Algeria to travel to Morocco on Thursday ahead of AFCON 2025 kick off on December 21

The Algerian national team will travel to Morocco on Thursday, December 18, to continue with preparations for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) scheduled to kick off on Sunday, December 21.

The Desert Foxes have been in camp at the National Technical Centre in Sidi-Moussa since Monday, carefully fine-tuning their build-up to the continental showpiece.

After an initial light training session designed to ease players back following their final club matches of the year, the technical team increased the workload on Tuesday by introducing two training sessions in a single day.

The first session, held late in the morning, focused largely on physical conditioning through an individualised training programme.

Under the supervision of fitness coach Paolo Rongoni, some players carried out gym-based exercises, while others worked on the pitch with drills tailored to their specific needs, all in line with the plan set out by the coaching staff.

Within the camp, ambitions appear to stretch well beyond simply navigating the group stage, despite head coach Vladimir Petkovic’s cautious tone during his media appearance last weekend.

When the former Switzerland coach spoke of “wanting to stay in Morocco as long as possible,” the message within the squad has been interpreted as a clear determination to surpass recent disappointments.

For a team led by Riyad Mahrez, the benchmark is not merely improving on the 2022 and 2024 editions, but rediscovering the level reached in 2019.

Anything less would mean little more than a single group-stage victory, a milestone Algeria have not achieved at the AFCON since their triumph on July 19, 2019.