The rivalry between both countries has always been intense, but this time there are widespread fears that the Algerian fans' reaction to a home loss could be way beyond football fanaticism.

Algeria coach Rabeh Saadane burst into tears during a recent news conference as he was urging local authorities to give his family the proper protection from football maniacs.

The Egyptian residents in the North African country are not less afraid of bearing the brunt of the Algerian fans' wrath in case the Desert Foxes succumbed to a defeat.

I wonder how the Egyptian players are supposed to keep a grip on themselves after reading about people filled with horror over the eagerly-anticipated match.

Hassan Shehata's men are facing more hazard than anyone else, and the only thing they can do is to hope for stepped up security measures.

The Algerian supporters want their team to win at any cost, and they would never settle for a defeat or even a draw in the critical qualifying match.

In addition to the fierce competition between both countries and the great importance of the qualifier, there is another reason why the Algerian football fanatics are totally out of control.

Ibrahim Hassan has definitely increased the Algerians' open hostility to the Egyptians when he flew off the handle after Masri's defeat at Algerian outfit JSM Bejaia last December.

The former Egypt star, who was Masri's football director at the time, wreaked havoc after his team slumped to a 2-0 loss, and repeatedly made improper gestures towards the home crowd.

Now the Algerian fans want to show their neighbors the same courtesy in Sunday's game.

As a matter of fact, they are trying to intimidate the Egyptian players and make them stumble on their concerns for safety by turning the game into an ill-tempered affair even before the kickoff.

The African champions could well crack under that immense pressure, unless they realized and accepted the fact that a war zone is what Moustapha Tchaker Stadium is going to be.