Algeria face Niger in their final fixture of this FIFA international window, with kick-off at 19:00 France time (18:00 in Algeria) on Tuesday in Tizi Ouzou.
The match is Brahim Hemdani’s third in charge and the final game of Algeria’s first gathering under the new manager. Hemdani has made seven changes to the side that started the previous match.
Ramdane replaces the goalkeeper, while Nair comes into the defence. Aouchiche starts in midfield, Bakrar leads the attack and Belaid takes over as captain.
Algeria began their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign with an impressive 3-1 victory against Zambia, but were held to a 2-2 draw by Burundi in a more difficult second match.
They will be aiming to finish the international period with another positive result, having been forced to recover from a poor start in Bujumbura after conceding twice early on.
Niger are also competing in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and arrive with one win and one defeat. The Mena opened their campaign with a 2-1 victory against Lesotho before losing 2-0 to Gabon.
With three points, Niger are currently third in Group A behind Morocco and Gabon.
Their team is being managed by Nabil Neghiz, a familiar figure in Algerian football. Neghiz was Vladimir Petkovic’s assistant at the 2026 World Cup before being appointed Niger manager, and is now facing his country of birth as he attempts to build on the team’s progress in qualifying.
Hemdani’s preparations have been affected by several absences. Rayan Ait-Nouri is unavailable, while Nabil Bentaleb, Amine Gouiri, Anis Hadj Moussa and Adem Zorgane are all out with injuries. Saadi Radouani also withdrew on the eve of the game.
During the match, a player from Le Mans was left limping after a challenge, although the referee judged the contest to have been fair.
Algeria created an opportunity when Chaibi found the forward inside the penalty area, but the attempted chip drifted just wide of the post. Bourabaa and Abada then dealt with a Niger attack before another counter was stopped.
A perfectly executed wrong-footed effort was also seen during the contest, while a header aimed towards the centre of the box was diverted by the opposing goalkeeper.
After a period in which the defence had offered little to the visitors, one Algerian attacker worked space with a fine turn before seeing his close-range shot miss the target.
Algeria later won a corner, but the set-piece produced no danger.
Bensebaini, Abada, Bourabaa, Boulbina and Chiakha were introduced from the bench, with Hajdam, Aouchiche, Kebbal, Nair and Bakrar making way.