 After coach Vahid decided to opt out of a contract extension following their historic World Cup, long time FC Lorient coach Christian Gourcuff was appointed by FAF president Mohamed Raouraoua to help Algeria reach its goals.After easily topping their 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualification group which consisted of Mali, Malawi and Ethiopia, Algeria were heavy favorites to win the 2015 edition of the tournament hosted in Equatorial Guinea.Algeria were drawn in a very difficult group that included South Africa, Ghana and Senegal.