Mahrez, Slimani dropped by Algeria after World Cup exit

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria have dropped African Footballer of the Year Riyad Mahrez and his Leicester City team mate Islam Slimani from the squad for next weekend's World Cup qualifier against Cameroon.





The pair are major victims of a clear out of the squad announced on Sunday after Algeria suffered home and away defeats against Zambia in their last qualifiers to end their hopes of reaching next year's finals in Russia.

Algeria reached the second round of the last World Cup in Brazil.

Midfielder Nabil Bentaleb was also dropped, while Carl defensive midfielder Carl Medjani was not considered after announcing his retirement from international football.

Coach Lucas Alcaraz, who has been given the last two qualifiers against Cameroon on Saturday and Nigeria next month, to save his job, has named four new players, including French-born winger Mohamed Fares from Serie A club Verona.

Algeria are bottom of Group B in African qualifying on one point from four matches, behind Nigeria (10), Zambia (seven) and Cameroon (three). Only the group winners will advance to Russia.





(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by John O'Brien)


Share
1 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Mahrez, Slimani dropped by Algeria after World Cup exit | SBS News