Mahrez not Algeria’s only threat – Ibrahim Kamara

by Graeme Jackson

Thursday Jul 11, 2019. 09:00

Ivory Coast coach Ibrahim Kamara says Riyad Mahrez is not Algeria’s only threat ahead of the teams’ 2019 Africa Cup of Nations clash.

The Elephants and the Fennec Foxes will meet in the third quarterfinal in Suez this evening.

Manchester City star Mahrez has enjoyed an excellent tournament for Algeria thus far and he is rightly being seen as a key figure for the match.

Yet Kamara insists that the winger is but one of several impressive Algerian players who could derail Ivory Coast’s hopes of winning a second AFCON title in the past four and a half years.

“Algeria is a great team. They do not play only with Riyad Mahrez. If so, the other players would stay in the locker room,” Kamara said. “We will face a team that’s difficult to handle.

“Djamel Belmadi has done an excellent job since he was made coach. I will not go so far as to say that I would have liked to avoid Algeria, because at this stage of the competition we have no choice.

“To be able to go all the way in this tournament, you have to play seven matches. We’ve played four, there are still three to go.

“Algeria is a great team, playing for the final coronation. We have our idea about the Algerian team, that is collectively strong with very good individuals.”