Algeria coach Rabah Saadane says his side's destiny is in their own hands ahead of their clash with USA.
Algeria boss targets progression from Group C
Algeria coach Rabah Saadane says his side's destiny is in their own hands ahead of their crunch Group C clash with USA on Wednesday.
Saadane's side go into the game bottom of the group after an opening 1-0 defeat to Slovenia followed by the goalless stalemate with England.
Algeria must win against America to progress, with a two goal victory guaranteeing them a last 16 spot, while a success by one goal would see them needing a helping hand from either England or Slovenia in the other Group C finale.
Saadane believes his side can do it, saying: "It's a difficult group. At the beginning England were the favourites but now every team has its destiny in its own hands.
"We have a match to play and we'll try to do our best and get the victory."
Strong hint
The Algeria boss gave a strong hint that he will stick with the same line-up that held England to a 0-0 draw last time out.
"We have two options, the first and most plausible one is that I'll stick with the team that gave such a good performance," he said.
"But the second option is that I'll change a forward. I'll put my best team out there to play against the USA and we'll give it our best shot to do even better than we did against England."
The Desert Foxes' boss, whose team is mostly made up of French-born players of Algerian origin, said his side have a whole continent and the Arabic-speaking world behind them in the clash, although he denied that they would also have to represent France, who were knocked out on Tuesday.
"We already have a lot of responsibility as we're representing Africa and the Arab world, we don't want any more responsibility," he joked.
"It's a shame for France as there's a great connection between the two countries."
Yahia confident
Meanwhile, Algeria captain Antar Yahia believes the side can kick on from their England showing and get the result they need.
"After the way we played against England we're confident that we're playing well," he said.
"We've already played in important matches like the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualifying and that's a reference for us.
"We don't need to put extra pressure on ourselves, we have faith. It'll be a tough match but we hope to get the win. We've got the ability to show Algerian football in a good light."
