The Algerian national football team's coaching staff, led by Bosnian coach Vladimir Petkovic, received a painful blow a few days before the start of the continental football tournament, as the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) officially announced on Friday the exclusion of star midfielder Houssem Aouar from the final squad participating in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals scheduled to be held in Morocco.
The official statement from the federation said that medical examinations confirmed that the playmaker of the Saudi Al-Ittihad club suffered a complex muscle injury, which prevented him from being physically and technically ready to participate in the continental competition, which necessitated taking the decision to exclude him in order to preserve the player’s safety and to replace him with an element that is one hundred percent ready.
Himad Abdelli compensates for Aouar's absence
In a swift move to compensate for this significant absence, national coach Vladimir Petkovic decided to call up Hémad Abdelli, the talented player for French club Angers, to join the "Desert Warriors" squad. Abdelli's selection comes as a result of his consistent performances in the French league, and the coaching staff are counting on him to provide the necessary boost in midfield and fill the void left by Aouar.
The impact of absence and the trajectory of flaws
The absence of Houssem Aouar is a tactical loss for the Algerian national team, especially since the player had begun to regain his brilliance and radiance since his move to the Saudi club Al-Ittihad during the summer transfer window of 2024. Aouar succeeded in a short time in securing a starting position and became a pillar on which to rely in building play, which made him one of the winning cards that the Algerian public was counting on in the “CAN 2025”.
The group's challenges and ambitions to restore past glories
The Algerian national team will compete in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in a tough and competitive group that includes Sudan, Burkina Faso, and Equatorial Guinea. This edition is of paramount importance to "Les Fennecs" (The Greens), as Riyad Mahrez and his teammates seek to erase the memory of their disappointing performances in the 2021 Cameroon and 2023 Ivory Coast editions, where they were eliminated in the first round.
All eyes are on Morocco, which is hosting the tournament, as the Algerian national team hopes to take advantage of the familiar climatic and geographical conditions in North Africa to repeat the achievement of 2019 in Egypt, and return with the third continental title in the country’s history, despite the great challenges posed by the strength of the competing teams and the remarkable development of African football in recent years.
