Brahim Hemdani has named a 26-man squad for the double header against Togo. Amine Gouiri and Himad Abdelli (OM) are in, Ilan Kebbal (Paris FC) and Houssem Aouar are out, and Mohamed Azzi and Abderrahmane Rebbach are the new faces.
Twenty-six players, two new faces and several notable absences. Algeria head coach Brahim Hemdani unveiled his squad on Thursday 5 November for the double confrontation with Togo on 14 and 17 November, in matchdays 3 and 4 of Group I of the qualifiers for CAN 2027, according to OneFootball/MadeInFOOT.
Among those called up, Amine Gouiri and Himad Abdelli, both at Olympique de Marseille, feature alongside Mohamed Amoura, Ibrahim Maza, Ramy Bensebaïni and Nabil Bentaleb, according to Le Phocéen. Attention will nonetheless focus on the absentees and on the two new faces in this camp.
Kebbal and Aouar out of the squad
Ilan Kebbal, the Paris FC attacking midfielder, has not been selected, according to L’Équipe. The sources cited give no reason for his absence: neither the sports daily nor Horizons.dz offers an explanation, and the head coach made no public comment on the matter in the available material.
He is not the only absentee. Luca Zidane, Houssem Aouar, Rayan Aït-Nouri and Adam Zorgane are also missing from the squad, according to L’Équipe and Horizons.dz. Again, no explanation has been made public.
Naïr recalled, Azzi and Rebbach the new faces
A month after his first call-up, the AS Saint-Étienne defender Sohaib Naïr has been recalled, his club confirmed on its official website.
The squad includes two new faces: the CSKA Moscow defender Mohamed Azzi and the Deportivo Alavés midfielder Abderrahmane Rebbach, according to Horizons.dz.
Tizi Ouzou, then Lomé
Algeria top Group I after a win over Zambia (3-1) and a draw, according to L’Équipe. The sources consulted do not specify the number of points or the gap to the chasing teams.
The first match will be played on Saturday 14 November at 8pm at the Hocine-Aït-Ahmed stadium in Tizi Ouzou, with the return on Tuesday 17 November at 5pm at the Kégué stadium in Lomé, according to Foot-Africa. Both fixtures will therefore be played at home and then away.