• Djamel Belmadi signs on as Algeria national team head coach until 2026

• Algeria won the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations under Belmadi

• Belmadi has lost just five games as Algeria's head coach

Akshat Mehrish Djamel Belmadi has no equal in Algerian football, bar the legendary Abdelhamid Kermali. A former Olympique Lyonnais star, Kermali coached Algeria over 28 games between 1989 and 1992 and then briefly in 2001. His spell peaked in 1990 when the North African nation won its first-ever Africa Cup of Nations by beating Nigeria in a tightly-contested final. Only with Djamel Belmadi at the helm did Algeria repeat that feat - three decades later. Unfancied, burdened with decades of disappointments, Algeria entered the 2019 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations with a relatively young Belmadi at the helm. The North Africans weren’t expected to win the tournament. Instead, they cruised through the group stage unbeaten and unblemished and only conceded their first goal in the last eight against Ivory Coast. Algeria dispatched the Ivorians on penalties before ending Nigeria’s dreams of winning the continental cup again in the subsequent round with the last kick of the game.

Baghdad Bounedjah gave Algeria the lead in the final against Senegal two minutes after the kick-off. The advantage had come too early, thought some, but Djamel Belmadi had coached his side to be stubborn against the continent’s most exciting talents. Wave after wave of the Senegalese attack crashed against an Algerian defence which stood unwavering until the referee’s final whistle came with little over 90 minutes played at the Cairo International Stadium in Egypt. The Cup of Nations was to return to Algeria after 29 years, and Belmadi, himself an Algerian international between 2000 and 2004 with just 20 caps to his name, was a national hero.

Djamel Belmadi’s hero status within Algerian football has quivered since the national team’s unprecedented AFCON win in 2019. There have been positives, not least the 35-game unbeaten run Algeria embarked on in the aftermath of the Africa Cup of Nations win. Or, the fact that the team has lost just five of Belmadi’s 65 games in-charge at the time of writing. However, a couple of black marks against the tactician’s name have lowered his position; chief among them is a failed attempt at qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, a tournament which Algeria missed when Cameroon netted a 124th-minute equalizer in the CAF qualifiers third round, winning the tie on away goals. Meanwhile, Algeria’s humiliating exit in the group stage of the 2021 AFCON also didn’t help.

But the federation’s trust in Djamel Belmadi has sustained the highs and lows. In an interview with TV’s Channel 3, Algerian Football Federation president Djahid Zefizef confirmed that Belmadi has signed a contract extension that will see him take charge of the national team until the 2026 FIFA World Cup - and the 2023 and 2025 AFCONs. "Djamel Belmadi has officially signed a new contract until 2026. We have set him clear objectives for the next two Africa Cup of Nations," Zefizef said. "Belmadi has been the target of a disinformation campaign on social networks, on a few TV channels. However, he remains focused on his work as well as on the objectives set for him." For Belmadi, eight more games will take him beyond Rabah Saadane’s record of 72 games in-charge over several spells as the Algeria manager. Another win at the continental cup, meanwhile, will see him grace the pinnacle of Algerian football without peers.