Leekens steps down from Algeria post

ALGERIA’S failure to make it past the group phase at the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in Gabon has resulted in head coach Georges Leekens quitting his post. Algeria have been amongst Africa’s best teams over the last few years (just over two years ago they were ranked 15th in the world), and with superstars such as Leicester City duo Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani in their ranks, expectations had been very high for continental showpiece. But the Desert Warriors were only able to garner two points from their three Group B matches after drawing their first and last games 2-2 against Zimbabwe and Senegal respectively, while losing their second outing 2-1 to north African rivals Tunisia. The 67-year-old Leekens, who has been in charge for only four months, has also overseen a poor start to Algeria’s 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign – after two matches, they lie bottom of Group B with a single point.