Sinan RAJUB SENOGA
African champions Algeria have named a 28-man squad that will take part in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations tournament that will start on January 9th in Cameroon.
The squad is made up of only foreign based players and includes 12 players who helped Algeria to win the recently concluded FIFA Arab Cup.
Only 15 of the 28 players have ever featured in the local Algeria Ligue.
Among the star players included is Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez who is expected to captain the team once again.
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Qatar based striker Baghdad Bounedjah, who scored that winning goal against Senegal in 2019, is also part of the squad alongside Yacine Brahimi, Ramy Bensabaini, Rais M’Bolhi, Sofiane Feghouli, Ismael Bennacer, Islam Slimani and Said Benrahma among others.
Youcef Belaili has also been named in the squad despite being without a club after he left Qatar SC.
The Djamel Belmadi coached team will begin the defence of their title on 11 January against Sierra Leone before facing Equatorial Guinea and Ivory Coast in Group E.
The Ferenc Foxxes will also be targeting to extend their unbeaten record which is currently at 33 games, four behind Italy’s world record.
Full Squad
Goalkeepers: Rais M’Bolhi (Ettifaq, Saudi Arabia), Alexandre Oukidja (Metz, France), Moustapha Zeghba (Damac, Saudi Arabia).
Defenders: Djameleddine Benlamri (Qatar SC, Qatar), Aissa Mandi (Villareal, Spain), Mohamed Amine Tougai, Ilyes Chetti, Abdelkader Bedrane (all Esperance, Tunisia), Ramy Bensebaini (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany), Youcef Atal (Nice, France), Houcine Benayada (Etoile du Sahel, Tunisia), Mohamed Reda Halaimia (Beerschot, Belgium), Mehdi Tahrat (Al Gharafa, Qatar)
Midfielders: Ismael Bennacer (AC Milan, Italy), Ramiz Zerrouki (FC Twente, Netherlands), Adem Zorgane (Charleroi, Belgium), Haris Belkebla (Brest, France), Sofiane Feghouli (Galatasaray, Turkey), Sofiane Bendebka (Al Fateh, Saudi Arabia).
Forwards: Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City, England), Adam Ounas (Napoli, Italy), Youcef Belaïli (Unattached), Said Benrahma (West Ham United, England), Yacine Brahimi (Al Rayyan, Qatar), Farid Boulaya (Metz, France), Islam Slimani (Lyon, France), Baghdad Bounedjah (Al Sadd, Qatar), Mohamed Amine Amoura (Lugano, Switzerland).
