Algeria’s trip to Mozambique on Sunday as part of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup did not start off in the right direction at all for the Fennecs.
Djamel Belmadi did not imagine facing so many worries. Barely a quarter of an hour played in Maputo, and the Algeria coach had to quickly adapt to the injuries of Aïssa Mandi (14th) and Islam Slimani (17th), Sunday against Mozambique.
🔁 Nightmarish start for Algeria, who must make a second change (16th) after Slimani’s injury: https://t.co/4aKX3vuX6w#lequipeFOOT pic.twitter.com/qXF5VsQm0z
— the L’Équipe channel (@lachainelequipe) November 19, 2023
The defender from Villarreal (Liga) and the center forward from Coritiba (Brazilian D1) were forced to leave the field, replaced respectively by Mohamed Tougaï (Espérance de Tunis) and Mohammed Amoura (Union St-Gilloise – Belgian D1).
To make matters worse, the Algerians were rather rushed during the first period of this 2026 World Cup qualifying match. The score was goalless at the break (0-0).
