Algeria’s national team has made a strategic move by including a new player in its roster.
Mustafa Zghaba, the goalkeeper for Dhamak in Saudi Arabia, has been added to the squad as a precautionary measure by coach Djamel Belmadi.
This decision comes in the wake of an unfortunate injury to Rais M’Bolhi, the goalkeeper for CR Belouizdad, during the team’s initial training session in the Sahara Warriors’ camp.
Initially comprising 25 players out of a possible 27, the Algerian national team expanded its roster to 26 players with the inclusion of Zghaba, without excluding the injured M’Bolhi.
Belmadi, anticipating the potential impact of M’Bolhi’s injury on Algeria’s journey in the tournament, opted to bring in Zghaba as a fourth goalkeeper.
The finalized Algerian squad for the Africa Cup of Nations is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Anthony Mandira (FC Nantes, France), Rais M’Bolhi (CR Belouizdad), Oussama Ben Bot (USM Alger).
Defenders: Youcef Atal (OGC Nice, France), Kevin Guiton (FC Metz, France), Ryan Ait Nouri (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England), Yasser Larouci (Sheffield United, England), Issa Mandi (Villarreal, Spain), Mohamed Amine Tougay (Esperance Tunis), Ahmed Touba (US Lecce, Italy), Ramy Bensebaini (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Zinedine Belaid (USM Alger).
Midfielders: Nabil Bentaleb (Lille, France), Sofiane Feghouli (Fathi Karagümrük, Turkey), Houssem Aouar (AS Roma, Italy), Farid Chaib (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Ramiz Zrouki (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Hicham Boudaoui (OGC Nice, France), Ismael Bennacer (AC Milan, Italy).
Forwards: Riyad Mahrez (Al-Ahli Jeddah, Saudi Arabia), Adam Ounas (Lille, France), Mohamed Amoura (Union Saint-Gilloise, Belgium), Amin Gouiri (Stade Rennais, France), Youssef Belaili (MC Alger), Baghdad Bounedjah (Al-Sadd, Qatar), Islam Slimani (Coritiba, Brazil).
The defending champions of 1990 and 2019 aim to bounce back from their winless performance in the previous edition of the tournament in 2021.
Algeria finds itself in Group Four alongside Burkina Faso, Mauritania, and Angola.
The Algerian campaign kicks off with a match against Angola on January 15, followed by a second-round clash with Burkina Faso on January 20.
The group stage concludes with a fixture against Mauritania on January 23.
