Rafik Saifi scored the all-important goal in Blida to cement the Algerians' place on top of Group C, three points ahead of Egypt and six above Zambia.

"The victory is a big step towards South Africa because we have beaten a direct rival," Saadane told Algerian TV after the match.

"All credit to the fans who supported us tonight throughout the game."

Harder than Egypt

Algeria forward Rafik Djebbour admitted that the Desert Foxes had to fight hard for the win, stressing that the win over Zambia was more difficult than beating Egypt in June.

"We didn't face that much difficulty against Egypt, on the contrary, pressure against us was immense in the Zambia game," he told Al-Khabar newspaper.

"It wasn't easy to play against a team defending like this, fortunately we were able to breach their strong defense in the second half."