Belmadi hails 'extraordinary, historic' Algeria victory

Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi lauded his players and claimed they deserved their Africa Cup of Nations success after a narrow final win.

Baghdad Bounedjah (centre) celebrates after scoring Algeria's opening goal. Photo: AP

Djamel Belmadi revelled in Algeria's "extraordinary, historic" Africa Cup of Nations final victory over Senegal.

Algeria became champion of Africa on foreign soil for the first time — adding to its 1990 success as host — thanks to Baghdad Bounedjah's decisive, deflected second-minute strike.

Belmadi believes his side deserved its triumph but deflected praise onto his players. "It's extraordinary. It's historic," he told

beIN Sports . "This is the first Cup of Nations we have won outside our borders.

 

"Since 1990, it has been a long, empty passage. We are a football country. We deserve it, I think. It was a very complicated match, very difficult. We knew that it was going to be decided on a small detail. And the boys held on.

"With the tournament we had, with better attack and better defence, what more? But without the players, I am nothing. We tend to forget that they are the main protagonists. They are the ones who play, who apply the instructions. They did it wonderfully — if not better."