The following month, Matmour was selected by Saâdane to play in the 2010 African Cup of Nations hosted in Angola. At the African Cup Nations, he played his first match of the tournament, where he started and played 62 minutes, in a 3–0 loss against Malawi on 11 January 2010. Matmour scored an equaliser against Ivory Coast and the game went through extra time, as Algeria won 3–2 to ensure their qualification for the semi-finals. For his performance, Matmour was named Man of the Match. However, losses against Egypt and Nigeria saw Algeria finished fourth place in the tournament.