Algerian Military has offered six military airplanes to transport fans to Egypt for the African Cup of Nations semifinals encounter against Nigeria in Cairo tonight.
About 7000 fans are expected in Egypt today to support the Desert Foxes.
The North Africans triumphed over Cote d’Ivoire on penalties to secure a place in the last four while the Super Eagles defeated South Africa in a fiercely contested quarter-final game.
The Algerian government is ready to do just about anything, including the setting aside of a fleet of commercial planes to transport supporters eager to attend the game.
But if history is any indication, the Greens are in for a tough challenge, having last beaten Nigeria in the final of the 1990 tournament that sealed Algeria’s first and only continental trophy.
In 2017, Nigeria’s Super Eagles beat a somewhat disoriented Algerian side, that had seen six coaches pushed out within two years, to reach the 2018 World Cup.
“They were fragile at the time,” said Nigeria’s head coach Gernot Rohr.
“We beat them 3-1 [in 2017] and there were loads of individual mistakes. They made it easy for us … In the return match also, they were fragile … Now, they are solid,” he said, referring to the Algerian side which was recently voted the best team in the tournament’s group stage by the tournament organisers.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
