Less than two weeks before the “crucial” match against Somalia, scheduled for October 9 in Oran, followed five days later by the match against Uganda at the Moujahid Hussein Ait Ahmed Stadium, concluding the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, national coach Vladimir Bettkovic sent out the call-ups to players. The list will be revealed hours before the training camp starting Monday, October 6, at the National Teams Preparation Center in Sidi Moussa. The ‘Greens’ need only two points from these two matches to secure qualification to the World Cup for the fifth time in their history, which will be held in the USA, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026.

According to consistent sources, coach Bettkovic has been closely monitoring all players likely to participate in the Somalia and Uganda matches in recent days. He is expected to renew confidence in most players who were present in the last camp, while reinforcing the squad with some promising young players shining in various leagues for close observation. Most of these young players are included in his extended list, such as goalkeeper Lucas Zidan (Granada, Spain), Samir Chergui (Paris FC, France), Rafik Boughlali (Hellas Verona, Italy), Mehdi Dorval (Bari), among others. However, Bettkovic’s priority remains first to secure qualification against Somalia, then to give others the chance to prove themselves to inject new blood into the team, which is much needed, especially with the decline in performance of some key players.

Some sources indicate that the coach is convinced that the players currently in the team, whom he has worked with since joining the Greens, are the best and most deserving to defend the national colors at present. All other names suggested by the sports community or some analysts and critics are worthy only of monitoring and observation. Making changes two rounds before securing qualification is considered a real suicide, especially since it is common for coaches to apply the saying: “Don’t change a winning team,” which the national coach wants to embody. After securing the ticket to the global event, there might be changes in some positions, especially those the team struggles with such as goalkeeper, central defense, and one or two attacking positions in preparation for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations.

The coach has decided to prepare for it in Algeria, considering it has a similar climate to the host country, with preparatory matches according to the program Bettkovic will set after the World Cup qualifiers.

In the same context, Echorouk learned that coach Vladimir Bettkovic will hold a meeting with local coach Majid Bouguerra immediately after the World Cup qualifiers to discuss players that the local coach will leave at the disposal of the first team, especially some standout players in some Arab leagues to participate in the Africa Cup, and also allow others to prepare for the Arab Cup in Qatar, which coincides with the African tournament.

Meanwhile, some players active in various leagues suffer from injuries that may complicate Bettkovic’s plans, such as Boudaw, Farci, Atal, and Ait Nouri, who has not yet recovered from injury.