Algeria – Equatorial Guinea: Petkovic under fire from critics

Inducted in February, the Swiss coach of the &eacute Algeria team is already the target of criticism especially because of the surprising choices on the players summoned.

Welcomed with great fanfare six months ago to replace Djamel Belmadi, the former Swiss coach no longer seems to be unanimous among the many followers of the Algerian team. While the Fennecs begin the CAN 2025 qualifiers tonight against Equatorial Guinea, the list of players called up for this first gathering of the season has caused a lot of discussion. This does not play in Petkovic's favor, who has already faced harsh criticism during the last two meetings against Guinea (1-2, June 6), and Uganda (2-1, June 11).To everyone's surprise, Fares Chaïbi, who performed well with Eintracht Frankfurt at the start of the season, was not selected for a second consecutive match. Neither the media nor the Fennecs fans understood this exclusion and Petkovic's explanations threw additional confusion over the reasons for this absence “Chaïbi is a good player. I follow him very much. I preferred take players who have well-established positions like Hadj Moussa or Sayoud. Chaïbi, I follow him and every weekend we 'éevaluate". The former Toulouse midfielder has nevertheless been astonishingly consistent for a year in the Bundesliga with 13 assists in 37 matches last season.

But Chaïbi's absence is not the only surprising choice made by the former Bordeaux coach. The call-up of Mohamed Amoura, injured since the beginning of August, irritated his new Wolfsburg managers. Boudaoui, injured on Sunday, was replaced by Ahmed Kendouci, who has not yet started his season with Cleopatra in Egypt. Calling on Abdelli would have been more judicious. The Angevin is one of the few players to have played three games in a row in August but does not seem to be in Petkovic's papers. Youcef Attal, without a club since the end of his contract with Adana Demirsport (Turkey) last May, still has the confidence of the Swiss. While the return of Ryad Mahrez to the group is far from delighting Algerian fans, because the former captain of the Greens has lost his influence with El Ahli in Saudi Arabia and seems to be marking time at 33 years old.

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Something new with something old

Of the 26 players called up for the two matches of these qualifiers against Equatorial Guinea and then Monday against Liberia, there are four new faces: defender Naoufel Khacef, from CR Belouizdad, goalkeeper Alexis Guendouz, from Iranian club FC Persepolis, full-back Mohamed Farsi, from Columbus Crew (MLS) and playmaker Amir Sayoud, who plays for Al-Raed, in Saudi Arabia. The latter is called up for the national team for the first time at the age of 34. However, this call-up was long awaited as Sayoud's profile, a hard-hitting, audacious player with an excellent shot, was missing from the selection in closed matches. Public opinion seems to agree with this new feature, which is not the case for Mohamed Farsi, who plays in MLS. The Columbus Crew right-back was preferred to Saadi Redouani, a key player for USM Alger for several years. For the goalkeeper position, Alexandre Oukidja (36 years old) seems to be in the running for a starting spot after a year of absence.

At what time will the match take place

The match between Algeria and Equatorial Guinea will take place at 9 p.m. this Thursday (8 p.m. local time) at the Miloud Hadefi stadium in Oran.

On which TV channel is Algeria – Equatorial Guinea broadcast ?

 The match  will be broadcast this Thursday from 9 p.m. on the BeIN Sport France 2 channel.  You can also follow the match on the Algerian channel ENTV  or German Sportdigital Fussball.

Which streaming broadcast for the match ?

To follow the match in streaming, you will need to connect to the Bein Connect platform.

The possible teams

• The Algerian eleven:  Oukidja; Atal, Mandi, Bensebaini, Ait-Nouri; Bennacer, Aouar, Zerrouki; Benrahma, Benzia, Mahrez.
• The eleven of Equatorial Guinea: Owono; Ndong, Coco, Fernandez, Akpo; Ganet, Mascarell; Miranda, P Obiang, Salvador; Nlavo