With 5 goals in 8 matches for Al-Shamal, Baghdad Bounedjah is nevertheless said to be behind Amine Gouiri, Amin Chiakha and Nadir Benbouali ahead of the double Algeria-Togo clash.
Five goals in eight matches for Al-Shamal, plus an assist: Baghdad Bounedjah’s season with the Qatari club makes a case for a return to the Algeria national team. But with the double header against Togo approaching, on 14 November in Tizi-Ouzou and 17 November in Lomé, for the 3rd and 4th matchdays of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers, the picture is said to be very different according to AfricaSoccer.
The 34-year-old striker, who turns 35 on 24 November, is reportedly no longer in the Fennecs’ pecking order. Amine Gouiri, the Olympique de Marseille forward, Amin Chiakha, the Rosenborg forward, and Nadir Benbouali, the Pyramids forward, are now said to be ahead of him, the same outlet reports. The information remains a rumour: head coach Brahim Hemdani’s squad list has not yet been announced.
A costly exclusion
The Bounedjah case did not begin this autumn. According to AfricaSoccer, former head coach Vladimir Petkovic sidelined him after AFCON 2025 for behaviour deemed to spread anxiety. The striker then missed the squad for the 2026 World Cup, and then Brahim Hemdani’s first squad.
His last appearance in the Fennecs shirt dates back to the AFCON 2025 quarter-final against Nigeria, lost 2-0 on 10 January in Marrakech. Brought on for the final 30 minutes, he has not played for the national team since.
Gouiri, Chiakha, Benbouali ahead
The competition has taken shape without him. According to AfricaSoccer, Gouiri, Chiakha and Benbouali are now said to be ahead of him in the pecking order, despite form that makes the case for the striker. The third name could even make his return after a brief absence from the squads in September and October, according to GhanaSoccernet, a reinstatement also mentioned in the conditional.
Then there is the weight of the past. With 86 caps and 35 goals, Bounedjah is Algeria’s third-highest scorer of all time, behind Islam Slimani (46) and Riyad Mahrez (40). A record that, to date, is not enough to put him back in the pecking order.
The door reportedly remains ajar
Not everything is definitively closed. Dzair Foot reported a few weeks ago that a return was possible if he was deemed physically ready, AfricaSoccer recalls.
The answer will come from Brahim Hemdani’s squad list for the November gathering, whose announcement date is not yet known. The first match will take place on 14 November in Tizi-Ouzou, the second on 17 November in Lomé.