The Desert Foxes won the premier football competition in the continent a second time in 2019 when a second-minute Baghdad Bounedjah goal delivered a 1-0 final victory over Senegal in Cairo.
It was a team teeming with stars, led by Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez, and the belief was that they would go on to claim more honours.
But those dreams were never realised. Instead, the Foxes were eliminated after the first round of the 2022 and 2024 editions in Cameroon and the Ivory Coast.
Not only did they fail to reach the knockout stages, but they were also humiliated, unable to win a match in either tournament.
Algeria lost to Equatorial Guinea in Cameroon and to Mauritania, a team that had not won an Afcon match, in the Ivory Coast.
Coach Djamel Belmadi, the mastermind behind the 2019 triumph, was jettisoned. In his place came Bosnia & Herzegovina-born Petkovic, who had spent seven years guiding Switzerland.
Algeria have won 15 matches under his control, drawn three and lost two. Those results led Algeria to qualify not only for the 2025 Afcon, but also for the 2026 World Cup.
Petkovic admits Algeria, who will play all their Group E matches in Rabat, are favourites to win a mini-league including Sudan, Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea.
“We are favourites in our group, and we must accept that responsibility. Our first goal will be to qualify for the second round, then we shall see,” he told the Algerian media.
Many pundits have listed Algeria among a short list of nations capable of going all the way in a tournament that kicks off on December 21 and reaches a climax on January 18.
But Petkovic casts aside talk of being crowned African champions a third time, saying, “I never promise anything.”
‘Morocco favourites’
“What I can assure Algerians is that the team will wear the national team jersey with pride and be courageous.
“Unity is crucial. We must have the support of the entire nation. If we are divided, achieving success will be difficult.”
Mahrez, 34, now with Saudi Pro League outfit and Asian Champions League title-holders Al Ahli, echoed the cautious tone of Petkovic.
“We have to be realistic given what happened to us in the last two Afcon tournaments. We dare not fail again.”
“Some observers are including us among the title favourites, but that means nothing. Morocco have to be favourites, as they will be playing on home soil, backed by huge, partisan crowds.”
Unable to play at home due to a civil war that erupted in April 2023 between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Sudan defied the odds to qualify at the expense of Ghana.
Under Ghanaian coach Kwesi Appiah, the Nile Crocodiles took four points off four-time African champions Ghana.
The 64-year-old stressed the importance of a strong mindset, telling reporters that “if you go into a match thinking about the stars in the other team, you have lost it even before the kick-off.
“At the Afcon recovery is a key factor. Players need proper rest, enough sleep, ice baths and massages. They must also limit the amount of time spent using mobile phones.”
A boost for Sudan is the return of veteran forward Mohamed Abdelrahman to a squad that defender Bakhit Khamis captains.
Burkina Faso have been runners-up once and semi-finalists twice from 2013 and captain and forward Bertrand Traore will be making a sixth Afcon appearance.
Traore plays for Sunderland and another Premier League striker in the squad of coach Brama Traore is Dango Ouattara, who moved to Brentford from Bournemouth this year.
Equatorial Guinea have never failed to reach the knockout stage in four previous appearances and captain Emilio Nsue was the surprise five-goal leading scorer at the last Afcon.