Cairo: Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr admitted he expects a far tougher challenge against Algeria in today's Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals than during qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.

The Super Eagles finished top of a section including 2017 African champions Cameroon and Algeria on the road to Russia last year, defeating the Desert Foxes 3-1 at home before a 1-1 draw in the return fixture. Algeria were later awarded a 3-0 walkover for the second game in Constantine after Nigeria fielded an ineligible player, and Rohr has been impressed by their improvement since Djamel Belmadi took over last August. "He's done a very professional job. They were shaky at the time. Now I see a solid Algeria side with a good balance between attack and defence," he said.