Djamel Belmadi - Algeria head coach

“The first match is the most important match, and a lot of things can surprise you. I’m sure we are going to have a very good match on Monday. Our objective is to win and score as many goals as possible. We have already worked with this team, and we know the performances of these players but more importantly is to deal with the pressure and also the climate we have here.  If we are able to go this way, we will be able to achieve a lot of things and these players are ready. Also, Infrastructure is at a good level here in Côte d’Ivoire.

Riyad Mahrez - Algeria, captain 

“Pressure is a normal thing in football but what I can say is we are ready.  Climate won’t be much of a difference. The group is getting on very well but it’s the question of winning matches and we are going to do everything possible to win. We have been able to do a very good preparation and we had a good camp. But what will help us to win matches is to perform very well on the pitch and we will show that on Monday.  Our fans always give us the support we need and we can’t wait to play in front of them.

Pedro Gonçalves - Angola head coach

“This squad has the capacity to win any match. We are here to give as much as we can give to go as far as possible. We would like to be at a higher level in this game. Offensively and defensively, we have put in some strategy to help us be competitive.  If we have reached this level you should know that we are a very good side and we can be able to have good results during this competition. We believe that we will be able to give the best of ourselves and be happy of what we will do on the field.  It’s true there can be weaknesses in our team but we will also find weakness in the Algerian team and exploit.”

Alfredo "Freddy" Ribeiro - Angola, captain 

“We have done a lot of preparation. The support of our coach is one of the things we will thrive on. My teammates and I will try and play above our strengths to give surprise to the fans”