Brahim Hemdani has made an immediate impact as Algeria manager, leaving out 12 players selected for the 2026 World Cup and handing a surprise recall to USM Alger defender Saadi Radouani.
Hemdani named a 26-man squad on Thursday for Algeria’s opening two 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. The Fennecs host Zambia at the Hocine-Ait-Ahmed stadium in Tizi Ouzou on 25 September before travelling to face Burundi on 29 September. They will end the international window with a friendly against Niger in Tizi Ouzou on 6 October.
Riyad Mahrez and Aissa Mandi are absent after retiring from international football. Houssem Aouar, Oussama Benbot, Ramiz Zerrouki, Hicham Boudaoui, Fares Ghedjemis and Mohamed Amine Tougai have also been omitted, with Hemdani making different selections and some players affected by disrupted transfer windows.
Luca Zidane and Rafik Belghali are unavailable for another reason. Both are serving two-match suspensions imposed after the sanctions that followed the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Yacine Titraoui, who recently joined Lens, and Nadhir Benbouali miss out through injury.
Rather than introducing a large number of uncapped players, Hemdani’s staff have chosen to bring back several footballers who were not involved in Algeria’s recent camps. Goalkeepers Abdelatif Ramdane and Kilian Belazzoug return, while Ahmed Touba and Sohaib Nair are back in defence.
Radouani is the biggest surprise. The USM Alger player has only one international cap, earned in 2024, and benefits from Belghali’s absence. His selection ahead of Kevin Guitoun, who is in strong form with Charleroi, is likely to attract attention.
There are also recalls in midfield for Himad Abdelli, who has regained playing time at OM, along with Adil Aouchiche and Adem Zorgane.
As expected, Hemdani has brought back Bachir Belloumi. The forward has been in excellent form for Hull City in the Premier League and recently scored twice against Chelsea. Monsef Bakrar, Amin Chiakha and Ilan Kebbal also return, with Chiakha having scored regularly for Rosenborg.
Baghdad Bounedjah, however, remains outside the squad despite scoring 3 goals in 4 matches for Al-Shamal. At 34, he no longer appears to be part of Hemdani’s plans for the future.
The new manager has retained a core of players from Algeria’s World Cup campaign, including Ramy Bensebaini, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Ibrahim Maza, Amine Gouiri, Mohamed Amoura, Anis Hadj Moussa, Fares Chaibi and goalkeeper Melvin Mastil.
Nabil Bentaleb is another player to survive the significant changes to the squad.