Algeria head coach Vladimir Petkovic on Saturday unveiled a 28-player squad for the Africa Cup of Nations finals, set to be staged in Morocco from 21 December to 18 January.
The list includes first-time call-ups for Adel Boulbina (Al-Duhail, Qatar) and Redouane Berkan (Al-Wakrah, Qatar), as well as the return of Espérance de Tunis defender Mohamed Amine Tougaï, who has recovered from injury.
Goalkeeper Anthony Mandrea (Stade Malherbe Caen, France) is also back in the squad, while MC Alger’s Alexis Guendouz misses out through injury.
Midfielder Nabil Bentaleb (Lille, France) is not included either.
Issa Mandi’s team-mates are expected to report on Monday to the national technical centre in Sidi Moussa to begin their training camp, before travelling to Morocco on Friday on a special flight.
Algeria, appearing at the AFCON finals for the 21st time in their history, will compete in Group E alongside Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea and Sudan.
The “Fennecs” will open their campaign on Wednesday 24 December against Sudan (4:00 p.m.), before facing Burkina Faso on Sunday 28 December (6:30 p.m.), then Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday 31 December (5:00 p.m.).
The top two teams in each group, along with the four best third-placed sides, will advance to the round of 16.
Squad list:
Goalkeepers: Luca Zidane (Granada, Spain), Oussama Benbot (USM Alger), Anthony Mandrea (SM Caen, France)
Defenders: Youcef Atal (Al Sadd, Qatar), Ramy Bensebaïni (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Rayan Aït Nouri (Manchester City, England), Samir Chergui (Paris FC, France), Rafiq Belghali (Hellas Verona, Italy), Issa Mandi (Lille, France), Jaouen Hadjam (Young Boys, Switzerland), Mehdi Dorval (Bari, Italy), Zineddine Belaïd (JS Kabylie), Mohamed Amine Tougaï (Espérance de Tunis)
Midfielders: Ismaël Bennacer (Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia), Ramez Zerrouki (Twente, Netherlands), Hicham Boudaoui (Nice, France), Adam Zorgane (Union Saint-Gilloise, Belgium), Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany), Farès Chaïbi (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Houssem Aouar (Al-Ittihad Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
Forwards: Mohamed Amine Amoura (Wolfsburg, Germany), Ilan Kebbal (Paris FC, France), Riyad Mahrez (Al-Ahli, Saudi Arabia), Anis Hadj Moussa (Feyenoord, Netherlands), Adel Boulbina (Al-Duhail, Qatar), Baghdad Bounedjah (Al-Shamal, Qatar), Monsef Bakrar (Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia), Redouane Berkan (Al-Wakrah, Qatar)
What's happening in Tunisia?
Subscribe to our Youtube channel for updates.
