By: Onyekachi Chimezie
The Super Eagles of Nigeria will lock horns with two-time African champions Algeria in an international friendly slated for September 27, in Oran, a port city in the northwestern part of Algeria.
The encounter will take place as the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) scrambles to find a replacement for 2022 World Cup-bound Ghana for their second match during the international game window in September.
The 3-time African Champions have lost their last three encounters with Algeria, with their last victory dating back to a 3-1 home triumph in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in November 2016. This will be the 22nd time these two teams have faced off since their first encounter in 1973.
The match on September 27 was the second friendly between the two countries; the first came in Austria in October 2020 and resulted in a 1-0 victory for Algeria thanks to a goal from defender Ramy Bensebaini of Borussia Monchengladbach in the sixth minute.
Riyad Mahrez 89th minute goal was decided when both teams last met in the AFCON 2019 semi-final, ended 2-1 in favour of the Fennec Foxes, Williams Troost-Ekong own goal was cancelled out from the spot by Odion Ighalo before Mahrez winner which sent the Fennec Foxes into the final where they won 1-0 against Senegal.
Due to their two-legged playoff losses against Cameroon and Ghana, the two nations were unable to advance to the Qatar World Cup in 2022.
The Super Eagles’ second opponent is still unknown. Algeria, who also failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, will play Guinea in another friendly on September 24 as the first of their two scheduled international friendlies.
