A second half penalty converted by Baghdad Bounedjah was all that Algeria needed to beat Tunisia 1-0 in an international friendly match at the Stade Mustapha Tchaker on Tuesday night.
Algeria fielded Manchester City forward Riyad Mahrez and Galatasaray midfielder Sofiane Feghouli to face a Tunisian side without Esperance players released from camp ahead of Friday’s Caf Super Cup.
The team's struggled to breach each other until the 70th minute when Bounedjah beat Farouk Ben Mustapha from the spot to decide the contest as the two teams prepared for June’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals.
It was revenge for the Algerian Desert Foxes who were beaten 2-1 by Tunisia at the 2017 Afcon tournament group stage.
Tunisia got into Tuesday's match fresh from smashing eSwatini 4-0 in an Afcon qualifier last weekend, while Algeria had been held 1-1 at home by Gambia.
Despite Tunisia’s loss to Algeria, they are still regarded as one of the teams to watch at the Afcon finals after finishing at the top of Group J in the qualifying round ahead of second-placed Egypt.
Tunisia’s experience from the 2018 Fifa World Cup and in Egypt during the group stage, will serve them well in the tournament.
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