- Algeria were holding a behind-closed-doors training session in Bouaké
- The session was interrupted by a drone they believed was spying on them
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Algeria were involved in espionage drama on the eve of the Africa Cup of Nations after a drone was flown over their training session.
The Fennec Foxes, whose squad contains the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Islam Slimani and Ismael Bennacer, were preparing for their group opener against Angola on Monday.
They held a behind-closed-doors training session in their Ivorian base of Bouaké earlier this week.
During the practice, a drone was noticed flying over the pitch, raising suspicions someone was spying on Djamel Belmadi and his players.
Video on social media showed police apparently questioning the man piloting the drone.
A report by DZfoot did suggest, however, that the drone operator was an Ivorian who had been employed by Algerian media.
Nonetheless, it was a distraction for Belmadi who, according to So Foot, had demanded his training sessions ahead of the tournament be filmed as little as possible.
That also applied to their two warm-up matches against Togo and Burundi, played in Lomé, Togo, which resulted in 3-0 and 4-0 wins for Algeria respectively.
Algeria, who didn’t get past the group stage at the last AFCON, clearly want to leave nothing to chance this time as they aim to replicate their 2019 success.
They will play all three group games in Bouaké, taking on Angola on Monday then Burkina Faso on January 20 and Mauritania on January 23.
The bookmakers have Algeria as fourth favourites to win the tournament behind Morocco, Senegal and the hosts Ivory Coast.
The big kick-off is on Saturday night when Ivory Coast take on Guinea-Bissau.
Algeria didn’t lose a single match in 2023, winning nine and drawing three of their dozen matches in AFCON and World Cup qualification plus friendlies.
Former Manchester City winger Mahrez, who now plays in Saudi Arabia for Al-Ahli, will captain Algeria and could well be one of the tournament’s stand-out players.
Aissa Mandi of Villarreal and Ramy Bensebaini of Borussia Dortmund form a trustworthy centre-back pairing, while Algeria boast AC Milan’s Bennacer and ex-Tottenham player Nabil Bentley – who now plays for Lille – in midfield.
They also have Roma midfielder Houssem Aouar, who came close to joining Arsenal a couple of years back, in their ranks after he switched international allegiance from France.
