Doha: The FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 continues to hand out lessons in the unpredictability of football. In the latest, defending champions Algeria – who have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and boast a rich legacy in both African and Arab football – found themselves in a tricky spot against Sudan, who exited the last edition of the tournament in the group stage.

In front of 37,000 spectators, the Fennecs turned in a strong display, creating the majority of chances in the first half, but they were forced to battle fiercely to preserve a point in the second after Adam Ounas was shown a second yellow card four minutes into first-half stoppage time.

It goes to show that Algeria's title defence will be anything but straightforward, given the rise in standards across all the participating teams. That will not, however, deter them from chasing more successes for the supporters backing them so passionately, both in the stands and back home.

Star man Adil Boulbina – who was last season's top scorer in the Algerian league with Paradou AC and now leads all scorers this season in the AFC Elite Champions League – spoke with FIFA after the encounter. He described the pressures on the team as title holders as something that will push Algeria to fight harder and prepare properly for every match.

“Holding the title puts extra pressure on us, but it's positive pressure, I think,” he said.

“We know every match will be played at a high tempo and demand a huge physical effort. Every opponent will give everything they've got, and in turn we'll prepare well for each match and study our opponents' weaknesses to get wins.”

Boulbina's view was shared by star Islam Slimani, who has enjoyed a long career in Algerian and European football, including stints with Leicester City and Newcastle United in the English Premier League. Speaking from his extensive on-pitch experience, Slimani told FIFA after the match that the standards in this year's Arab Cup are exceptionally high.

“Everyone's at a high level in this tournament. We've seen surprises in the opening matches,” he said.“All the teams have improved and developed, and they all want to win the title.”

Given the difficulties Algeria faced in the second half, the draw with Sudan was not a bad result, even though head coach Madjid Bougherra's men always have their sights set on victory. Boulbina summed up the situation:

“It was a tough match,” he said.“We missed easy chances in the first half, and then we were at a numerical disadvantage in the second half. We could've won today, but we've still taken a point, and that's valuable. We know every team will fight when they play us because we're the defending champions.”

Algeria's next group-stage match will be against Bahrain on Saturday, December 6. Then they face Iraq, who beat Bahrain 2-1, in the third and final group fixture on Tuesday, December 9.

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