Madjid Bougherra, the coach of Algeria, has expressed his sincere sadness at his team’s failure to take home the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) 2022 trophy.

Following a scoreless stalemate after extra time in the competition final on Saturday in Algiers, the Desert Foxes lost to Senegal 5-4 on penalties.

Bougherra acknowledged that he, along with the rest of his team, was disappointed by the outcome when he entered the post-match press conference at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers to the cheers of the media.

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“Our players and fans are disappointed. We did not concede any goal in the tournament, and we have the best attack with nine goals.

‘This really hurts especially since we missed the last penalty kick, this is it,” Bougherra who was visibly hurting told the media who looked on with sympathy.

He continued, “We knew that the match would be difficult.

” The two teams deserved to reach the final and win.

” I raise my hat to the players. I told them to raise their heads and that they should be proud of what they have done in the tournament.

“I also thank the technical staff who worked with me for a year and a half.

“We accept defeat and the loss of the title. We played quick in the first half and there were many mistakes.

“In the second half, we improved little by little.

“We will remain positive in all cases and thank the players and the Algerian people.

“Personally, I will be positive, and in future competitions I hope things will be different, and that the players will gain confidence.”

Algeria finished fourth in their debut at the CHAN in 2011 in Sudan, which was also their final appearance in the biannual competition. This is their best finish at the CHAN.