Algeria World Cup 1982
Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.
Africa All-Time Team
French-Algerian
Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia
The Algerian national team started playing international matches under the name FLN even before its independence. Abdelaziz Ben Tifour and Mustapha Zitouni who were star players in the French league were behind the FLN national team. Algeria first made his name in world football when they beat the European Champion West Germany 2-1 at the 1982 WC Finals. They narrowly missed the second round after West Germany beat Austria in one of the most controversial matches in World Cup history. From 1986 to 2010, they failed to qualify for another WC Finals. In 2014, they made it to the 2nd round before losing to Germany.Africa All-Time Team
French-Algerian
Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia
This is my selection of a 23 member all-time team for Algeria. If there were an All-Time World Cup, this would be the 23 players I would bring to the tournament.
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| 2019 AFCON winner |
Team
GK: Mehdi Cerbah
Mehdi Cerbah earned 57 caps for Algeria. He was the starting keeper of the 1982 World Cup team. He also played in several African Cup of Nations finals, including the 1980 finals where Algeria finished runners-up, losing to Nigeria in the final 3–0. He was voted Algerian Keeper of the Century. He spent most of his career playing for Algerian sides USM Alger, JS Kabylie and RC Kouba. He played one and a half seasons in Canada with NASL side Montreal Manic. He returned to Algeria and finished career in RC Kouba till 1986.
GK: Abderrahmane Boubekeur
Abderrahmane Boubekeur was a goalkeeper with AS Monaco in the 1950's. He also played for AS Saint-Eugène Alger. For international football, he played for FLN football team(the national team for National Liberation Front) between 1958 and 1962. He also played for Algeria after it became independent. He played in an upset win against West Germany in 1964.
GK: Abderrahman Ibrir
Born in Algeria, Abderrahman Ibrir began his career with Bordeaux. From 1947 to 1951, he played for Toulouse. Later, he played for Marseille. On the international level, he has six caps with the French national team between 1949 and 1950. He played in the important playoff game of the 1950 World Cup Qualifiers against Yugoslavia in 1950. He also played for FLN at the end of his career.
Born in Algeria, Abderrahman Ibrir began his career with Bordeaux. From 1947 to 1951, he played for Toulouse. Later, he played for Marseille. On the international level, he has six caps with the French national team between 1949 and 1950. He played in the important playoff game of the 1950 World Cup Qualifiers against Yugoslavia in 1950. He also played for FLN at the end of his career.
Chaabane Merzekane spent most of his career playing for NA Hussein Dey and also had a brief stint with MC Alger. He was the
starting rightback for Algeria at the World Cup Finals in 1982. he played every minute for that tournament. He earned Man
of the Match Award in the famous victory against West Germany.
CB/RB: Mustapha Zitouni
Mustapha Zitouni was capped 4 times by France in the late 1950's. He was on France's 1952 Olympic team. He went on to represent the FLN football team, and then, Algeria when it became independent. Zitouni began his career with OM Saint-Eugène in 1950. He then played in France for Cannes, Monaco and Chartres. His longest stint was with AS Monaco between 1954 and 1958. While in Algeria, he played club football for RC Kouba.
CB: Mahmoud Guendouz Mustapha Zitouni was capped 4 times by France in the late 1950's. He was on France's 1952 Olympic team. He went on to represent the FLN football team, and then, Algeria when it became independent. Zitouni began his career with OM Saint-Eugène in 1950. He then played in France for Cannes, Monaco and Chartres. His longest stint was with AS Monaco between 1954 and 1958. While in Algeria, he played club football for RC Kouba.
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| Mustapha Zitouni with FLN against West Germany |
Guendouz earned 69 caps between 1977 and 1986. He appeared at the 1980 Olympics as well as the FIFA World Cups of 1982 and 1986. He appeared in every minute of both WC Finals. He was considered one of the key players of the 1980's for Algeria. As a club player he was largely based in his homeland, although he also appeared for FC Martigues in France.
CB: Madjid Bougherra
Bougherra began his career with Gueugnon before having spells with Crewe Alexandra, Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton Athletic in England. He moved to Rangers in 2008. He signed for Lekhwiya of Qatar in 2011, moving to Al-Fujairah three years later. Bougherra ended his club career following a short spell at Aris. He played 70 games for Algeria.
SW: Miloud Hadefi
Born in 1949, Miloud Hadefi was considered to be "Beckenbauer" of Africa. He was nicknamed the "African Kaiser" by Pelé. He was capped 46 times between 1968 and 1979 for Algeria. He won Gold medal in All-Africa Games in Algiers 1978. He spent his club career at home mainly with MC Oran, and WA Tlemcen. He retired in 1981.
LB: Faouzi Ghoulam
Born in France of Algerian parents, Faouzi Ghoulam was capped by France at the youth level. He switched to play for Algeria at the senior level in 2013. He went on to play for Algeria at the World Cup Finals in 2014. He started his career with AS Saint-Étienne in 2010. From 2014 to 2022, he played for Napoli in Italy. He was Algeria Player of the Year in 2017. He was on Europe League team of the Year. His brother Nabil is a cross country runner that represented France.
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| Faouzi Ghoulam |
LB: Mustapha Kouici
Kouici began his career with Belkour. He also played with USM Alger and Olympique de Médéa. From 1976 to 1984, he played 49 times for Algeria. He helped them to reach the Final of the 1980 African Cup of Nations, where he also made the Team of the Tournament. He also participated in the 1982 African Cup of Nations as well as the 1982 World Cup Finals.
Tahar Chérif El-Ouazzani was a great player at MC Oran. He would lead the team to the Algerian Cup in 1996 as well as back-to-back Arab Cup Winners Cups in 1997 and 1998. He also played in Turkey and Morocco. He was voted second-best African player of year in 1990 after Roger Milla(because of his World Cup run that year). He won the African Cup of Nations the same year.
DM/CM: Ismaël Bennacer
At international level, Ismaël Bennacer made his senior debut for Algeria in 2016, and has since represented his nation at three editions of the Africa Cup of Nations; he was a member of the team that won the 2019 edition, and was named the player of the tournament. From 2017 and 2019, he played with Empoli. In 2019, he started playing for AC Milan.
DM/CM: Ali Fergani
Ali Fergani was capped 66 times between 1973 and 1986. He was the playmaker for Algeria at 1982 World Cup in Spain, where Algeria beat West Germany, the reigning European Champion. He also went to the Olympics in 1980. On the same year, he went to the African Nations of Cup, where Algeria finished second. He was the runner-up at the African Player of the Year award in 1981. Fergani played club football for NA Hussein Dey and JE Tizi-Ouzo.
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| Ali Fergani |
Dahleb held the record for all-time leading scorer for Paris Saint-Germain in the French first division with 85 goals before being surpassed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Dahleb is the club's third all-time goalscorer in all competitions, with 98 goals. He also played for Sedan and Nice. Dahleb played with the Algerian national team in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, where Algeria beat West Germany.
AM: Lakhdar Belloumi
Lakhdar Belloumi is considered to be the best Algerian player of all-time. He scored one of the goals that beat West Germany at the 1982 World Cup Finals. He is voted as the 4th best African player of the century. He holds the record as the most capped Algerian player with 147 national caps. He won the African Player of the Year award in 1981. He also played in the 1980 Olympic Games. Despite interests from European clubs, he stayed in Algeria during his career.
Lakhdar Belloumi is considered to be the best Algerian player of all-time. He scored one of the goals that beat West Germany at the 1982 World Cup Finals. He is voted as the 4th best African player of the century. He holds the record as the most capped Algerian player with 147 national caps. He won the African Player of the Year award in 1981. He also played in the 1980 Olympic Games. Despite interests from European clubs, he stayed in Algeria during his career.
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| Lakhdar Belloumi |
AM/SS/FW: Hacene Lalmas
Nicknamed El Kebch (The Ram), Hacene Lalmas is widely considered to be one of the greatest Algerian player ever. He was capped 43 times between 1963 and 1974. He won 4 league titles with CR Belouizdad. He is the All-time top scorer in the Algerian league with 150 career goal. He was voted as the 14th best player African player of all-time by the CAF.
LW/RW: Yacine Brahimi
While at Clermont, Brahimi had a successful individual 2009–10 season. After spending the previous season there on loan, he moved to the La Liga club Granada CF in 2013, and then to Porto for €6.5 million one year later. He is a former France youth international having represented the country at all youth levels. In 2013, he switched his international allegiance to Algeria and made his debut for them a month later, also playing at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, winning the 2019 tournament.
Born in France, Riyad Mahrez joined Leicester from La Harve in 2014. He helped Leicester Town to win the Premiership in 2015-2016. He won the PFA Players' Player of the Year, and was a member of the Premier League PFA Team of the Year as he helped Leicester City win the Premier League. In 2018, he joined Manchester City. For the national team, he was eligible to play for France. He was selected to play for Algeria at Brazil 2014, but only played in one match.
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| Riyad Mahrez |
FW/CF/LW: Abdelaziz Ben Tifour
Abdelaziz Ben Tifour played for France at the 1954 World Cup Finals. He had a notable career in the French league, especially with Nice. He was one of the founding member of FLN Algeria national team. He played for Nice. He moved to Troyes AC after six seasons with Nice in 1954 and then signed for AS Monaco in 1956.
FW/LW: Salah Assad
Salah Assad was the starting left forward for Algeria at World Cup in 1982. He is the top scorer for Algeria at the World Cup Finals. For his performance in 1982, he was the runner-up for African Player of the the Year. He also played in 1986. He played for RC Kouba, where he won an Algerian tournament in 1981 and one African Cup Winner's Cup, and in France for FC Mulhouse and Paris Saint-Germain FC.
ST: Rachid Mekhloufi
Rachid Mekhloufi is the all-time leading scorer for Saint-Etienne in France, where he played from 1954 to 1958. He won 4 Ligue 1 titles with them in the 1960's. Liked many French-Algerian of his generation, he was capped by France. He played 4 times for France between 1956 and 1957. He later played for FLN Algeria national team and then, Algeria after it gained independence. He was the co-manager of the Algeria national football team in the 1982 World Cup.
Rachid Mekhloufi is the all-time leading scorer for Saint-Etienne in France, where he played from 1954 to 1958. He won 4 Ligue 1 titles with them in the 1960's. Liked many French-Algerian of his generation, he was capped by France. He played 4 times for France between 1956 and 1957. He later played for FLN Algeria national team and then, Algeria after it gained independence. He was the co-manager of the Algeria national football team in the 1982 World Cup.
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| Rachid Mekhloufi |
FW: Islam Slimani
Slimani began his career with JSM Chéraga and CR Belouizdad. In 2013, he moved to Sporting CP. In 2016, Slimani was transferred to Leicester for a club record £28 million fee. Slimani made his international debut in 2012 and played at the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2021, and was also a part of the Algeria side that won the 2019 tournament. He was also part of Algeria's squad at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, where he finished as the team's joint top scorer with two goals. He is Algeria's highest all-time goalscorer.
ST: Rabah Madjer
Rabah Madjer is probably the most successful Algerian player in Europe. He scored the first goal of the 2-1 victory over West Germany at the 1982 World Cup Finals. Five years later, he again broke the Germans' hearts when he scored a goal and set up another as Porto beat Bayern Munich at the European Cup Final in 1987. He played 87 times for Algeria. At the club level, he played domestic football in Algeria, France, Qatar and Portugal. As mentioned, Porto was his greatest stint.
Rabah Madjer is probably the most successful Algerian player in Europe. He scored the first goal of the 2-1 victory over West Germany at the 1982 World Cup Finals. Five years later, he again broke the Germans' hearts when he scored a goal and set up another as Porto beat Bayern Munich at the European Cup Final in 1987. He played 87 times for Algeria. At the club level, he played domestic football in Algeria, France, Qatar and Portugal. As mentioned, Porto was his greatest stint.
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| Rabah Madjer |
Honorable Mention
Raïs M'Bolhi, Nacerdine Drid, Mohamed Abrouk, Antar Yahia, Aïssa Mandi, Aissa Draoui, Abdelkader Ben Bouali, Noureddine Kourichi, Nadir Belhadj, Djamel Mesbah, Youcef Atal, Ramy Bensebaini, Mahi Khennane, Fodil Megharia, Mahieddine Meftah, Moussa Saïb, Karim Ziani, Mohamed Salem, Sofiane Feghouli, Ali Bencheikh, Said Brahimi, Rabah Gamouh, Abdelhamid Kermali, Abdekhafid Tasfaout, Rafik Saifi, Mohamed Maouche, Djamel Menad, Omar Betrouni.
Raïs M'Bolhi, Nacerdine Drid, Mohamed Abrouk, Antar Yahia, Aïssa Mandi, Aissa Draoui, Abdelkader Ben Bouali, Noureddine Kourichi, Nadir Belhadj, Djamel Mesbah, Youcef Atal, Ramy Bensebaini, Mahi Khennane, Fodil Megharia, Mahieddine Meftah, Moussa Saïb, Karim Ziani, Mohamed Salem, Sofiane Feghouli, Ali Bencheikh, Said Brahimi, Rabah Gamouh, Abdelhamid Kermali, Abdekhafid Tasfaout, Rafik Saifi, Mohamed Maouche, Djamel Menad, Omar Betrouni.
Squad Explantion
-- The original team was created in 2014. I did a review of the team in September, 2022. I started the team from stretch.
-- I considered FLN as the national team of Algeria. So Abderrahman Ibrir, Abdelaziz Ben Tifour and Rachid Mekhloufi are eligible for this team. They played for FLN, despite playing for France. I also ruled all Algerian players who played for France before the formation of FLN or the Algerian national team eligible. The good players from that generational had no other choice but to represent France. Without this rule, if a player was not good enough for France, he would be eligible while the better players became ineligible simply because they were better players and played for France. This team is about honoring the best of Algerian footballers and the best players should be included. Alexandre Villaplane was the only player that fitted criteria. However, I ruled him ineligible because he was also a Pied-Noir (an Algerian of European descent). I also did not select Just Fontaine for my Morocco All-Time team for the same reason.
-- I considered FLN as the national team of Algeria. So Abderrahman Ibrir, Abdelaziz Ben Tifour and Rachid Mekhloufi are eligible for this team. They played for FLN, despite playing for France. I also ruled all Algerian players who played for France before the formation of FLN or the Algerian national team eligible. The good players from that generational had no other choice but to represent France. Without this rule, if a player was not good enough for France, he would be eligible while the better players became ineligible simply because they were better players and played for France. This team is about honoring the best of Algerian footballers and the best players should be included. Alexandre Villaplane was the only player that fitted criteria. However, I ruled him ineligible because he was also a Pied-Noir (an Algerian of European descent). I also did not select Just Fontaine for my Morocco All-Time team for the same reason.
-- Rabah Madjer and Lakhdar Belloumi were probably Algeria's greatest players. Madjer won the European Cup with Porto beating Bayern Munich in the Final. He scored the equalizing goal. He also scored the opening goal against West Germany in the 1982 World Cup Finals. The match was better known as Algeria's greatest ever win in the World Cup Finals. Lakhdar Belloumi was rated as high as Madjer, but he did not have the same exposure in Europe. People outside of Africa might have forgotten about him. Rachid Mekhloufi should be an automatic selection too. By 2022, Riyad Mahrez probably has became another undisputed selection. They were also the only three Algerian footballers who had won the African Player of the Year. Lakhdar Belloumi, Rabah Madjer and Riyad Mahrez. Mahez also won the BBC African Player of the Year. Yacine Brahimi was the other Algerian who had won the same award, but he was not an undisputed selection at the time of writing.
-- A group of French-based Algerian footballers disappeared in April, 1958 from France and went to Tunis where the provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA) was located. They were the founding members of FNL national team. Abdelaziz Bentifour, Mustapha Zitouni, Rachid Mekhloufi and Mohamed Maouche were French international players. I do not really know much about Maouche. He had played for France, but the other three (or all four) were said to be on France's 1958 provisional World Cup team. Rachid Mekhloufi was a big star in France at the time.
-- I selected a lot of players from the Golden Generation of the 1980's. They qualified for the World Cup Finals twice while winning the 1990 African Cup of Nations. Mehdi Cerbah, Rabah Madjer, Ali Fergani, Mustapha Dahleb, Lakhdar Belloumi, Salah Assad, Mahmoud Guendouz and Chaabane Merzekane belonged to the generation in the 1980's.
-- In 1990, Algeria won their first African Cup of Nations. Rabah Madjer was the top scorer at the tournament. I also selected Tahar Chérif El-Ouazzani from the 1990 team. Djamel Menad and Moussa Saïb were on the 2014 edition. The 2014 edition was created at a time when the 1990 title was their only African Cup of Nations. Since then, they took the 2019 Cup.
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| 1990 African Cup Nations Winner |
-- The Confederation of African Football (CAF) compiled a list of 200 greatest African footballers of the last 50 years in 2006. I used this list as a reference. The players on the list were Hacène Lalmas, Rachid Makhloufi, Omar Betrouni , Miloud Hadefi, Salah Assad , Lakhdar Belloumi, Mustapha Dahlab, Ali Fergani and Tahar Chérif El-Ouazzani. Not everyone made this team.
-- I also did a blog team for French-Algerian.
-- Algeria also beat West Germany 2-0 in 1964. Hans Schäfer, Uwe Seeler, and Hans Tilkowski led a talented German team in Algiers. The upset was Algeria's greatest victory in their early days. I do not need to go into 1982.
Goalkeepers
-- Abderrahmane Boubekeur played for a North Africa selection that beat France in 1954. Later, he was one of the founding members of FLN. He played many games for AS Monaco before he "deflected" to play for Algeria (FLN) in 1958. He saved a penalty against West Germany in 1964 and beat them 2-0. The game became Algeria's greatest victory at that point in history. So his playing career also carried merits. Mehdi Cerbah was voted Algeria's Goalkeeper of the Century. Of course, he played in the important 1982 World Cup Finals.
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| Mehdi Cerbah |
-- In 2014, I chose Raïs M'Bolhi as my third goalkeeper because he started for Algeria in the previous two World Cup Finals. He was doing well with the national team. Since 2014, M'Bolhi brought home the African Cup of Nations in 2019 while being named on the Team of the Tournament. I did give him some credit. However, in actuality, his domestic club career was very modest. So in 2022, I looked further into the third goalkeeper's spot.
-- Alexandre Oukidja had done better in domestic football, but he only earned 2 caps. So I narrowed my final choice down to Nacerdine Drid and Mohamed Abrouk. Abrouk was the first Algerian football to win the Best Athlete award in Algeria. I was lending toward him, but his domestic club career was only in North Africa. So I decided to dig deeper.
-- Abderrahman Ibrir had a long club career in France. He also played 6 times for France. One of the caps came in the important 1950 World Cup qualifying playoff game against Yugoslavia. So he had more experience playing at a higher level than the other candidates. Normally, I should not count his performance for France. But his situation was different, given that he played his prime before the existence of the Algerian national team. I used his performance for France as measurement of his level. He was eligible for this team because he had represented FLN. Even through he probably did not perform his best for them (he was 40 years old when he played for FLN), his "services" to Algerian football were unquestionable due to the fact that FLN was very important to Algeria's football history. Many players outside Europe and South America had similar issues. Their prime was before the existence of their national team and I overlooked their "performance for national team" as a criteria.
-- Raïs M'Bolhi was born in Paris, France to a Congolese father and Algerian mother. He started playing football for RCF Paris. Then, he joined Olympique de Marseille, though he never made a league appearance before his release in January 2006. He played in Turkey, Bulgaria, the USA, Russia, etc. He was capped by France at the youth level before switching to Algeria. He played in both WC Finals in 2010 and 2014.
Defenders
-- Mustapha Zitouni was probably Algeria's greatest defender. He also contributed in the founding of the FLN national team. He also played as a rightback. Then, I took Miloud Hadefi. He was chosen by CAF as one of the 200 greatest African footballers of the last 50 years in 2006. One Arab list placed him as a top 10 greatest ever player for Algeria. Madjid Bougherra won Algerian Ballon D'or twice. He also was frequently mentioned by several Arab sources. However, I did believe the sources got the same information from the same English source. Nevertheless, I do believe that he would be a worthy selection for this team. Mahmoud Guendouz was IFFHS's choices for their All-Time Best XI. He played every minutes of 1982 and 1986 World Cup Finals. They were my four central defenders, but I was not 100% sold on my own judgement. Algeria's central defenders were very even.
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| Madjid Bougherra |
-- On the right, Chaabane Merzekane was the Man of the Match on the famous victory over West Germany in 1982. Mustapha Zitouni would serve as the emergency rightback. Youcef Atal is an emerging rightback in France. I will keep an eye on him.
-- Faouzi Ghoulam was probably the only undisputed defender selected to this team. I took him in 2014 when he was an emerging leftback playing in Serie A. He has done well in Italy since then. He has won the Algerian Player of the Year in 2017. Mustapha Kouici was on the African Cup of Nations' Team of the Tournament in 1980 in which Algeria finished second. I also looked into Nadir Belhadj and Djamel Mesbah for the backup leftback in 2014. By 2022, I added Ramy Bensebaini to honorable mentions. He was probably the best Arab leftback in the world according a website. Abdelkader Ben Bouali was the first North African descent to play for France, but he only capped once. I do not know his actual playing position, but he was probably left central defender or leftback. In 2014, I ruled him ineligible because he was "cap-tied to France. I changed my policy in 2022 to more accommodating toward players who did not have the opportunity to play for Algeria. Thus, he should be in the players' pool.
-- From 1959 to 1964, Mohamed Salem played striker at UA Sedan-Torcy. After a stint in Brussels, he returned to play libero at the same club, but it was renamed RC Paris-Sedan by his second stint. He is still Sedan's second highest scorer. I only put him on honorable mention.
-- Born in France, Noureddine Kourichi chose to represent Algeria. Between 1980 and 1985, he had 30 caps for Algeria. He played in the 1982 and 1986 World Cup Finals. He played in 5 out of six games in those Finals. For club football, he played with Valenciennes, Girondines Bordeaux and Lille in France. He was on my 2014 team.
Midfielders/Wingers
-- Tahar Chérif El-Ouazzani was voted second-best African player of year in 1990 after Roger Milla (because of his World Cup run that year). He was also named one of the 200 Greatest African Players in the last 50 years by CAF. Ali Fergani was an attack midfielder, but became the defensive presence on the 1982 World Cup team. He was a "two-way" midfielder. He came third for the African Footballer of the Year award in 1981.
-- Ismaël Bennacer was a hero for Alegria's 2019 AFCON winning team. He was named as the Player of the Tournament. He already spent 4 seasons in Serie A. At the time of writing, he was only 24 years, but I did not have enough defensive midfielders. So I rushed him into the team. He could operate as a holding midfielder as well as a deep-lying playmaker. Mahieddine Meftah was on my team in 2014. Ideally, I needed another midfielder who could play in a deeper role. Abdelaziz Ben Tifour also played as a centre-half. He would be the emergency backup. So I took Meftah out.
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| Ismaël Bennacer |
-- Lakhdar Belloumi was African Player of the Year in 1981. He was linked to Barcelona and Juventus during his prime, but he did not go. Then, I immediately took Mustapha Dahlab who holds the records of being the fourth-highest goalscorer for Paris Saint-Germain and sixth all-time goalscorer in all competitions. He started as a left winger and later played in the midfield. From his Youtube highlights, he was a good winger. Hacène Lalmasis often listed as one of the greatest Algerian player of all-time. He was almost on all of my lists of greatest Algerian players of all-time. The CAF ranked him as the 14th greatest African player (2nd highest among Algerians).
-- Moussa Saïb was full of flair at his prime. He was captain of Algeria's African Cup Nations winning team in 1990. But except for Auxerre, he did not stay long anywhere else in his club career. Karim Ziani was considered to be a national hero by many Algerian. He assisted the goal that put them into their first World Cup Finals since 1986. I also did not want to take Abdelhafid Tasfaout. He is the Algeria national football team's all-time second best scorer just behind Islam Slimani. Ali Bencheikh was the runner-up for the 1978 African Footballer of the Year award. They were big names in Algerian football, but they won't get into the team because of the three playmakers ahead of them. They were the last players cut.
-- I seriously considered to add Ali Bencheikh as my fourth playmaker, but I stayed with three midfielders who usually played in a deeper role and added Islam Slimani who is Algeria's All-Time leading scorer.
-- Riyad Mahrez won the PFA Players' Player of the Year in England. He also helped Algeria to win the 2019 African Cup Of Nations. I did not need AM/RW Sofiane Feghouli after I took Mahrez.
-- In 2014, Yacine Brahimi was still too young to be in consideration. Since 2014, he has won a number of individual awards. He usually played on the left wing, but can start on the right and has generally cut inside to operate centrally. Since I had too many attack midfielders, I selected him. Salah Assad or Mustapha Dahleb could also operate on the left, but I stayed with him. Assad was a wing-forward or left wing.
Forwards
-- Rachid Mekhloufi is the all-time leading scorer for Saint-Etienne in France, where he played from 1954 to 1958. He was capped by France, but later played for FLN. He disappeared from the national team duty for France against Switzerland on April, 1958 to join the FLN team. Because of that, he missed the 1958 World Cup Finals. One source called him France's best player at the time, but France also had Raymond Kopa and Just Fontaine on the team.
-- Liked Mekhloufi, Abdelaziz Ben Tifour was a founding member of the FLN team. His last international match for France was October, 1957. In April, 1958, he secretly left France to join FLN. He was a great footballer, but his role with FLN made him an undisputed selection.
-- In 2022, I added Islam Slimani to the team. I actually thought a few of the attack midfielders I dropped might deserve his spot as much, but Slimani is Algeria's all-time leading scorer. I also did not select Abdekhafid Tasfaout who was their second leading scorer. I could not have an Algeria All-Time team without the top two Algerian greatest scorers.
-- Salah Assad was ranked in many sources. He was also known for his "flip flap" move. Some Algerians considered him the first to master the it before Ronaldinho made it famous. But older fans would point out that Roberto Rivelino was using the move regularly in the 1960's. According to the Brazilians, it was invented by Sérgio Echigo, and he taught Rivelino the "move".
-- In 2014, my team included Djamel Menad and Omar Betrouni.
Menad was capped over 80 times. He went to the Olympics in 1980. He appeared at the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico. He finished third for the 1986 African Footballer of the Year award. In 1990. he won the African Cup of Nations where he was the top scorer. Omar Betrouni helped MC Alger win the 1976 African Cup of Champions Clubs. In 2006, he was selected by CAF as one of the best 200 African football players of the last 50 years. They made honorable mentions.
Algeria's win vs West Germany
Starting lineup
I converted Mahieddine Meftah into a leftback. He played as the left center-back on a 3-back formation at the WC Finals. Abdelaziz Ben Tifour got the nod because of his contributions to Algerian football.
team1
ReplyDeleteM'Bolhi
Slimane-Raho Bougherra Zitouni Kouici
El-Ouazzani
Brahimi Belloumi Assad
Mekhloufi Madjer
team2
Cerbah/Osmani
Merzekane Ali-Benhalima Kourichi Abdelaziz-Benhamlat
Bennacer
Mahrez Bencheikh Lalmas Dahleb
Menad
Slimane Raho had a 12 year NT career. He won 11 international trophies at club level.
Ali Benhalima was selected in the CAF XI 1990. He also scored the winning goal in the Afro-Asian Cup of Nations. Perhaps he was better for the Algerian NT than Hadefi.
Abdelaziz Benhamlat had 28 caps and won 4 international trophies with JS Kabylie. I'm not sure if he was better than Ghoulam. But Ghoulams' DBS stats are not of an alltime character.