Algeria turn to the man behind the historic achievement following Petkovic's departure

From Mediterranean gold to leading Algeria

The Algerian Football Federation announced today, Saturday, the appointment of Brahim Hemdani as the new head coach of the senior national team. He succeeds the Swiss Vladimir Petkovic, who left in the wake of Algeria's exit from the round of 32 of the last World Cup at the hands of Switzerland by a score of (2-0).

Hemdani earns the job on the back of his recent success with the under-21 side. He claimed gold at the Mediterranean Games in Italy, an achievement absent from the trophy cabinets of Algerian football for 51 years. An unbeaten run through that tournament sent his stock soaring, and he will be joined in the technical staff by two other former internationals, Antar Yahia and Moussa Saib.

At 48, the former Caen, Strasbourg, Marseille and Glasgow Rangers midfielder boasts a distinguished record as a player that surpasses his coaching experience, according to a review by the French newspaper "L'Equipe". He began his coaching journey in the lower divisions with French clubs such as Courbevoie and then Marignane, far from the spotlight that awaits him today. His work with the youth categories got his foot inside the national team's house, and he must now prove his worth at the highest level, bearing the sporting and public pressures that come with leading the national team.

Time is short. The new coach has little of it to drill his tactical ideas home, with Algeria hosting Zambia on 25 September before travelling to face Burundi on the 29th of the same month. Those are the first and second rounds of qualifying for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, scheduled to be held in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.