Algeria have picked up the pieces since their World Cup qualifying heartbreak back in March, when they were beaten on the away-goal rule by Cameroon following a 2-2 aggregate draw.
Having claimed a 1-0 away win on March 25, Cameroon’s Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored 22 minutes into the second leg four days later to force extra time, before Karl Toko Ekambi netted in the 124th minute to cancel out Ahmed Touba’s 111st-minute strike and hand the Indomitable Lions a dramatic win.
Since then, the Greens have won each of their six outings, including consecutive victories over Uganda and Tanzania in Group F of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, where they currently sit top of the group table with a four-point cushion over second-placed Niger.
Djamel Belmadi’s side head into Tuesday’s contest fresh off the back of a 1-0 friendly victory over Guinea when the sides locked horns at the Miloud Hadefi Olympic Complex last weekend.
With nothing to separate both sides heading into the final 10 minutes of the game, Manchester City star Riyad Mahrezteed up Islam Slimani, who tucked home the only goal of the game to hand Algeria a slender victory and see off the Syli National.
Nigeria, on the other hand, failed to secure their place in the 2022 Africa Nations Championship as they were beaten on penalties by Ghana on September 3, following a 2-2 aggregate draw.
Having lost 2-0 in Cape Coast Stadium on August 28, Jose Peseiro’s men returned to the MKO Abiola National Stadium six days later where they claimed a 2-0 victory over the Black Stars before losing 5-4 on penalties.
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Prior to that, Nigeria had picked up two wins from two in Group A of the 2023 AFCON qualifiers, seeing off Sierra Leone 2-1 on June 9 before claiming an emphatic 10-0 victory over Sao Tome and Principe four days later.
The Super Eagles, who also failed to secure their place in Qatar after they were beaten by Ghana on the away goal rule in March, head into Tuesday winless in six of their last nine games across all competitions, losing four and picking up two draws in that time.
Next up for Nigeria is the challenge of going up against an Algeria side who have won each of their last three meetings, scoring six goals and conceding once since a 3-1 loss in November 2016.
