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Algeria national team coach Christian Gourcuff has moved to announce the list of 23 players that will be in contention to face Lesotho in a 2017 AFCON qualifier.
Les Fennecs kicked off the qualifying campaign with a comfortable win over Seychelles, but they will have bigger fish to fry when they face the Crocodiles in Maseru on 6 September.
And with the second Africa Cup of Nations qualifier drawing closer, coach Christian Gourcuff has unveiled his 23-man squad that will head off to a training camp in Pretoria, South Africa ahead of the game.
While Mehdi Abeid (1/0) has been left out so that he can focus on his club career having made a switch to Panathinaikos, the likes of Rais Mbolhi (41/0), Essaid Belkalem (19/1) and Djamel Mesbah (34/1) have been overlooked.
Etoile Sahel hotshot Bagdhad Bounedjah (1/0) and FC Porto star Yacine Brahimi (22/4) return to the fold, but Mehdi Lacen (44/0) and Foued Kadir (25/2) continue to miss out.
Leicester City in-form winger Riyad Mahrez (17/3), Sporting’s Islam Slimani (37/15), Valencia star Sofiane Feghouli (35/9) and the returning Brahimi will be the men to watch when facing Lesotho.
Algeria squad:
Goalkeepers: Sofiane Khedairia (ES Sétif), Azzedine Doukha (JS Kabylie), Malik Asselah (CR Belouizdad);
Defenders: Aissa Mandi (Stade de Reims), Mehdi Zeffane (Rennes), Hichem Belkaroui (Club Africain), Khoualed Nacereddine (USM Alger), Abderrahmane Hachoud (MC Alger), Carl Medjani (Trabzonspor), Houcine Benayada (USM Alger), Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli);
Midfielders: Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester), Saphir Taider (Inter Milan), Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham), Ryad Boudebouz (Montpellier), Walid Mesloub (Lorient), Ahmed Kashi (Charlton).
Forwards : Islam Slimani (Sporting Lisbon), Hilal Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb), Ishak Belfodil (Bani Yas), Yacine Brahimi (Porto), Baghdad Bounedjah (Etoile Sahel).
