Madjer writes off Algeria

Rabeh Madjer wants to see younger players Algiers - Khaled Alloush Algerian football expert Rabeh Madjer has ruled out Algeria's chances of winning next month's African Cup of Nations. He says that the lack of preparation for the tournament, along with injuries will be a major factor in South Africa. Madjer has backed South Africa and Ivory Coast as two of the teams who could potentially win the tournament, which gets underway on January 19. He claimed that Algeria are in a "difficult group," with the other teams leading the way when it comes to playing a modern brand of football. He added that the Algerian team's formation is unclear with just three weeks to go before kick-off. He encouraged the Algerian Football Association to promote grassroots football and pick local players who are playing well in the Algerian league, alongside players in the foreign leagues.   Algeria are in group D with Ivory Coast, Tunisia and Togo. Their first match is on January 22 against Tunisia.