Halilhodzic sells “illusion” to Algerians

Algeria Coach Vahid Halilhodzic complained Thursday about Gambian referee in Tuesday’s match for banning a penalty kick for the national team. He said he bears all the responsibility for defeat against Tunisia but he refused to admit his mistakes and tactical choices.

“Lay the blame on me and leave the players alone”

Speaking about the match in a press conference, Halilhodzic asked journalists to hold him responsible for the defeat against Tunisia. “I am in front of you. Do to me whatever you want but leave the players alone please!” he said.

“We have prepared this match for three months. The defeat was a shock. We spent a bad night and it was difficult to us to wake up on the following day. Yet, I talked to the players and encouraged them. I asked them to forget what happened and focus on coming matches. They seemed motivated and resolved to catch up the situation in the match against Togo.”

He also said he felt “sorry for fans who travelled thousands of kilometers to support us in the match.”

Tunisia would have been happy with draw and we missed four goals at least

The Bosnian coach said Tunisian players were realistic and some Algerian players were naïve. “Tunisia would have been happy if the match ended in a draw. We missed four goals at least. Even the referee made huge mistakes. He deprived us of legitimate penalty kick for Feghouli and he did not want to show a red card to Tunisia’s defender who had hit him for many times. I believe the referee also banned a penalty kick for Tunisia.”

Halilhodzic recognizes mistakes to not rely on experienced players

Algeria coach said the national team controlled the game but the “end was very hurting. I have warned them of palyer N° 7 (Msakni, who score the victory goal) for more than 50 times. Our players made mistakes because they did not have enough experience.”

“Some of our players were naïve and they could have given more than what you watched. I think that an experienced team can never receive such a goal,” he added.