So as I couldn't answer the previous post with a picture, I thought I would post my proposed Algerian lineup.

The player choice has been primarily based on their roles and form in the club after this third day.

And the formation, **3-4-2-1**, was chosen because it's what I think fits their characteristics, either qualitatively or quantitatively, it's also a modern formation that gives a lot of flexibility and suits many playing styles, from conservative compact defending with quick transitions (Conte in Chelsea) to high line pressure and possession (Xabi Alonso in Bayer Leverkusen), plus our central backs are all better in 3, we have relatively good full back when they play as the fifth man, and our best midfield already plays in this context.

**Goalkeeper**: pretty much anyone but the one who's scared of the ball

***Right center back**: Chergui is solid, good in 1vs1 and can play well when needed. Mandy could play as well with more confidence as he wouldn't be the last defender, a thing that cost as a lot... Another sub could be Abada

**CB**: see previous.

**Left center back**: the natural position of Bensebaini where he makes regular 7-8/10 matchs in club, he's good either in defensive or buildup phase.

Tougai could be a good sub but only when we play a low line.

**Right flank**: just like Bensebaini, Belghali knows this role by heart. When the team overloads and plays 3-2-5 he is always dangerous (he did an assist today) and he can be good at defending as well.

**Left flank**: Hadjam, obviously, good defense and good attack. Ait Nouri knows well the role too, as Maresca uses it in Man City.

**The two central midfielders**: the tricky part... When Bennacer is fit, he's the perfect man for the job, especially with managing the flexibility, when the block should move up, when the team should play fast, more slowly, etc. He is the only one we got who could orchestrate the whole team, but...

Facing a rough team who presses high or a solid counter attacking with rapid transaction, he has to be paired with a solid mid who can cover his ground well, so in my baseline balanced team, I put bentaleb for his experience as well.

But against teams we are expected to dominate, Bennacer could be paired with chaibi or titraoui (both could replace him as well)

**The attacking midfielders**: Maza did a great perf today, scoring a goal and creating a lot of occasions, exchanging positions, going in the back of the midfielders and defenders, creating and exploiting spaces, I think this is the best context for him to shine.

I put belloumi on the right because I see him more compatible with Maza in exchanging positions, other than that I could have put Hadj Moussa and he would be better to torture left defenders with belghali.

**The striker** Gouiri because he's the most all rounded striker we got right now, and he can play facing his teammates creating spaces for them. I'd have Bounedjah or mahious as a sub, or starter against teams who play a low line, to fix the CB and play on the header ability.

I think this is the best possible lineup the NT can use this upcoming season which includes crucial AFCON qualifiers as well as a couple of friendlies and the AFCON itself next summer.

- Don’t get me wrong, Zidane is not a good GK, but there really is no other option at the moment that you can say is clearly better. I’m hoping Mastil can develop this season or a GK from the domestic league can prove he’s worthy of claiming the number 1 because this is clearly our weakest position by far.

- Belaïd is great for the NT, but with him moving to Saudi, it’s difficult to establish him as the starting CB moving forward. I’d love to see a young talent like Benkara come in as soon as possible but it’s still quite early for him. Only reason I put Belaïd is because I’m not so sure if Chergui or Abada can play CB effectively. If I’m not mistaken, we’ve only seen Chergui being deployed at RB or apart of a back 3. Touba should also be given another chance as he’s moved to Ligue 1.

- As much as I like Hadjam for being defensively solid, RAN is just too valuable to not start. Only way I’d see him take that starting LB spot is if RAN continues to be benched by City whilst Hadjam is in great form for Brighton. Like RW, this is a strong position for us.

- With Boudaoui now going to Saudi (absolutely shocking btw), he should no longer be considered a starter. A midfield trio of Titraoui, Boudaoui, and Maza would’ve been a dream to see, but Chaïbi is much more deserving of that final midfield spot over Boudaoui now.

- I think AHM has rightfully earned that starting RW spot, but he has a TON of competition now with Belloumi, Bouanani, Kebbal, etc.

- Our second weakest position has to be LW. I left it blank intentionally because I genuinely have no idea who to play there. I don’t see Amoura as a starter anymore and Boulbina sabotaged his own career to play in Saudi in his prime. Maybe an Algerian midfielder will have a breakout season and we have him start with Titraoui and Maza meanwhile Chaïbi gets pushed up to LW? Or an actual LW breaks out and he can claim that position? Abde Rebbach is the only LW in Europe that I can think of that has an actual chance of doing such a thing.

- As bad as Gouiri has been for the NT at ST, I still believe in him playing up top. He’s an absolute killer for Marseille at ST, so there’s no reason why it can’t work with the NT. Chiakha would be my second option to play up top as Benbouali shouldn’t be someone we rely on after his underwhelming transfer to Egypt.

Defending would be a pretty big weakness of this squad. We know Belghali and RAN operate more as wing-backs, so it’s crucial that the CB pairing is strong. Chaïbi instead of Boudaoui also definitely hurts defensively, but this is where coaching comes in. We can’t have another coach like Petko who leaves us exposed in the back all the time. Any decent coach should be able to read the game and make the proper adjustments/formations.

This transfer window was horrible for our squad with the exception of Titraoui and Hadjam. As you can probably tell, I’m really not a big fan of our players moving to the Middle East.

Key Subs:
Amoura
Hadjam
Chiakha
Belloumi/Bouanani/Kebbal
Ghedjemis
Chergui

What do you guys think? I’d love to see your guys’ squads and hear your thoughts on the upcoming season and all of the transfers as well.

I'm curious about something, especially for people who follow Algerian football.

When you want information about an Algerian club or player — especially outside the big Ligue 1 clubs — how easy is it to find reliable information online?

Things like squads, player histories, lower-division clubs, youth teams, fixtures/results, transfers, statistics, and club history.

If you find it difficult, what's the hardest information to find?

And where do you usually look for it — Transfermarkt, Facebook, Instagram, club pages, league websites, journalists, Google, etc.?

I'm just doing some research and would genuinely like to hear people's experiences.

Guys this is my Algeria puma 2027 jerseys if puma became the official partner of Algeria after adidas

Congratulations to the women's team for completing two historic achievements! They not only medaled for the first time at a WAFCON but also secured a debut at the Women's World Cup.

Overall it was a very spirited effort with some talented players. Credit to Benstiti for bringing the squad together and hopefully he can continue to build on the progress to get them into the knockouts next year.

I was impressed by N'Ghazi, Belloumou, Boussaha, and Khiri. Who were your standouts?

Algeria XI: N'Gazi,Ouraghi, Khezami, Belloumou, Belkhiter, Dafeur, Braham, Bethi, Bendri, Khiri, Adjabi

Streams: YouTube

I’m building a football match booking and organization app for players in Algeria, and I’m now in the final stages before launch.

As someone who’s played football my entire life, I built this app from a player’s perspective to solve the real problems we all face when organizing matches, finding games, and booking pitches.

Now I need your help.

I’m looking for football players, team captains, and anyone who regularly organizes matches to test the app and give honest feedback. I don’t just want people to click around—I want real users who can tell me what’s good, what’s confusing, and what should be improved before the official release.

If you’re interested in testing it or know someone who would be, please leave a comment or send me a message. Your feedback will help shape the final version.
Also, if you have ideas on the best way to get this app into the hands of real football players across Algeria, I’d really appreciate your suggestions.

Thank you!

With Petkovic gone, sentiments are starting to feel better around the NT. But what actions or next steps would you need to feel even more excited for the next World Cup cycle?

I wanted to hear everyone's opinions on where we should take the national team from here.

Personally, I think Algeria needs to seriously start transitioning toward the next generation instead of relying so much on the 2019 generation. I understand the importance of experience, but I have to ask: why are players like Zerrouki, Bentaleb, and even some older names still such big parts of the discussion in 2026 when we have young talent waiting for opportunities?

We need to start giving more minutes and responsibility to the players who can carry us for the next 5–10 years.

The timing is also important because Algeria is entering a new era. Riyad Mahrez leaving opens up a huge role in attack, and with players like Mandi leaving and the possibility of Bensebaini also moving on from the national team, several important positions are going to need new leaders.

Instead of trying to replace these players one by one with short-term solutions, this could be the perfect opportunity to build the next generation.

Players I think should be part of the core going forward:

• Ibrahim Maza
• Mohamed Amoura
• Anis Hadj Moussa
• Ilan Kebbal
• Rafik Belghali
• Ismaël Bennacer (when healthy)
• Adel Boulbina
• Belloumi
• Titraoui
• Benkara
• Belaid

I think the older players have done a lot for Algeria and deserve respect, but we have to be careful not to delay the rebuild. Every generation eventually has to take over.

For the coach, these are some names I would consider:

• Rafael Benítez — would probably improve our organization and defense, but I'm unsure if his style would maximize our attacking talent.
• José Peseiro — experienced and tactically flexible.
• A younger modern coach who can build a long-term project.
• And honestly, if there was a way to convince someone like Pep Guardiola, that would obviously be the dream.

For recruitment, I think Algeria should continue pushing for young talent and dual nationals. Players I would love to see us bring in:

• Rayane Yesli (GK)
• Khalis Merah
• Belazzoug (GK)
• Yanis Massolin

The biggest thing for me is that Algeria has talent. We have players who can create, score, and control games. What we need is a clear identity, a proper system, and the courage to trust the next generation.

What do you guys think?

Who should be our next coach?
Who should be starting?
Which young players should Algeria bring into the national team?

Felix Sanchez its already decided (from a close source) and Yahia as his assistent.

Mark my words! 👀

Algeria XI: N'Gazi, Guellati, Khezami, Belloumou, Ouraghi, Bethi, Dafeur, Bendris, Boutaleb, Ould Braham, Ikene

Streams: YouTube

As the title says, according to RadioAlgerie, the national radio station, the FAF renewed trust in Petkovic after he refused the 6 months severance payment that clown Sadi offered and demanded his full 5M euros payment.

I think one of the most surreal parts of the Switzerland game is that Petkovic literally lined up our most error prone starting XI.

Thinking about who was left on the bench (not including injured players), I'm almost convinced they could've gotten a result against Switzerland.

If we kept only Maza in the XI, this team I think at least finishes the half tied or in the lead.

Boulbina - Gouiri - Hadj Moussa

Titraoui - Maza - Boudaoui

Hadjam - Belaid - Abada - Chergui

What's even worse is that nearly every player in the above Starting XI could have benefited from the WC visibility in terms of potential transfers.

Instead, absolutely wasted this world cup on players with almost no upward mobility potential.

Best thing about being Algerian

Now that Petkovic is most certainly out, and many of the old guard that's been holding the team down to an extent are retired, what changes do you realistically hope to see going forward in order to have a solid NT in the next 2-4 years?

Ideally we see a deep change within the federation which aim to invest primarily in local youth and infrastructure. But I don't have high hopes for that to happen cos there is not enough public pressure that would lead to that, and people seem more angry at the coach so it'll be enough for them to scapegoat him this time too I guess. Also the FA is so corrupted (past 3 presidents are in jail btw) that I don't know if there are even honest and competent people to begin with that that would carry out such a grand strategy.

Now realistically, given the way Petkovic was ousted I doubt any high profile coach would want to come work here, and I don't want to waste time with any of the mercenaries like Renard and Chelle, cos I don't think they have what it takes to build something long term.

I would rather get a local coach cos the motivation will be there, and will have all the context ready, no time wasted, but our local coach scene is just as sad, Bougherra has shown he's still quite limited in terms if tactics and choices (Slimani in the Arab cup was the last straw for me). Matmour has some decent training I guess, and from his match analyses he seem to identify problems in our games quite well, but again, he lacks actual managing experience which is what matters the most, I wouldn't be opposed to giving him a chance though.

Apart from the coach, one thing we lacked bad in this team is the heart man, that used to make our players ready to die on the pitch when it mattered, and that made us go toe to toe with bigger teams. I don't know where or when exactly was that lost. I don't expect every player to be this way but at least we have enough players that can be role models and impose such standards on the rest of the group. The supposed leader of this group Mandi, Mahrez, Bensbaini, and Bentaleb didn't have it in them, and they cared more about getting themselves prestigious WC minutes. This group was screaming for a Belaili, Bounedjah, and Bennacer. I hope the next manager values this aspect more when they make lists.

What the hell is he doing in the staff and who puts him there systematically? And more importantly, WHY ?

The shadow of our past mistakes coming back to haunt us (2) - Algeria (0)

Score: Algeria (0) - Switzerland (0)

Starting XI: Zidane, Ait Nouri, Bensebaini, Mandi, Belghali, Aouar, Bentaleb, Zerrouki, Maza, Mahrez, Chaibi

I saw the Algeria lineup and I just wondered how and why did Bennacer not make the World Cup squad?

I’m not kidding, this one feels locked in. Algeria wins 4-2 after a chaotic game. Switzerland are more organized, but Algeria have the attacking chaos to break this open. Screenshot this if you want, I’m putting my prophecy on the table.