Saturday 18 December 2021, 17:00

Golden reward for Brahimi, Mbohli and Jaziri

  • Yacine Brahimi wins the Golden Ball at the FIFA Arab Cup 2021

  • Algeria captain beats Youcef Belaili and Akram Afif to the award

  • Seifeddine Jaziri takes the Golden Boot and Rais Mbolhi the Golden Glove

Algeria captain Yacine Brahimi was in a league of his own at the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021™.

Impressive throughout the tournament, he led his side to the trophy and deservedly took the adidas Golden Ball. Team-mate Youcef Belaili collected the adidas Silver Ball, while the adidas Bronze Ball went to Qatar forward Akram Afif. Seifeddine Jaziri was handed the adidas Golden Boot as the tournament’s leading scorer, with the adidas Golden Glove going to veteran Algeria keeper Rais Mbolhi.

Yacine Brahimi of Algeria receives the Adidas Golden Ball award

adidas Golden Ball: Yacine Brahimi

“Brahimi has done a fantastic job,” said former FIFA World Cup™ winner Jurgen Klinsmann. “He’s a fighter and every time his team went on the attack, he was there in the thick of the action.” The Algeria captain was one of the stars of Qatar 2021 thanks to his leadership skills, scoring twice and providing two assists to help them reach the final, where he grabbed his side’s second to set the seal on his outstanding tournament.

Mohammed Belaili of Algeria receives the Adidas Silver Ball award

adidas Silver Ball: Youcef Belaili

Belaili was one of the standout performers of Qatar 2021 and showed his true worth to the Algeria cause in the knockout phase, playing a vital role as they made their way to the final. The 29-year-old midfielder displayed all his attacking skills in the semi-final duel with hosts Qatar, scoring his side’s winner and walking off with the player of the match award. Against Morocco in the previous round, he scored one of the goals of the tournament.

Akram Afif of Qatar receives the Adidas Bronze Ball award

adidas Bronze Ball: Akram Afif

Qatar picked their big names and were widely tipped to reach the final. The pick of their performers was midfielder Akram Afif, who had a big hand in their five wins in the competition. No player in the tournament served up more than Afif’s four assists. He also chipped in with two goals in the group phase.

adidas Golden Boot: Seifeddine Jaziri

The 28-year-old Tunisian excelled throughout the competition, setting his side on the road to the final with a brace in their opening Group B match against Mauritania. Not content with that, he scored the winner in the final group game against United Arab Emirates and opened the scoring in the quarter-final meeting with Oman. adidas Silver Shoe: Yassine Brahimi adidas Bronze Shoe: Yazan Alnaimat

Rais Mbolhi of Algeria receives the Adidas Golden Glove award

adidas Golden Glove: Rais Mbolhi

The most dependable of team-mates, Mbolhi featured in all Algeria’s matches at the FIFA Arab Cup and conceded just the one goal, from a penalty in the group phase. The 35-year-old keeper kept out Morocco’s fourth penalty in the penalty shootout that took Les Fennecs into the semi-finals, where he excelled once more, before turning in another flawless performance in the final. “Algeria goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi has a lot of experience, as he showed in the semi-finals, when he stepped up as the leader of the side,” said former Switzerland goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuhler.

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