Belmadi: “I Shoulder Responsibility For Outcome And My Dictionary Doesn’t Include The Word “Surrender”
At the Japoma Olympic Complex in Douala, Cameroon, the Greens of Algeria played their first match of the 33rd edition of the African nations cup (CAN 2022). An appointment so much awaited by many people; experts, footballers and especially the supporters of the national football team.
Unfortunately, in this first match against Sierra Leone, the players of both teams left the field after a draw (0-0). Following this unexpected score, the national team coach Djamel Belmadi did not fail to recall his inalienable confidence in the national football squad. In the post-match press conference, Belmadi declared “the match was easy at the beginning, but this ease was obstructed by the game of the opposing team, but also by the scorching heat and high humidity”.
In the same vein, he mentioned other difficulties “we faced several difficulties, including a team that had a lot of energy, having for main objective not to receive goals in its nets, and it was indeed the case,” he explained, adding that the players unfortunately failed to locate and take advantage of the weaknesses of their Sierra Leone opponents in order to score goals.
The opponents of the Greens, today, focused on the defensive side, which hindered the mindset of the team that Belmadi recalled “a mindset that consists of working for victory, which we did not manage to accomplish today,” he lamented in the conference held after the game.
Regarding the rest of the national team’s career, Belmadi said that his dictionary does not include the terms “surrender” and throwing the towel, stressing that he will work hard to catch up against Equatorial Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire, and return to the path of victories.
Belmadi also referred to the next match versus Equatorial Guinea, a crucial match where victory is essential according to the head coach of the Algerian national team, who wants to rectify the mistakes of the players made on the pitch today, to get out of an “early” worry, at this stage of the competition.
