CHAN quarter-final fixtures:
Friday, 27 January 2023
*Algeria vs Cote D’Ivoire – Nelson Mandela Stadium, Baraki (7pm)
*Senegal vs Mauritania – 19 May 1956 Stadium, Annaba (10pm)
Saturday, 28 January 2023
*Madagascar vs Mozambique – Stade Chahid Hamlaoui, Constantine (7pm)
*Niger vs Ghana – Miloud Hadefi Stadium, Oran (10pm)
Algeria will be seeking for a place in the semifinals as they take on Ivory Coast in the first quarterfinals of the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN).
The game at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Baraki, pits together the hosts and Group B runners up Ivory Coast.
Algeria were perfect in their run out of the group stage, topping Group A with six points after 1-0 wins over Libya, Ethiopia and Mozambique.
And it promises to be a tough hurdle for Ivory Coast who will be targeting to bleach Algeria’s defence for the first time in this competition.
The hosts have all it takes to win the championship for the very first time, with their only other appearance in this competition coming way back in 2011 (Sudan) when they finished fourth.
They have a good squad with a couple of players having lived as advertised. Aymen Mahious has scored two goals, including the tournament’s opener.
While the trio of goalkeeper Alexis Guendouz, Chouaib Keddad and Houssem Mrezigue were named on the CAF CHAN group of the group stages.
They will be pushed across the line by a vocal home crowd, and with former winners Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Congo not in Algeria at this stage, Algeria will that the title is theirs to lose.
In Ivory Coast, they face a resilient side that needed a 3-1 win over Uganda Cranes on the last day of the group B to qualify to the knockout.
Ivory Coast started the day at the bottom of the group with just a point after defeat to Senegal and a draw with DR Congo, but they thrashed then leaders Uganda in a performance to remember.
Souhalio Haidara, Coach of the Ivorians, will be demanding for another outstanding performance if his side is to upset the hosts.
Ivory Coast are competing at their fifth CHAN tournament, and this is the second time they are playing at the knockout after reaching the semis in 2017 Rwanda.
They will be banking on ASEC Mimosas youngster Sankara Karamoko to shoulder the scoring burden.
The winner of this tie will meet the winner between Niger and Ghana, at the semis as the teams target a trip to Saturday (February 4) final.
