadou Bagayoko continued to replace him.

Algeria have appointed a team unchanged after their 3-0 win against Guinea with coach Djamel Belmadi, satisfied with the performance and physical recovery of his team since this convincing victory. Ismael Bennacer was particularly impressive in this match, making a decisive pbad and making seven dribbles. Adam Ounas was among the substitutes, as was Islam Slimani.

COMBAT FOR FLANKS

At the beginning of the match, this match was a real showdown all over the field, with both teams using central midfielders with three players and lone strikers. The key players for The Elephants were the two wide players, Max Gradel on the left and Wilfried Zaha on the right. They were not only responsible for Côte d'Ivoire's attacks, but also had to find a way to deal with Algeria's extremely adventurous rear-ends – Youcef Atal and Ramy Bensebaini.

On the other side, the Desert Foxes had two inverted wingmen who were looking to move from their wide position to free up space for the rear to attack. This put a lot of pressure on the central circles to cover the counterattacks, especially right after the Atal incursions.

In the early stages, Côte d'Ivoire continued its trend this tournament to play very directly. Most pbadages from deep areas were aimed at Jonathan Kodjia. Their departure was impressive, although they had a day off less than Algeria and had difficulties in all their facets during most of their matches in the Afcon.

Gradel and Zaha were both major weapons. The former hit to score after a good save from Rais M'bolhi, then Zaha beat Bensebaini with a dribble but Kodjia could not finish in a crowded area. The attack had taken place at the break, with Atal blocked at the top of the pitch, Guedioura covering right and Kodjia could end up in a vacant midfielder zone and dismiss Zaha.

Despite a large number of fouls, it was a very open start to the match, Gradel marking a new start and being beaten after defeating Atal. The latter was an indisputable weapon for the future, having scored six times for OGC Nice last season, including a Hattrick when he played as a hauler. However, his defensive positioning was a real concern. On the opposite side, Zaha was asked to line up in narrow positions on the opposing midfielder, Bennacer, when Algeria attacked on the opposite flank. This has made the Ivorians likely to quickly change the game for the benefit of Youcef Belaili on the left Algerian.

Ivory Coast played several hopeful pbades in the direction of Kodjia, usually static and fighting in the air to create a second ball for his teammates. Algeria, for its part, was constantly playing long pbadages in space towards its center, Baghdad Bounedjah. The attacker was the most dangerous player on the field. Wherever a teammate was facing the ball, the attacker saw it as a trigger to sneak into the depth.

While Kodjia was doing a good job for his team, Bounedjah was a nightmare for Wilfried Kanon and Ismael Traoré. Its movement in the cbads, pursuing misguided causes and trailing behind, pushed the Elephants deeper, creating large spaces in front of their four backs so that Belaili and Riyad Mahrez could exploit them. An excellent run of the latter saw him slip behind Sangare, play a brace with Belaili and shoot a narrow shot.

When the goal came for the men of Belmadi, he combined all the elements of their game: a cross-field switch, Bounedjah winning the ball against a defender and the back half Bensebaini recovering the ball back for Sofiane Feghouli to finish superbly . Serey Die was out of his area to close and the finish came exactly from this area.

ATAL OFF, BOTH NEAREST

After half an hour, Atal's match was over after a bad arm landing. Mehdi Zeffane succeeded in his place, a much more conservative back. Both teams were about to score before the whistle at halftime when Gradel showed up in the box after a diagonal run, but was countered by the excellent Djamel Benlamri.

Mahrez was then offered a chance after a quick free kick from Konan, but despite defeating two men with his feints, Manchester City's shot was blocked. There was still time for another Gradel shot after Zaha swapped her wings and chose her.

The first half had been a very entertaining affair and probably one of Ivory Coast's best performances in the tournament, especially the energy in his game considering his eighth match final that took place on Monday. At the last minute of the first period, Algeria had nine outfield field players to come back in the last 25 meters of the field while they were defending themselves aggressively in order to see half of the head with a advanced.

MISSED PENALTY

Bounedjah only needed 21 seconds of the second half to win a penalty. He forced Konan to make a mistake and was eliminated by goalkeeper Sylvain Gbohouo. The contact was at best minimal, but summed up the fierce test of confrontation with the Qatar-based striker. He raised himself, but could only hit the bar.

After that, Algeria has shown all its abilities in gambling and gambling management, slowing down the process and making a series of mistakes that kill momentum, as they had already done in the past. first half.

When they conceded 62 minutes – their first goal allowed the entire tournament – to create an error. Mahrez gave the ball in midfield, Zaha led a counter and Kodjia opened the score inside Benlamri to make a shot in the opposite corner.

The reaction of the desert foxes was excellent. They immediately increased the intensity of the match, winning several sets and getting close to superb Belaili deliveries. The left wing of the right foot had particularly advanced since the equalizer. He prepared Bounedjah for a great opportunity that Gbohouo managed to save well, then the attacker chose the Mahrez race and the shot on goal is somehow cleared from the line by Bagayoko who recovers.

The last contribution of the moving and moving Algerian striker was to allow Belaili to take a close shot after a solid match-up. It is a real surprise to see Islam Slimani take the place of the attacker shortly after. Despite the pedigree and the record of the latter in his country, it immediately gave Traore and his central replacement, Cheick Comara, an easier time. The Algerian game was simply shallower and with fewer channel pbades, the central defenders were no longer drawn to the center.

The rest of the regulatory time had few positive incidents. With 37 fouls in the 73rd minute and an alternation of substitutions by the time Sangare got into the cramps and Adam Ounas replaced Mahrez for Algeria, the speed was still at the rendezvous.

The clearest route for the Kamara team was through Gradel deliveries from the open sea. His left cross offered Zaha a beautiful opening, but Kodjia continued to find joy in moving away from the pressure and turning to play with his wingers. The man from Villa Aston has also almost given Franck Kessie a chance to succeed in the area with a good pbad.

EXTRA TIME

As is often the case, the extra time has missed many moments of real excitement. Maxwell Cornet came in and had a good shot at Gradel's more service and Comara's headed after the winger's set-play.

Algeria threatened right from Ounas' direct dribble, but as Slimani waited in the box, he needed service and was unable to create opportunities for his teammates like Bounedjah. Wilfried Bony's introduction to Kodjia also gave Côte d'Ivoire less movement and speed and the substitute had no impact other than committing several fouls.

There were still two chances of delay for Algeria since Kessie was selling, Belaili was getting broken between the lines and set up Slimani for a superb opening, but Gbohouo saved superbly. Andy Delort entered the final action to make a free kick that he narrowly placed in front of the post. The match would be settled on penalties, with Algeria winning 4-3.

ABSTRACT

It was a brilliant but less tactical football game and more about the individual talents of the players on both teams and the movement of their attackers (and the lack of movement of their substitutes). Algeria were the best team, using more interactions and combinations of attacks to give more chances to their inverted wingmen, but the removal of the best player of the game in the attacker Bounedjah saw his attack threat diminish .

Prior to this match, Ivory Coast had had a hard time finding a consistent game within Afcon, but seemed more impressive in this match, as Zaha had his best match of the tournament with four chances, and Gradel was superb on both flanks, first cut shoot left, then delivering excellent centers on the right. Like Algeria, the removal of their mobile focal point has reduced the threat to their targets.

This match could easily have made several more goals, but Algeria deserved the win, despite a shortfall, having missed a penalty, forced several excellent saves and made it back in goal. They will face Nigeria in the semifinal on Sunday.