Hommam Al Nassim 
The head coach of the Algerian national team, Vladimir Petković, announced the preliminary squad for June 2024, which did not include the name of the star Riyad Mahrez.
This comes as part of the team’s preparations for two important matches in the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, where Algeria will face Guinea on June 6th, followed by a match with Uganda on the tenth of the same month.
According to Petkovic’s comments published on the website “La Gazette du Fennec”, Mahrez is expected to return to the national team in September.
Mahrez’s absence was due to his decision to ask for time to reflect on his sporting future with the team, which led to his exclusion from the squad for the second time under Petkovic.
Mahrez is currently starring with Saudi club Al Ahli Jeddah, where he scored 12 goals and assisted 14 others for Al Ahli Jeddah this season.
Mahrez began his career at the French club “AAS Sarcell” and became a professional in 2009 with the club Coimperius, and after one season he moved to Le Havre, in January 2014 he signed with the English club Leicester City, and helped the team win the English Championship League and qualify for the Premier League.
Mahrez was named the best Algerian player in the 2015-16 season, the best player in England, signed with Manchester City in 2018, and won the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup in his first season.
It is noteworthy that Riyad Mahrez is the only Arab player to win the Premier League title 5 times, as he won the title once with Leicester City in 2016, followed by 4 times with City in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
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