Algeria Unleashes Top Stars on Super Eagles for Pride

Duro Ikhazuagbe
Despite not having anything to play for beyond pride, Algeria has listed a very strong squad to play Nigeria in the dead rubber last Group B match of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

New handler of the Fennecs, Raber Madjer, on Tuesday listed Leicester City duo of Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani in the 23-man team to take on Super Eagles on November 10 in Constantine.

Madjer is also going to use the same line-up to take on Central African Republic four days later in an international window in Algiers.

Also in the strong squad to line up against Eagles who picked the Group B ticket to Russia 2018 even before this game is FC Porto’s attacking midfielder Yacine Brahimi and Schalke 04 midfielder Nabil Bentaleb.

Algerian top daily, Lebuteur, yesterday listed Madjer’s other invitees for the inconsequential clash with Nigeria to also include; Chamseddine Rahmani (CS Constantine, Algeria), Faouzi Chaouchi (MC Algiers, Algeria) and Abdelkadir Salhi (CR Belouizdad, Algeria) as the three goalkeepers for the game.

The defenders for the game are Mohamed Khouthir Ziti (ES Setif, Algeria), Youcef Attal (KV Kortrijk, Belgium), Faouzi Ghoulam (SSC Napoli, Italy), Houari Ferhani (JS Kabylie, Algeria), Aissa Mandi (Betis Sevilla, Spain), Liassine Cadamuro (Nîmes Olympique, France), Rami Bensebaini (Stade Rennais, France), Ayoub Abdellaoui (USM Alger, Algeria), Carl Medjani (Sivasspor, Turkey).

Bentaleb is joined in midfield by Abderraouf Benguit (USM Alger, Algeria), Ismael Bannecar (Empoli FC, Italy), Yacine Brahimi (Porto FC, Portugal), Abdelmoumen Djabou (ES Setif, Algeria)
Mahrez is leading the strike force that include his Leicester teammate, Slimani, Zinedine Ferhat (Le Havre AC, France), Baghdad Bounedjah (Al Sadd Sport, Qatar), Hilal El Arabi Soudani (GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia) and Sofiane Hanni (RSC Anderlecht, Belgium).

However missing from the team is AS Monaco’s Rachid Ghezzal as well as Rais M’Bolhi, Djamel Benlamri and Sofiane Feghouli.
A day earlier, Nigeria’s Franco-German gaffer, Gernot Rohr, unveiled a 23-man squad for the clash with three other players on standby.

Apart from the regulars who got the ticket during the qualifiers, the Super Eagles coach extended invites to three youngsters. They include Deportivo La Coruna’s Francis Uzoho and former Golden Eaglets’ Chidiebere Nwakali. The third player is on-loan Everton striker at Anderletch, Henry Onyekuru.

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