The fate of Arab national teams remains shrouded in mystery following their collective exit from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, sharing a similar destiny.
The Africa Cup of Nations is now without any Arab representation, as Algeria and Tunisia bid farewell to the continental competition in the group stage, followed by Egypt and Morocco in the Round of 16.
A major surprise unfolded with Algeria’s exit from the group stage for the second consecutive edition, a historic occurrence.
The Algerian fans launched a significant criticism against the national team players and their coach, Djamel Belmadi, who departed from his position after finishing fourth in Group D with only two points.
The Algerian Football Federation announced the formation of a committee, chaired by Walid Sadadi, to select the new coach to succeed Djamel Belmadi.
Reports from Algeria suggest that Abdelhak Ben Chikha, former coach of USM Alger, and Simba from Tanzania are among the nominees for coaching the Desert Warriors.
Portuguese Carlos Queiroz, former coach of the Egyptian national team, is also on the list of candidates, following the dismissal of the idea of appointing the Bosnian Vahid Halilhodžić, who previously coached Algeria.
There is also interest in some coaches who demonstrated excellent performance by leading teams in the Africa Cup of Nations, including Amir Abdou, coach of the Mauritanian national team, and Eric Chelle, coach of the Malian national team.
In Tunisia, the situation is not better than Algeria, especially after the African failure and the Eagles of Carthage’s exit from the group stage, finishing last in Group E with only two points.
Coach Jalal Kadri left the Tunisian national team after the tournament, initiating the search for a new captain for the ship.
In an unusual move, the Tunisian Football Federation announced the opening of applications for those interested in coaching the national team.
The selection process will be overseen by Bilel Malouche, the technical expert in the International and African Football Federations.
The names of several European coaches, such as Frenchman Hervé Renard, have been linked to coaching the Tunisian national team.
However, Tunisian reports emphasize the difficulty of such appointments due to financial constraints.
Now, the realistic option seems to be hiring a local coach to lead the Tunisian national team.
The committee will review the applications to determine the new coach, and a press conference is expected to announce the continuation of Walid Regragui as the coach of the first team, a decision made by the Moroccan Football Federation, aiming to provide the Atlas Lions with the utmost stability for the 2026 World Cup qualification.
