Fortunately for the national team, the awaited match on October 9 in Oran against Somalia will not be difficult for several reasons, including the Greens’ need for points and the modesty of the opposing team, which is unlikely to match the Algerian team regardless of its players’ names. However, what saddens the injured players is that they will be deprived of the joy of qualifying for the World Cup, a joy previously experienced by Magher’s teammates in 1982 and 1986, Ziani’s teammates in 2010, and Feghouli’s teammates in 2014.

There is hardly a football round in Europe or Asia without a new injury, including the new name Houssam Aouar, a hardworking midfielder who played a key role in turning a nearly certain defeat in Kampala against Uganda into a victory that brought the Greens closer to the World Cup, as it was a win against a direct competitor, granting three points to the Greens and taking the same points away from Uganda. The duration of Aouar’s absence remains uncertain, as is the case with Hicham Boudaoui, who collided with a player from the Parisian second team and felt abdominal pain. He may be among the absentees; he is also a midfielder and may join Ghandoussi, who has been absent for some time, which means a reduction in midfield players.

Only Zerouki, possibly Bennacer and Ben Taleb, in addition to Abdelli, Chaibi, and Mazza remain in midfield, which showed much uncertainty in the last two matches against Botswana and Guinea.

In Oran, in front of closed stalls and a crowd coming from all over the country and even the world, Ait Nouri and his injured teammates will miss the joy of playing, scoring, winning, hearing the final whistle, and starting the celebrations and preparations for the Africa Cup of Nations.

But if you ask any player about their choice between missing the Somalia match or the Africa Cup of Nations finals or the World Cup, they would certainly not give up the two major competitions. Surely, the injured will not miss the Oran celebration since they are part of the joy as they participated in previous matches.

Betkovic is expected to approach the Somalia match on October 9 seriously with his players, regardless of their names. The qualification should be decided in the first half due to the enthusiasm of the supporters and players and the inability of the opponent to withstand the crowd’s pressure, especially the players’ desire and enthusiasm. In the second half, serious thinking will begin about facing Uganda in Tizi Ouzou, a match of utmost importance. Uganda will be forced to play hard to secure second place, which might be their path to the World Cup after various playoffs between continents.

Meanwhile, the coach will inject a number of players, especially goalkeepers, in his ongoing search for the starting lineup from goalkeeper to striker, just weeks before the continental event that concerns all Algerians, who still cherish the sweetness of the title won in Egypt and long for more titles, especially since the two titles of the Greens were in the northern part of the continent. Why not have the third title also in the north of Africa?