Djibouti out to shock high-flying Algeria

Djibouti will square off with Algeria in their penultimate 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification Group A match at the Cairo International Stadium in Egypt on Friday.

Kick-off is at 3:00 pm CAT.

With their ambitions of reaching next year's World Cup finals having long ended, the Shoremen of the Red Sea are hoping to cause one of the biggest upsets in the history of African football by ending Algeria's 31-match unbeaten run.

The Shoremen of the Red Sea are placed fourth on the Group A standings having lost all of their four matches including a 4-0 win over Burkina FA away in their last game on October 11.

Souleiman Hassan Waberi, the Djiboutian Football Federation president, urged his charges to defend the honor of their nation with aggression. 

"You represent the Republic of Djibouti then I invite you to act as such and to honor our nation by defending it with aggression," Waberi said. 

"Today you have the support of the President of the Republic, His Excellency Ismail Omar Guelleh, from the First Lady, from the government as well as all Djiboutians." 

Meanwhile, Algeria, who are the reigning African champions, kept their qualifying campaign on track by hammering a hapless Niger side 4-0 away on October 12.

The Desert Foxes are placed at the top of the Group A standings - level on points with Burkina Faso with both teams left with two matches each. 

Djamel Belmadi, the Algeria head coach, explained that they will use their clash against Djibouti as preparation for their encounter against Burkina Faso on November 16.

"Respecting Djibouti is a matter of professionalism. This meeting will also serve, of course, to prepare the one against Burkina Faso in terms of playing time, yellow cards, tactical plans," Belmadi said. 

"Do you want to know if I will field the big team against Djibouti? It doesn’t matter which players are going to play, we will be competitive. I can’t tell you who will play." 

This will be the second meeting between Djibouti and Algeria across all competitions.

The Desert Foxes annihilated the Shoremen of the Red Sea 8-0 in a Group A match which was played in Algeria on September 2.