The Libyan Football Federation announced on Monday that it had completed the qualification procedures for Daniel Elfadli, the LASK defender on loan from Hamburg. He is now available for official matches, four days before Tunisia–Libya.
The Libyan Football Federation said on Monday that it had finalised the administrative and legal procedures relating to the qualification of Daniel Elfadli, according to Al Chourouk, as reported by Ligaportal. The 29-year-old defender can now be fielded in official competition for Libya.
The timing is no coincidence: Libya face Tunisia on 13 and 17 November in two AFCON 2027 qualifying matches. Long blocked by administrative procedures, the player can finally play official matches.
A long-running case to unlock
Born in Leonberg, Germany, on 6 April 1997, Elfadli has Libyan roots, Ligaportal notes. But roots were not enough: according to LAOLA1, the obstacles lay in the change of sporting nationality and the issuing of a Libyan passport. Two administrative files that long kept the player away from official matches.
The 1.88 m centre-back had nevertheless already worn the shirt: in September 2022, he played two friendlies against Uganda and Tanzania; in January 2024, he played a test match against Indonesia. All matches without official status, which could not validate his situation, LAOLA1 and Ligaportal recall.
The breakthrough is therefore recent, and the federation communicated on Monday about the completion of the case. It remains to be seen what the Libyan coaching staff have in store for this late reinforcement.
Eight matches this season with LASK
On the pitch, Elfadli has a case to make. Having arrived at LASK this summer on loan from Hamburger SV, the club with which he is under contract until 2028, he has taken part in eight matches in all competitions this season, including four in the Austrian Bundesliga, according to Al Chourouk and Ligaportal.
His European CV has even grown: the defender featured in two Champions League matches, against Liverpool and then Slovan Bratislava.
Caution, however: the federation has announced neither a call-up nor a starting place for the two upcoming fixtures. Eligibility opens a possibility; it guarantees nothing.
Sfax first, Tripoli next
The schedule is now known: on Friday 13 November at 5pm, Libya travel to the Taïeb Mhiri stadium in Sfax to face Tunisia, before hosting their Tunisian neighbours on 17 November in Tripoli, according to Al Chourouk. Two AFCON 2027 qualifying fixtures.
In this context, Ligaportal raises a possibility: Elfadli could come up against Haris Tabakovic, the Red Bull Salzburg striker, born in Switzerland and with 15 caps (5 goals) for Bosnia and Herzegovina. A hypothetical duel that nothing, at this stage, confirms on the Libyan side.