The coach of the Algerian national team, Vladimir Petkovic, praised the great development witnessed by African football, and the strength of its major competitions such as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, which he said is a very wonderful competition, full of surprises, as happened in the last edition in Côte d’Ivoire, at the beginning of this year.
The Bosnian coach, who will take his first steps with the “Fennecs” in the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025, TotalEnergies, by facing the Equatorial Guinea national team, on Thursday, September 5, in Oran, then meeting the Liberian national team, in Monrovia, on Tuesday, September 10, spoke about the importance of the first two exits in the qualifiers for the Algerian national team.
Petkovic also revealed in his exclusive interview with the website: CAFonline.com، About his personal ambitions with the Algerian national team at the present time, and many other things.
The start of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in Morocco, TotalEnergies, is approaching. How are your preparations for this stage?
The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers are important for us and we will face valuable opponents. We are now preparing for the first two matches in the qualifiers during this difficult stage, which falls during the month of September, because the players are not fully prepared, and so we are working on this aspect, in order to achieve victory in the two matches.
You will face Equatorial Guinea and Liberia in the first two matches, how do you see your opponents?
The first match against Equatorial Guinea is very important for us. We will face a competitor who proved in the last Africa Cup of Nations finals, TotalEnergies, that they are a team with value, and they have 6 or 7 players who play in European clubs with a level. It is true that we are favourites on paper to win the match, but we must show that we deserve to win.
As for the Liberia match, it is a completely different encounter from the first one, because we will play the match on an artificial pitch, and we will prepare for 3 days after our first match for this match, which will be played on a difficult pitch.
You have already learned about the African atmosphere with the Algerian national team, through your first two matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, last June. What can you say about African football?
African football is very different from European football, that’s for sure, African football is more combative, currently African football is witnessing great development, This is what we saw in the last TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, which was at a good level.
What can you say about the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations competition?
The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations is a very great competition, and we saw that in the last edition, where there were big surprises, especially after the coronation of the Ivorian team, which was almost eliminated in the group stage, sometimesYou need to create an opportunity that comes with a lot of work and sacrifice.
What are your ambitions with the Algerian national team at the present time?
The first thing I want to achieve from the beginning is to create a group that is positive, and wants to play together in the national team, and then we move on to other things like the tactical side, in order to… Make sacrifices and make all Algerians proud.
He addressed a word to the Algerian fans who are expecting a lot from him. Her team
The Algerian fans expect a lot from their team, just as I expect from this team. We will do everything to prepare well and give the opportunity to other players. We will also strive, along with the Algerian Football Federation, to play in different regions and stadiums in the country, to give the Algerian fans the opportunity to be close to their team. It is important for us to do all these things during all our outings, in the hope of making the Algerian people proud.
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