Vladimir Petkovic took his time. After thinking for a long time, reducing his choice to 55, then to 35 players, the Algerian coach finally revealed this Sunday the list of 27 players chosen to play in the 2026 World Cup. The leader made strong choices which he agreed to comment on, only to a certain extent.
For this first World Cup contested by Algeria since a last appearance during the 2014 edition, Vladimir Petkovic first chose to maintain his confidence in Riyad Mahrez. The aging Fennecs star will therefore be on the trip, which will not be the case for two other figures in the selection, Baghdad Bounedjah and Ismaël Bennacer.
Three other players present at the last African Cup of Nations did not obtain their ticket to the United States: Himad Abdelli, Mehdi Dorval and Ilan Kebbal. Speaking to the press, Petkovic explained his decision: “Talent is important, but what is even more important is the attitude and the desire to be available, the willingness to sacrifice and the desire to work as a team. »
Petkovic explains Kebbal and Bentaleb
As for the particular case of Ilan Kebbal, the boss of the Fennecs simply explained that he had to decide when he had a plethora of good players in this position. “There are a large number of quality players in his position. I selected three but I could have taken four or five. » But as the list was not expandable and limited to twenty-seven, a choice had to be made.
Also note that LOSC midfielder Nabil Bentaleb convinced Vladimir Petkovic to take him with him. The latter judged that the Lille player had “all the qualities” necessary to bring positive things to the group. His good end to the season also spoke in his favor. Finally, Lucas Zidane is part of the list.
The list of 27 players summoned with Algeria
Goalkeepers: Oussama Benbot (USM Algiers), Melvin Mastil (Lausanne), Abdelatif Ramdane (MC Algiers), Luca Zidane (Granada)
Defenders: Achraf Abada, Rayan Aït-Nouri (Manchester City), Zineddine Belaïd (JS Kabylie), Rafik Belghali (Hellas Verona), Ramy Bensebaïni (Borussia Dortmund), Samir Chergui (Paris FC), Jaouen Hadjam (Young Boys de Berne), Aïssa Mandi (LOSC), Mohamed Tougaï (ES Tunis)
Midfielders: Houssem Aouar (Al-Ittihad), Nabil Bentaleb (LOSC), Hicham Boudaoui (Nice), Farès Chaïbi (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen), Yacine Titraoui (Charleroi), Ramiz Zerrouki (Twente)
Forwards: Mohammed Amoura (Wolfsburg), Nadhir Benbouali (Györi ETO), Adil Boulbina (Al-Duhail), Farès Ghedjemis (Frosinone), Amine Gouiri (OM), Anis Hadj-Moussa (Feyenoord), Riyad Mahrez (Al-Ahli)
