 During a press conference in Tunis, the Algerian football team refused to make any political statements, referring to football as a sport rather than a political influence.After the Algerian national football team was officially recognized by FIFA in 1963, the team only qualified to the 1968 Africa Cup of Nations and failed to qualify for the next five editions of the African cup until 1980, where the Algerians had a great run.After finishing first in their group, Algeria beat rivals Egypt in the semi finals and reached the final for the first time, losing only to tournament hosts Nigeria 3–0.