4 factors that help “Al-Abyad” overcome Algeria in the Arab Cup

Athletes and technical analysts have identified four conditions that could help the national football team overcome its Algerian counterpart, the defending champion, tomorrow in the quarter-finals of the Arab Cup in Doha, which are good concentration, fighting spirit, and limiting Algeria’s strengths, in addition to playing with the same intensity with which it played its last match against Kuwait and deserved to win well by three goals to one, noting that the most important technical factors for superiority over Kuwait were tactical discipline, lack of defensive mistakes, and the desire to win. The victory and the brilliance of some players, most notably Yahya Al-Ghassani and Nicholas Jimenez, in addition to exploiting opportunities, in addition to coach Kuzmin’s good reading of the course of the match, and exploiting the weaknesses of the Kuwaiti national team, stressing that the national team was in dire need of this victory, after failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The athletes told Emirates Al-Youm that the upcoming confrontation with Algeria requires mental focus, avoiding mistakes, and stopping the strengths and dangers, especially of the players Radwan Barkan, Adel Boulbena and Yassin Al-Ibrahimi.

Tactical discipline

The technical analyst, Dr. Ahmed Al-Awadhi, confirmed that the team appeared against the Kuwaiti team in a completely different way, and played a high-level match and deserved to win. Al-Awadhi said: “There are main factors behind this strong appearance, which was tactical discipline. We saw a clear commitment to the plan, especially in the process of high pressure and rapid possession of the ball, in addition to the fighting spirit of the players who entered the match with a different spirit, and there was a real desire to win from the first minute, in addition to the balance between the lines, as it was for the first time since For a period we see a clear interconnection between defense, midfield and attack, without leaving those spaces that were costing the team goals. The team also exploited the weaknesses of the Kuwaiti team, through coach Kuzmin reading the opponent correctly, and exploiting the slowness in the heart of the defense and the spaces on the sides.

He continued: “The performance was from (very good) to (excellent) compared to previous periods. The team was cohesive and organized, and knew what it wanted to do with the ball. Even in moments of pressure, it knew how to absorb the attack and begin an organized counterattack.”

Al-Awadhi continued: “One of the positive points for the team in the match was the stability of the defense line for the first time in a while, and this gave the players harmony and understanding among themselves, and based on that we saw how the defense line played with confidence, in addition to the midfield moving in a beautiful way in closing spaces and creating opportunities.”

He continued: “We must not forget the great role of the focal players, in addition to smart offensive moves and excellent use of spaces.”

Al-Awadhi added: “The victory must not make us forget some observations, such as the decline in the last 20 minutes, in addition to wasting some of the opportunities achieved at some times of the match.”

Al-Awadhi stressed the importance of the team being more decisive in front of the goal and scoring from half-chances, and concluded: “If the team maintains the same spirit and discipline with which it played against Kuwait, it will have a great importance in the upcoming matches.”

For his part, the national coach and former international goalkeeper, Moataz Abdullah, said that the most important factor in the team’s superiority over Kuwait was the desire to win, especially after failing to qualify for the World Cup, in addition to the fact that the team was in good attacking form, especially the duo Yahya Al-Ghassani and Nicholas Jimenez after they played a great match, pointing out that the negative point was the team conceding a goal in the same repeated scenario, and he added: “Despite the team’s superiority, the Kuwaiti team appeared in a good manner.” “Humble.”

Mental focus

In turn, the former international player and technical analyst, Ali Masri, said that the national team was in dire need of such a victory and qualification to the second round, after the disappointment in the World Cup qualifiers, indicating that the national team is currently going through the phase of a new generation of distinguished players in the league, and that most of them lack international experience, so they were in dire need of positive results and development at the level of “rumble” in international matches.

Mesri added: “After the Jordan match in the first round, despite the expulsion case among the team, and then the matches between Egypt and Kuwait in the second and third rounds, the team began to move on an upward path on the offensive and defensive levels. You may notice a decrease in defensive errors. We also followed how the team reaches the opponents’ goal in an organized manner and with an appropriate numerical increase.”

He continued: “The decisive factor in the team’s superiority is the players’ experience in managing the course of the matches. The performance in the Kuwait match was more balanced and successful in front of goal.”

Mesri considered that the presence of Jimenez as a pivot and the stabilization of the four-man defense line was one of the biggest gains.

Ali Mesri stressed that confronting Algeria requires mental focus and avoiding mistakes, and then comes the technical and tactical aspects in stopping the danger of Algeria, represented by the front three of Radouane, Adel Boulbina and Yacine Ibrahimi, stressing the team’s ability to overcome Algeria.

---

The four conditions

. Good focus.

. Fighting spirit.

. Limiting Algeria’s strengths.

. Playing with the same intensity during the Kuwait match.

. The national team was in dire need of victory after failing to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

. Among the strengths of the Algerian national team are the players: Redouane Berkane, Adil Boulbena, and Yassine Brahimi.

. The team took advantage of the opportunities against Kuwait well, through coach Kuzmin’s successful technical reading of the match’s events.