From N2 to Ligue 1 and Soon Algeria National Team: Adil Bourabaa's Remarkable Rise

Adil Bourabaa was still playing in France’s fourth division last winter. Just a few months later, the 21-year-old midfielder has established himself as one of Ligue 1’s breakout stars with Le Mans FC, and a first call-up to the Algeria national team is looming for the next international window.

The native of Drancy (Seine-Saint-Denis) has followed an unconventional path: trained at En Avant Guingamp, he tried his luck at Levante in Spain in 2023-2024, before completing his development at ESTAC Troyes. It was at AS Beauvais, however, in Nationale 2, that he truly emerged during the first half of the 2024-2025 season, named man of the match eight times. Le Mans FC quickly moved to sign him, and the Sarthe club’s gamble paid off: Bourabaa directly contributed to the team’s promotion to Ligue 1.

Since the start of the current campaign, the technically gifted midfielder opened his professional account with a powerful strike against OGC Nice, then scored a header against RC Lens, adding an assist on Le Mans’ second goal, scored by Lucas Calodat. In four matches, Le Mans have yet to win — three draws against Brest (2-2), Nice (1-1) and Lens (2-2), and a cruel defeat in the 96th minute against Rennes (3-2) — but both collective and individual performances are encouraging.

Already captain of the Algeria U-21 side during a call-up last May, Bourabaa should take another step up during the next international break. Algeria, now led by Brahim Hemdani after failed negotiations with several Spanish and Portuguese coaches and Uruguayan Gustavo Poyet, face Zambia and Burundi in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Le Mans manager Patrick Videira will also be without striker Louis Mafouta, who has scored three goals since the season began, as he joins the Central African Republic for two matches in the same qualifiers. The break will nonetheless give the Sang et Or coach the chance to work with the rest of the squad before the resumption.