Algeria head coach Djamel Belmadi wants his side to be more clinical when they face Niger in the return leg of their 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header at the Hammadi Agrebi Stadium in Tunis on Monday.
Kick-off is at 6pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)
The Fennec Foxes bossed proceedings in the first encounter at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Baraki on Thursday, although they had to battle back from behind to claim a 2-1 victory against the Menas.
Daniel Sosah opened the scoring against the run of play in the 38th minute but the hosts equalised through Rahim Alhassane's own-goal on 54 minutes before Riyad Mahrez's 88th-minute winner maintained their 100 per cent record in Group F.
The North Africans could have put the game to bed earlier, with Belmadi admitting they lacked a cutting edge in front of goal after hitting the target just five times from the 11 chances created.
"We need to improve on the finishing when we face Niger again next week," he said after the win, which took the two-time African champions five points clear of Tanzania at the top of the group.
Algeria had won three of their five friendlies in 2022 since the June Afcon qualifiers but came into Thursday's tie on the back of a 1-1 draw with Mali and a 2-1 defeat to Sweden in November.
Belmadi praised the performances of the new players after handing debuts to Rayan Ait-Nouri, Badredine Bouanani and Fares Chaibi in the clash with Niger.
"I would have liked these young players to be incorporated in better playing conditions. But fate would have it otherwise," he acknowledged.
"They appeared on the pitch at a crucial moment when Algeria were looking to score that second goal, synonymous with victory. And frankly, they were decisive, it's very good for them. It's a historic moment when you wear the national jersey for the first time. We only feel pride."
The Menas need a result in Tunisia to keep their Afcon 2023 hopes alive as they trail Tanzania by two points in third place with three matches left to play.
Jean-Michel Cavalli's team drew 1-1 with the Taifa Stars on matchday 1 before playing out to the same scoreline against Uganda four days later and they are still seeking their first win in the qualifiers.
Cavalli believes there is enough quality in his squad to get the job done in the Tunisian capital after a promising display against their more fancied opponents last time out.
"It's cruel and dramatic for Niger because we have just missed out on a feat with the ball from 2 to 0," he said the post-match press conference.
"We have what needed to be done. We scored the first goal in a very studied way. We had a good game, I'm not going to say that we deserved to win. I think Niger have made a lot of progress because they have just lost on a tight score. This was not the case before."