West: Mahrez among the best in the world

by Staff Reporter

Saturday Oct 03, 2020. 11:00

Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez has been described as one of the best players in the world by Nigerian legend Taribo West.

This comes after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced that they have organized a friendly match with the African champions, Algeria.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles will face Algeria on October 09, before taking on former African champions Tunisia in another friendly match four days later.

Mahrez, who won the CAF African Footballer of the Year award twice, has lifted the English Premier League title twice with Leicester City and his current club, Manchester City.

“He is a great player, he is in good form and I hope that against Nigeria, we will see him even more efficient to enjoy his technique,” West told Le Buteur.

“I consider him one of the best players in the world, that’s why I’m very happy with the organization of this match.

“Algeria is a great football nation with enormous potential. Yes, of course, I would say it’s a very good thing to organize this friendly match.”

Nigeria will be seeking revenge after losing 2-1 to Algeria in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-finals in Egypt with Mahrez scoring the winning goal in stoppage time.

“Both teams had a great African Cup and now it’s time to review things in each squad. The two teams need to rebuild after having already met in the semi-finals, it is important to see each other in a friendly match,” West added.

“The two teams are very close and have very great players in their workforce. This will allow Nigeria to try to take revenge on Algeria, but the most important thing is to know how to learn from a meeting like this.

“We will see, it will be a friendly match, but Algeria-Nigeria has been and will remain an important meeting for the two teams.”

Algeria will also take on Mexico in a friendly match on October 13 as African teams prepare for the 2021 AFCON qualifiers which are set to take place next month.