Opponent watch: Algeria stars say they don't feel AFCON pressure but wary of Ghana threat

Published on: 07 January 2015
Opponent watch: Algeria stars say they don't feel AFCON pressure but wary of Ghana threat
Algeria's El Arabi Soudani (15) celebrates with teammates after scoring against Slovenia during their international friendly soccer match in Algiers March 5, 2014. REUTERS/Louafi Larbi

Algeria's Afcon 2015 stars say they do not feel pressure and also hint that Ghana will be their toughest challenge in Group C of the tournament.

The 2015 instalment of the African Nations Cup kicks off on January 17 in Equatorial Guinea and Algeria, Ghana, Senegal and South Africa make up the tournament's toughest group.

Algerian right-back Aissa Mandi tells Le Buteur: "We know things won’t be easy in Equatorial Guinea, but we will have to adapt quickly to the conditions of the tournament.

"We are aware that the competition will be tough for the trophy, but we don’t feel any pressure despite our status of favourites. It will even help us to do our job well. We are confident and aware of our potential.”

One of the Algerians who impressed at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, left-back Faouzi Ghoulam, reserved a hint of praise for Ghana.

“We need to prepare well for the Afcon. We will do everything to have a successful Africa Cup. However, we need to be very wary of Ghana in the first round,” Ghoulam says.

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