Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi has glowingly hailed his players’ hard work that ensured that they won their second Africa Cup of Nations trophy after 29 year hiatus.
The Desert Foxes edged out the Teranga Lions of Senegal 1-0 in Friday’s AFCON 2019 final at the Cairo International Stadium to bag their second Africa title
The last time Algeria won the AFCON title was as hosts in 1990. And Belmadi lauds his players for working so hard to win it again for the country, this time on foreign land.
Baghdad Bounedjah scored the solitary match winner in the second minute of the match when his strike was deflected into the net by Salif Sane, and the hard-fighting Teranga Lions chased the game in vain till the end.
“Since 1990, it has been a long, empty passage. We are a football country. We deserve it, I think.
“It was a very complicated match, very difficult. We knew that it was going to be decided on a small detail. And the boys held on.”
Belmadi added: “With the tournament we had, with better attack and better defence, what more? But without the players, I am nothing.
“We tend to forget that they are the main protagonists. They are the ones who play, who apply the instructions. They did it wonderfully if not better.”
