Riyad Mahrez: Algeria Knew Guinea Would Be Tough To Beat

Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez says they knew it would not be easy to beat Guinea in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations last-16 match on Sunday.

The Manchester City midfielder scored a goal for the Desert Foxes in their ultimately comfortable 3-0 win against Guinea at the 30 June Stadium

Youcef Belaili put Algeria ahead on the 24^th minute and the former Africa Player of the Year Mahrez added the second in the 57^th minute, with second-half substitute Adam Gross completing the rout with eight minutes remaining.

“We knew Guinea was not going to be an easy opponent but as I said before, we were very serious and very solid. We did not concede a goal and when you do not concede goals you have more chances to win,” Mahrez told reporters as translated from French.

“We will take each match seriously as we want to go as far as possible. We will watch the game between Mali and Ivory Coast to know our next opponent.”

With hosts Egypt and Morocco suffering stunning last-16 losses, many pundits are tipping Algeria to go all the way and add to their lone title, won in 1990.

The North Africans are the only nation among the 10 survivors boasting a 100 per cent record having beaten Kenya, highly-rated Senegal and Tanzania in group matches to reach the knockout phase.

Algeria will face the Ivory Coast or Mali in a quarter-final in Suez Thursday then, if successful, Nigeria or South Africa for a place in the July 19 final.