Algeria's ruthless efficiency in front of goal

Algeria made a powerful statement once again, demolishing Guatemala 7-0 in their first friendly match following the 2025 AFCON on Friday night at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa.

Amine Gouiri (brace), Riyad Mahrez, Houssem Aouar, Achraf Abada, Nadhir Benbouali, and Fares Ghedjemis all found the net in a goal-scoring festival against a Guatemalan side that simply couldn't keep up.

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Through this performance, the Fennecs once again showcased their clinical finishing in front of goal under Vladimir Petkovic, further evidence of the Swiss manager's philosophy centered on attacking football.

In fact, this marks the 14th match with Petkovic at the helm in which Riyad Mahrez and his teammates have scored three or more goals. The team has notched up impressive victories in these outings, notably against Mozambique, Togo, and Liberia—each time with a 5-1 scoreline.

During this run of matches with three or more goals, they've only lost to Sweden (4-3) and drew with South Africa (3-3), where their attacking prowess was let down by defensive frailties.

Petkovic's men have racked up 66 goals in 26 matches, averaging an impressive 2.53 goals per game—promising and exciting statistics looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup.

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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