FIFA World Cup 2010
Argelia
 ArgeliaAlgeria Football Association (Fédération Algérienne de Football) Confederation: CAF (Africa) Head coach: Rabah Saadane Captain: Yazid Mansouri Top scorer: Abdelhafid Tasfaout FIFA ranking: 31 World Cup Appearances: 2 Team Colors: Best Results
World Cup Round 1, 1982 and 1986 African Nations Cup Winners 1990 |
The national football team of Algeria, nicknamed "the Desert Foxes", managed to qualify for the World Cup South Africa 2010.
In 1990 the Algerians won the African Nations Cup as hosted, which served to strengthen the interest of the fans for soccer in their country.
The team of Algeria achieved a place in the World Cup for the third time. In the participations of the team in the World Cups of 1982 and 1986, the team was unbalanced and uncompetitive. The Algerian crowd and their team had to wait 24 years to return to a World Cup.
In the formation of the squad, coach Rabah Saâdane called football players linked to the Algerian league and the European soccer. The most outstanding players in the team are Lounes Gaouaoui, who plays as a goalkeeper, then Nadir Belhadj, Madjid Bougherra and Antar Yahia( the latter is a defender who scored the qualifying goal against Egypt). Also is the captain Yazid Mansouri, the strikers Meghni Mourad and Karim Ziani, who lead the team in the attack in tough games.
In the hands of coach Rabah Saâdane, the renewed team of Algeria is preparing to deliver first class football in South Africa.
The Players and the Qualifying Stage
The Desert Foxes have a squad full of talent and youthful energy. With a combination of young and experienced players, they seek to build a team that is very promising, according to experts and international coaches.
The team was able to score in qualifiers and obtain the ticket to South Africa this past November 18th. This thanks to its 1-0 victory against Egypt in a decisive playoff game. The team of the "greens", nicknamed like that due to its jersey, lined up nine regular players of the professional leagues of Europe like France, Germany, England, Italy and Scotland.
The question for many is how to choose the right man for the World Cup, whether he has to choose from this players’ roster:
| Player | Position | Team |
| Lounes Gaouaoui | Goalkeeper | ASO Chlef, Argelia |
| Nadir Belhadj | Defender | Porsmouth FC, United Kingdom |
| Antar Yahia | Defender | Bochum, Germany |
| Rafik Halliche | Midfielder | CD Nacional, Portugal |
| Madjid Bouguerra | Defender | Glasgow Rangers, Scotland |
| Yazid Mansouri | Midfielder-captain | FC Lorient, France |
| Karim Ziani | Midfielder | Vfl Wolfsburg, Germany |
| Khaled Lemouchia | Midfielder | ES Setif, Argelia |
| Mourad Meghni | Midfielder | SS Lazio Roma, Italy |
| Rafik Saifi | Defender | Al-Khor SC, Qatar |
| Abdelkader Ghezzal | Centre forward | AC Siena, Italy |
Fans just hope that "The Desert Fox" carved their shoes and enter the field to show the caste with which they have been characterized.
Head Coach
Scorer in his days as soccer player, Sheikh Saâdane Rabah at his 64 years-old and with the experience needed, directed the team of Algeria. The media cataloged him in the region as one of the best coaches. After taking part of the national team as the new coach, he is now preparing the team in their dispute against their opponents in the group stage. With his experience in defense as a former player, Sheikh (known him also as the "elder" or "master"), is aligning the best players to qualify the team to the next phase in South Africa.