Not called up by Petković, Bounedjah responds with class!

The Al-Shamal SC forward and the recent top scorer for the Desert Foxes, Baghdad Bounedjah, was not selected by Vladimir Petković for the March matches counting towards the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

The 33-year-old player responded gracefully to his omission by posting, via the Instagram story feature, an image of the official national team list, accompanied by a short message: "Good luck".

With 76 caps, Bounedjah boasts an impressive record in the Algerian jersey: 32 goals, 13 assists, and 12 yellow cards.

The return of Belaïli and Petković's choices

The Swiss coach has called up 26 players for this international break. Among them, Youcef Belaïli, who makes his grand return after 416 days of absence. A decision that does not go unnoticed, as the Espérance de Tunis winger remains a key element of the Algerian game.

Ibrahim Maza, a forward from Hertha Berlin, also rejoins the squad after missing the last three games. Himad Abdelli, who has had a great season in Ligue 1, is also part of the team.

Finally, the Algerian championship is represented by only one player: Mohamed Amine Madani, a defender for JS Kabylie.

Also read: Algeria regains its place on the CAF Executive Committee!

Mohamed Rek |

Editorfr, ar, en

Mohamed Rek- sports content writer with over 10 years of experience creating football content in Arabic and French for platforms such as Foot Africa and Starafrica, combining accuracy, creativity, and audience engagement.