Algeria National Team Players Test Positive for Covid19
Algeria’s national football team players tested positive for Covid19 following PCR tests in the Qatari capital, Doha, where the team is conducting the preparatory training for the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon (January 9 to February 6), the Greens’ coach, Djamel Belmadi, announced in a press conference in Doha, refusing to reveal the names of the players who tested positive for Covid19.
The Algerian Football Federation revealed that 3 players in the national team tested positive for Covid19, and it was related to Youcef Belaili, Houcine Benayada and Mohamed Amine Tougai, the last duo recovered and officially joined the greens’ training in Doha, waiting for Belaili and the rest of players.
“3 players tested positive for covid19, their names were revealed, Belaili, Benayada and Tougai, but there are other cases. I refuse to reveal their number and names. Belaili is quarantined here in Doha, and we hope that he will join the training as soon as possible”, Belmadi explained in the press conference held at the headquarters of the national team in Doha.
Although Belmadi refused to mention the names of the players who tested positive, the latest echoes from the “greens” house indicate that the duo Rami Bensebaini, the German Monchengladbach star, and Islam Slimani, the star of the French OL, tested positive for Covid19, which will constitute a real shock to the technical staff of the African champions, and what reinforced the hypothesis of the validity of this news was the absence of the players from the morning round in which their teammates appeared in the streets of Doha “Friday”, and also their absence from the evening training session for the same day, in addition to the newcomer Soufiane Bendebka, whose team Al-Fath in Saudi Arabia announced that he tested positive for covid19.
Covid19 infections recorded in the ranks of the “Greens” affected the preparatory program for coach Belmadi, during Doha’s training camp, especially after the postponement of the Gambia friendly match, which made matters worse.
Although the national team was in the capital, Doha, for about a week, so far, it has not undergone any training session with a complete number. In addition to covid19, FIFA’s decision to allow clubs to retain their players until January 3, deprived the national team of its most prominent professional players such as Riyad Mahrez, Aissa Mandi, Said Benrahma, goalkeepers Rais Wahab Mbolhi and Mostafa Zaghba.
This would negatively affect the national team’s journey to defend its title in the AFCON Cameroon, in light of the poor and fluctuating preparations in Doha, unlike what was the case in 2019, when all conditions were favourable.
