Ramdane's father's death could reopen door for Luca Zidane in Algeria squad

The Algerian Football Federation announced Sunday the death of Abdelatif Ramdane’s father. The 25-year-old goalkeeper had been selected for the Fennecs’ next two matches in the Coupe d’Afrique des Nations qualifiers. Brahim Hemdani’s staff may be forced to revise its selection at that position.

Ramdane had been retained alongside Oussama Benbot and Melvin Mastil, with the manager basing his choices on a single criterion: playing time. “I needed to have a choice between three goalkeepers who had maximum playing time. The three selected have maximum playing time since the last gathering, and that’s the only reason I decided in favour of these three goalkeepers,” Hemdani explained at a press conference.

It was precisely this criterion that ruled out Luca Zidane. Suspended by the CAF during Algeria’s two previous outings, the goalkeeper had also not been retained for the first gathering under Hemdani, his lack of club playing time weighing against him. If Ramdane is excused to attend his father’s funeral, Zidane figures among the natural candidates to replace him.

Other options exist, however. Alexis Guendouz and Alexandre Oukidja, once considered before ultimately being left out of the initial squad, remain in contention. Kilian Belazzoug, currently integrated into the U23 group, could also be promoted to complete the trio of goalkeepers.