Algeria make seven changes for Niger friendly as Hemdani seeks positive finish

Algeria conclude this FIFA international window by hosting Niger in a friendly in Tizi Ouzou on Tuesday, with kick-off scheduled for 19:00 France time (18:00 in Algeria).

Brahim Hemdani has made seven changes to the side that started the previous match. Ramdane comes in as goalkeeper, while Nair makes his first appearance in defence. Aouchiche is introduced in midfield, Bakrar leads the attack and Belaid takes over as captain.

The match is being followed live from Tizi Ouzou, where Algeria are looking to end their first international gathering under Hemdani with a positive result.

The hosts began their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with a convincing 3-1 victory over Zambia, but were held to a 2-2 draw by Burundi in a more difficult second game. Algeria will be keen to improve on their start in Bujumbura, where they conceded twice early on before recovering to level the score.

Niger are managed by a familiar figure from Algerian football. Nabil Neghiz, who served as Vladimir Petkovic’s assistant at the 2026 World Cup, was appointed head coach of the Mena and returns to face his country of birth.

The visitors have taken three points from their first two matches in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. They opened with a 2-1 win against Lesotho before losing 2-0 to Gabon. Niger are third in Group A, behind Morocco and Gabon.

Hemdani is also dealing with a number of absentees. Rayan Ait-Nouri is unavailable, while Nabil Bentaleb, Amine Gouiri, Anis Hadj Moussa and Adem Zorgane are all out with injuries. Saadi Radouani withdrew on the eve of the match.

On the pitch, a player from Le Mans was left limping after a challenge, although the referee judged the duel to be fair. Algeria then created an opportunity when Chaibi picked out the striker in the penalty area, but the attempted lob drifted just wide of the post.

Bourabaa and Abada dealt with a Niger counter-attack, while a later effort was expertly struck to wrong-foot the goalkeeper. The visitors also saw a header from the middle of the box deflected by the opposing goalkeeper.

After a long spell without conceding, Algeria were threatened again when an attacker beat his marker and created a close-range shooting angle, only to send his effort wide. Niger later won a corner, but it came to nothing.

Algeria made a further group of substitutions, with Bensebaini, Abada, Bourabaa, Boulbina and Chiakha coming on. Hajdam, Aouchiche, Kebbal, Nair and Bakrar were withdrawn.