Algeria will face a familiar foe on
Tuesday night during their Africa
Cup of Nations opener against
Tunisia. The two sides have met
each other 47 times and the
North African giants form part of what has been termed the 'group
of death', with Togo and Cote
d'Ivoire completing the roster in
Group D. Algeria has been developed into a
potent unit by coach Valid
Halilhodzic, who has led a
resurgent side since their
disappointing 2010 World Cup
campaign. Halilhodzic has seen his side climb to second in Africa in
the rankings, with an impressive
win record in 2012. Valencia's Sofiane Feghouli is
Algeria's trump card in the
midfield, with the player showing
class both in attack and defence.
The Liga star will use bring his
experience of playing in one of the most competitive leagues in
the world as an advantage on
Tuesday night. Tunisia since their 2004 Africa Cup
of Nations victory have not been
prolific and coach Sami Trabelsi is
under pressure to at least secure
a semi-final berth for his side. However, they will face a tough
task in overcoming their
opponents in Group D and if their
stuttering qualification campaign
is anything to go by, Tunisia
should be considered as outsiders against rivals Algeria. The form of youngster Youssef
Msakni will be relied upon by the
Tunisians, as the 22-year-old's
attacking midfield role is vital to
the side's chances during the
tournament. Leading scorer Issam Jemaa, who
has scored 34 times for Tunisia,
will also be a leading figure for
the side and has been in hot form
in the build-up to the Afcon after
scoring four goals against Ghana and Iraq. Neither side has experienced any
injury qualms during preparations
for the tournament, with both
teams relying on their strength in
depth in the midfield, which should
be the most important area of the pitch during the match. The two North African giants
have a solid knowledge of each
other's style of football, while
Tunisia's goalkeeping coach
Mohamed Nacer believes that his
side will know how to combat every team in Group D. "In football, there is no such thing
as a difficult group. If you want to
win the cup you have be
prepared to play against all
teams. For us, we are familiar
with Ivory Coast, Togo and Algeria. We know them because
we played against them in the
past. I think the first game is
going to be very important for
everyone," Nacer told reporters. "Algeria and Tunisia know each
other very well. The game against
them is very important since it is
the first in this group, and every
team looks forward to winning
the first match," he said. Both sides will see the opening
fixture as a vital beginning to
their Africa Cup of Nations
campaign, as Group D does not
get any easier for either side as
the tournament progresses.