Lucas Alcaraz Calls Up 8 New Local Players Among Algerian National Line-Up

National football team coach Lucas Alcaraz made public yesterday evening the list of 23 players selected for the preparatory training camp ahead of the Algeria-Cameroon return fixture (without a stake), as part of the 5th stage of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, scheduled for Saturday 7 October 2017 at 5 pm in Yaoundé stadium.

The preparatory training camp for the Greens will begin on Monday 2 October 2017 at the Sidi-Moussa National Technical Center in Algiers and the least that can be said is that there have been many surprises regarding the list of called-up players.

The first thing to be noticed in this players’ list is the logical return of Sofiane Feghouli and Ishak Belfodil. The two strikers of the national football squad are currently in good shape in their respective European clubs. Feghouli has missed a lot in the Algeria line-up, both on and off the field. 

His return will certainly only do good to a team without a leader after the departure of Carl Medjani who has of late decided to quit international football competition. 

Feghouli scored earlier this week his second goal in the Turkish premier league in just 2 games played so far. He is now very fit. For his part, striker Belfodil who is a sure bet will replace Slimani who was scrapped from the list for reasons that remain hazy. 

Cadamuro is preferred to Haliche, although included in the extended list, Haliche will not travel to Cameroon.

Lucas Alcaraz preferred Liassine Cadamuro, who seems to return to the level he had when he played at Sociedad since he joined Nîmes club in France. 

The latter’s versatility and his youth weighed in the balance. We do not know if he will have his chance with Mandi and Bensebaïni, but what we know is that Alcaraz appreciates this strong defender very much. 

Talented winger Ferhat is finally retained in the list. Elected best player last month in French League 2, Zineddine Ferhat has been finally summoned to the Greens.

It is a just reward for a young player who has not stopped progressing since he joined Le Havre club in France. 

Ferhat can play in all positions of the attack and can also evolve as right-hand side. It is a great chance that Alcaraz offers him so as to shine on the pitch. 8 local players are included in the called up players’ list, a first thing to happen ! The novelty, or surprise, is the presence of no less than 8 local players in the roster.

In addition to Ferhat, Soudani and Bensebaïni were also trained in Algeria itself. Likewise, Local Goalkeepers Salhi of CR Belouizdad and Moussaoui, the giant Goalkeeper of Paradou AC, are both included in the final list. 

The USM Algiers has four selected players: Chafai, Meziane, Darfalou and Raouf Benguit, in this case. Bendebka who hardly played with the MC Algiers is oddly summoned as well. And, finally, Bedrane, defender of the ES Sétif, was chosen to wrap up the list.

Fawzi Ghoulam present in the list was expected to be forsaken like Slimani, Mahrez and Bentaleb, but national team coach Alcaraz decided at the last minute to retrieve him for still unexplained reasons. 

Newcomer Farès Mohamed, forward of Italy’s club of Verona, will be included the Greens’ line-up. The FAF Football Federation relies heavily on this talented player in order to encourage him and push him to give himself thoroughly with the Greens’ jersey. 

Ounas was for his part dropped from the list, while Hanni, Brahimi, Mandi, Taïder and Soudani were maintained.

In addition, it should be noted that the Greens’ trip to Yaoundé is slated for Thursday October 5, 2017 on a special flight departing from Houari-Boumediene international airport in Algiers.

List of 23 called-up players: 

Goalkeepers: Raïs MBOLHI (Stade Rennais, France), Abdelkadir SALHI (CR Belouizdad), Toufik MOUSSAOUI (Paradou AC).

Defenders: Mohamed FARES (Hellas Verona, Italy), Faouzi GHOULAM (SSC Napoli, Italy), Rami BENSEBAÏNI (Rennes, France), Aïssa MANDI (Real Betis, Spain), Abdelkader BEDRANE (ES Sétif), Liassine CADAMURO-BENTAÏBA (Nîmes Olympique, France), Farouk CHAFAÏ (USM Algiers).

Midfielders: Raouf BENGUIT (USM Algiers), Sofiane BENDEBKA (MC Algiers), Saphir TAÏDER (Bologna FC, Italy), Sofiane DAHAM (FC Sochaux, France). 

Forwards: Hilel El-Arabi SOUDANI (GNK Dinamo Zagreb), Rachid GHEZZAL (AS Monaco, France), Abderrahmane MEZIANE (USM Algiers), Yacine BRAHIMI (FC Porto, Portugal), Sofiane HANNI (RSC Anderlecht, Belgium), Ishak BELFODIL Werder Bremen, Germany), Oussama DARFALOU (USM Algiers), Sofiane FEGHOULI (Galatasaray SK, Turkey), Zineddine FERHAT (Le Havre AC, France).

Players invited to the training camp: Houari BAOUCHE (OM Médéa), Imadeddine BOUBEKEUR (OM Médéa).