Written by Rick John Henry for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
Algeria vs Russia | Thursday 26 June | Arena da Baixada, Curitiba | 22:00
Fans of African football haven’t had it easy at the world’s greatest footballing showpiece. Cameroon were dumped unceremoniously out of the competition in a heated group, while Ivory Coast suffered a cruel twist of fate at the hands of referee Carlos Vera, who awarded what must be considered a soft penalty in the dying minutes to hand Greece their salvation. Algeria have the weight of African expectation on their shoulders heading into this contest with a pragmatic Russian side. Algeria were pipped at the post against star-studded Belgium before dishing out a comprehensive performance against lower-ranked Korea. This is a clash of relative equals, only Mexico and Bosnia-Herzegovina separating 19th world-ranked Russia from 22nd ranked Algeria.
To Win (90mins)
Algeria 26/10
Draw 9/4
Russia 21/20
Algeria
The Fennec Foxes have given an admirable account of themselves so far in the tournament, their 4-2 demolition of Korea a testament to their work ethic. The scoreline probably wasn’t an accurate reflection of the composure showed throughtout the match by Algeria, who were caught on the counter by the mobile Asian nation to shell those two goals. In a first-half display that would’ve had Korean coach Hong Myung-bo wondering where it all went wrong, Algeria blasted their way to a 3-0 lead with goals from Islam Slimani, Rafik Halliche and Abdelmoumene Djabou. El Arabi Soudani lead Algeria’s attack against Belgium instead of Islam Slimani, who many believe is the country’s star striker, but the Sporting Lisbon frontman was on hand to gift the Algerians the lead against Korea with a display of strength and pace. Slimani should find himself in the starting eleven again against Russia, as Algeria continue to employ a lone striker strategy. Sofiane Feghouli, Algeria’s main creative force, will look to open up Russia’s stoic defence which has shipped only two goals all competition. He was called upon to put away the penalty awarded against Belgium, Algeria’s first goal in the World Cup since 1986. The Fennec Foxes were also the first African country in history to score four goals or more in a World Cup fixture during their rout of Korea. A draw here should see the country through to their first World Cup Round of 16, provided Belgium seal the deal against Korea.
Russia
Fabio Capello’s conservative Russian side knows that only victory will suffice if they have any intention of moving forward in the competition. A draw with Korea and a loss to Belgium does not bode well for the Siberians, whose only goal so far has come from substitute Alexander Kerzhakov as a result of poor Korean goalkeeping. Russia’s own ‘keeper Igor Akinfeev gifted the Koreans the lead only moments earlier with an absolute howler, failing to hold onto a 30 yard strike from Lee Keun-Ho and spilling it into his own net. A worrying stat for the Russian side comes attached to their manager: Capello has failed to win in his last four World Cup fixtures, two with Russia and two with England in 2010. The Italian manager has also drawn three of his six matches at the finals. The defensive-minded Capelo would do best to utilise the attacking talents of Alan Dzagoev and Kerzhakov from the start, lest Russia land up chasing yet another game in the dying minutes. The loss of captain Roman Shirokov was a huge blow prior to the tournament and without sterner leadership, Russia may find themselves falling into World Cup 2014 anonymity.
VERDICT: Draw 9/4
Russia go into the clash as favourites but I have yet to see anything from the side that suggests they can push their lethargic football into a higher gear. Algeria were inspirational against Korea and look organised defensively, happy to push forward on the counter. While they may not have enough to beat the Russians, they will certainly make a game of it. Back the draw or, for those more wary, back under 2.5 goals at 13/20.
