The national football team of Algeria faces Guinea tonight, Thursday, at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Baraki, starting at 20:00, for the third round of the seventh group in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coach Petkovic’s squad aims to secure a victory to strengthen their lead in the standings. The “Greens,” who won their first two qualifying matches against Somalia (3-1) in Algeria and Mozambique (2-0), hope to maintain their winning streak and move closer to their fifth World Cup qualification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tonight, Yacine Brahimi and his teammates will host Guinea before traveling to Kampala to face Uganda on Monday, June 10, at the Mandela National Stadium, starting at 17:00.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
National coach Vladimir Petkovic emphasized the importance of performing well against a well-organized and cohesive Guinean team during a press conference at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Baraki. Petkovic stated that Guinea “will be our direct competitor for the 2026 World Cup qualification, so we must be well-organized and well-managed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This match marks Petkovic’s first official game after he first led the Algerian team in March during the friendly “FIFA Series-2024” tournament held in Algeria, where they played against Bolivia (3-2) and South Africa (3-3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Petkovic has called up 25 players, including four from the local league. Notably, the squad includes a new player, central defender Chaib Kaddad from CR Belouizdad. Conversely, Petkovic decided to leave out several key players, such as Riyad Mahrez, Youcef Bela\u00efli, the current top scorer for the “Greens” Islam Slimani, and Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Far\u00e8s Cha\u00efbi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n