Algeria World Cup Squad Preview

Written by Tony Concannon Wednesday, 09 June 2010 09:59

England World Cup Blog

This is Algeria's first appearance in the World Cup since Mexico 1986, when they were eliminated in the first round. They were the last team to qualify for this year's finals, negotiating a tough one-off play-off clash with Egypt to book their place in South Africa. Defender Antar Yahia's venomous volley crashed in off the crossbar to seal a narrow 1-0 victory in the neutral venue of Sudan.

The Desert Foxes are currently ranked 28th in the world by Fifa, their highest ever position. They will be dangerous opponents in South Africa as they have enough ability and team spirit to cause problems. They play a tight, hard-tackling game, unlike the open and expansive style of many other African nations.

Portsmouth duo Nadir Belhadj and Hassan Yebda both make the squad. Belhadj has impressed as both full-back and midfielder down the left side for Pompey this year, and likes to get forward. Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra is also highly rated and has been linked with moves away from Ibrox. The Fennecs also possess a talented goalkeeper in Faouzi Chaouchi, who is one of only three players in the squad to play their football in his homeland.

However, both Belhadj and keeper Chaouchi will carry suspensions into the tournament. Belhadj misses the opening clash with Slovenia, while Chaouchi is banned for the first two games, so also misses the England game.

Coach Rabah Saadane has a talented squad at his disposal, with most of the players plying their trade across Europe in the major leagues. However, one key player not in the squad is Lazio midfielder Mourad Meghni, who has not recovered from injury in time. Nine of the players in the squad have switched their allegiance to Algeria having previously represented France at junior level.

Algeria are in Group C along with the United States, Slovenia and England. Although the Algerians didn't impress in a recent 3-0 warm-up loss to the Republic of Ireland, they should be a different proposition once the tournament starts. Their games with Slovenia and the US will be key, and they will need to win at leat one to have any hope of making the knock-out stages. However, I fear that a lack of experience on the world stage (I know the same could be said of Slovenia) could prove to be their downfall. Saying that, the Desert Foxes will be no pushovers and will be on the prowl for victims in South Africa.

Check out all the latest odds on Algeria's progress

Algeria squad:


Goalkeepers: Lounes Gaouaoui (ASO Chlef), Faouzi Chaouchi (Entente Setif), Rais M Bolhi (Slavia Sofia, Bulgaria)

Defenders: Abdelkader Laifaoui (Entente Setif), Madjid Bougherra (Rangers, Scotland), Carl Medjani (Ajaccio, France), Rafik Halliche (Nacional Madeira, Portugal), Anther Yahia (Bochum, Germany), Habib Belaid (Boulogne-sur-Mer, France), Nadir Belhadj (Portsmouth, England), Djamel Mesbah (Lecce, Italy)

Midfielders: Hassan Yebda (Portsmouth, England), Medhi Lacen (Racing Santander, Spain), Yazid Mansouri (Lorient, France), Adlene Guedioura (on loan at Wolverhampton, England from Charleroi, Belgium), Riad Boudebouz (Sochaux, France), Djamel Abdoun (Nantes, France), Fouad Kadir (Valenciennes, France), Karim Ziani (Wolfsburg, Germany), Karim Matmour (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany)

Strikers: Abdelkader Ghezzal (Siena,Italy), Rafik Djebbour (AEK Athens,Greece), Rafik Saifi (Istres, France)

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