The national team coach, Swiss Vladimir Petkovic, plans to secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup this month by defeating Botswana and Guinea. This would allow the national team to collect 21 points with two matches remaining in the qualifiers, a positive indicator for their participation in the upcoming global football event to be held in the USA, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19 next year.

Coach Petkovic is expected to be strict during the current training camp by emphasizing discipline and urging his players to win full points in the upcoming matches against Botswana and Guinea. The Swiss technician will also prepare his players psychologically, placing them in a positive mindset to help achieve qualification for the World Cup, which is more within reach than ever before.

The national team begins preparations today for the double fixtures of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers scheduled in the USA, Mexico, and Canada, against Botswana and Guinea on September 4 and 8 respectively, at the national teams’ training center in Sidi Moussa. Coach Petkovic awaits the squad’s arrival on the first day of the camp to start serious preparations and mental conditioning of his players to meet the goals set recently.

Player Farès Chaïbi, from Eintracht Frankfurt, is expected to be the first to join the national team camp, arriving in the morning at Houari Boumediene Airport, followed by 14 players arriving from Paris. Riyad Mahrez and Houssem Aouar, who play in the Saudi league, will be the last to join. Some players are currently with their families in Algeria, such as Atal, Bounedjah, Tougai, and Belaïli, and will join the camp directly in Sidi Moussa. A session will be held Monday evening to assess the players’ readiness.

The national team will face Botswana on September 4 in the seventh round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers at the “Hussein Ait Ahmed” stadium in an important match before traveling to Casablanca, Morocco, to face Guinea on September 8. The national team currently leads Group 7 with 15 points, followed by Mozambique in second place with 12 points, four rounds before the qualifiers end.

Coach Petkovic is expected to field a mixed lineup of starters and substitutes against Botswana at home this Thursday, to rest the key players who will be relied upon in the next match against Guinea in Morocco on Monday, in the eighth round. The last match the national team played in Morocco was during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers against Burkina Faso.

The national team will travel to Casablanca on a special flight around noon, will hold a training session at the match stadium, and all players will return to Algeria immediately after the match.

The Botswana team will arrive in Algeria this Tuesday on a direct flight from the capital Gaborone, in preparation for the match against the “Greens” on September 4, before continuing their journey to Tizi Ouzou by land the same day. Coach Morena Ramoripoli’s squad will hold one training session at the “Hussein Ait Ahmed” stadium on Wednesday starting at 8 PM.