Algeria's solid defensive record will likely be tested in
their second FIFA World Cup preparation friendly against Armenia on Saturday.
In the build-up to their Group H opener against Belgium
on June 17, Vahid Halilhodzic has seen his side secure a 2-0 friendly win over
Slovenia, having qualified for the World Cup on away goals against Burkina
Faso.
Algeria suffered a rare defensive off-day in Ouagadougou
but made it through after their 1-0 second-leg win.
Halilhodzic's defence has been breached in just one of
their last four outings - something that will offer confidence to Algeria as
they seek to improve on a disappointing showing in South Africa four years ago.
They picked up just one point in 2010 while failing to
score and face a tricky task in Brazil against experienced sides such as Belgium,
South Korea and Russia.
Another clean sheet against Armenia, as well as some
offensive joy, could both happen against Armenia - who showed their defensive
weaknesses and their attacking threat against the UAE in midweek.
Bernard Challandes' men won through in a seven-goal
thriller - but goals from Ali Khaled Al Amri, Mohamed Abdulrahman and Salem
Saleh in Carouge will fill Algeria's forwards with hope.
Skipper Madjid Bougherra and his fellow defenders will
also be able to test themselves out against some offensive quality at the Stade
de Tourbillon in Sion - such as Borussia Dortmund's Henrikh Mkhitaryan and
striker Yura Movsisyan - prolific in the Russian Premier League for Spartak
Moscow.
Challandes will take charge of his third friendly at the
helm of the Armenian national side with the UAE defeat showing the first signs
of positivity after an initial defeat to Russia.
His decision to broaden the scope of which players to
call up appears to be paying dividends and victory over Algeria in the nations'
first meeting would certainly give Armenia a boost ahead of their Euro 2016
qualifying campaign, which gets under way in September.
For Algeria, their Armenian test will be the second of
three friendlies against European opposition ahead of their clash with Belgium
and players will be well aware that Halilhodzic has yet to trim his squad down
to 23.
Yacine Brahimi is one Algeria player refusing to take his
place for granted, telling FIFA.com: "I'm not there yet but it's very
satisfying to be one of the players under consideration.
"And no matter who goes in the end, the team will be
giving its all. The Algerian people are proud but demanding too. The team has
responsibilities and it will have to shoulder them.
"It's a very tough group, with an excellent Belgium
team, not to mention Russia and Korea Republic, who are both regular
finalists."
Culled from Soccerway
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