A goal from winger Anis Hadj Moussa gave Algeria an unlikely 1-0 win over the Netherlands on Wednesday in a World Cup warm-up.
Hadj Moussa, who plays for Dutch club Feyenoord, shot strongly into the top corner four minutes from time. Algeria were grateful for the victory, especially with many friends and family watching on in De Kuip where the winger plays his club football.
“It’s deserved after a very good second half,” Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi told Dutch broadcasters after the game. “It’s frustrating. It ruined their farewell game before they went off to New York.”
Hadj Moussa’s goal was his first for Algeria. Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk was left frustrated after the game. “Of course, you don’t want this in a farewell game,” he said. “We should be further ahead than 1-0, at least two goals. We need to work at it and get sharp again. We’ve got another game in a few days, so we need to use it positively.”
Van Dijk added: “It’s great for most of the guys to have played some minutes, but we don’t play to lose games of course.”
Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane, who has been playing with a mask over the lower half of his face following injuries in April, made a number of smart stops throughout the game. It will ease concerns over his place in the team, which has been under scrutiny recently.
The Netherlands will face Uzbekistan in a friendly on Monday night in New York before flying out to Kansas City. They face Japan in their World Cup opener in Group F on June 14 in Dallas.
Algeria begin their World Cup campaign against World Cup champions Argentina in Group J on June 16 in Kansas City. They face Bolivia in their final warm-up game on Wednesday in Kansas City.





