Algeria Nadir Belhadj says David James will play and real danger is Wayne Rooney
Algeria defender Nadir Belhadj insists England have little choice but to recall his club-mate David James for the Group C match in Cape Town on Friday. England coach Fabio Capello selected Robert Green as keeper for England's World Cup opener on Saturday and the West Ham shot stopper, gifted the USA an equaliser in their 1-1 draw. Belhadj admitted he was surprised to see Capello overlook Portsmouth teammate James, who is by far the more experienced keeper with 50 international caps. But the 27-year-old full-back is fully expecting James to be recalled to the starting line-up for England's second World Cup match, for which victory is a must, if they are to have any realistic hope of finishing top of Group C.
"I know James and for me it was a surprise not to see him in goal for England against the USA," said Belhadj. I think James is a far better goalkeeper and much more experienced, and he should be in goal against us later this week. Green made a very bad mistake and I can't see how he can carry on."
England striker Wayne Rooney was kept quiet by the USA until the closing stages of that game when he unleashed a tremendous 20-yard strike that went inches wide.
And even though Belhadj is alert to the fact that Algeria, who lost 1-0 to Slovenia in their opener, must keep a restraint on the Manchester United forward, he is adamant that the North African team will not resort to a rough-house strategy.
"The English have a wonderful squad of players, but that does not mean we can't beat them," he said. We are not scared of them, but for me the real danger is Rooney. If he plays against us like he has at times for Manchester United this season, then we could be in trouble.
"We all know that we have to stop Rooney and that means playing the best game of our lives and making sure that Rooney does not get any space to play in.
"This is a massive game for us so we want to play in the right way, so there will be no chance we will go out and kick Rooney.
"We will play with pride and motivation because beating England would be a massive achievement for us."
Algeria coach Rabah Saadane remains cautious of Group C rivals England and USA regardless of being under whelmed by their performances on Saturday.
The North African side find themselves at the bottom of the table after the opening round of matches following their 1-0 loss to Slovenia, thanks to a goalkeeping error from Faouzi Chaouchi.
"The performance of the two teams on Saturday I wouldn't say impressed me because I know them and they have vast experience and are at a high level," said the Algeria coach.
"England are a notch above the US and they are very committed. We all saw what they can do."
Doubts surround the quality of both goalkeepers, but Saadane does not intend to axe Chaouchi and does not believe Green's mistake will affect him come Cape Town.
"What pressure? I think Green is used to playing and dealing with these situations,"
"I think there will not be a psychological impact for the great players.
"I don't think he's destabilised. He played well in the second half, so he will not collapse mentally in another game.
"Chaouchi is our best keeper at the moment and for me dropping him is out of the question, unless he asks for that himself.
"He's aware of what he did so he said sorry to the team but he's a keeper with a great future in front of him.
"I don't think it would be appropriate after somebody makes a mistake to change them.
"I think these two mistakes are part of learning. This is what happens in high-level matches. Football has mistakes.
"We saw the mistake of the English keeper. I wouldn't want to blame them."
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