Bougherra on his toes for Egypt tie, Ziani doubtful

Algeria defender Madjid Bougherra is held in eager anticipation by his country's imminent World Cup qualifier with Egypt, while his teammate Karim Ziani is still doubtful for the game.

كتب : Sherif Tarek

الإثنين، 01 يونيو 2009 - 15:31
Algeria defender Madjid Bougherra is held in eager anticipation by his country's imminent World Cup qualifier with Egypt, while his teammate Karim Ziani is still doubtful for the game.

Bougherra had a terrific season with Scotland's Glasgow Rangers, who claimed a domestic double this year.

However, the 26-year-old believes his spectacular run with Rangers will be of no avail if the Desert Foxes lose to the Pharaohs.

"I did my best with Rangers, and I'm really happy for that," he told Al-Shorouk paper. "But my happiness won't be complete unless I do the same for Algeria.

"Beating Egypt will be a huge morale boost and motive to qualify for the World Cup. But if we lose, all my personal accolades will be meaningless."

Algeria host Egypt on June 7th in Group C of the World Cup qualifying stage.

Final Decision

On the other hand, Marseille's Ziani is yet to recuperate from an abdominal injury, which might prevent him from taking part in the eagerly-awaited qualifier.

The influential midfielder is undergoing an intensive recovery program, hoping to overcome his problem soon to catch the game.

But Ziani seems determined to feature against Egypt even if couldn't recover in the next few days.

"I will take part in the game no matter what. This is my final decision and I will never backtrack on it," he said.

Ziani missed Algeria's previous qualifier against Rwanda through suspension.