According to L'Équipe, six of the ten African nations that participated in the recent World Cup have decided to change their head coaches. To prepare for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, which will begin late this month, five of these teams have appointed new coaches. Only Algeria is falling behind.

Since Vladimir Petković officially resigned on August 3, the "Desert Foxes" have failed to confirm a new head coach for nearly a month, and time is running out. Later this month, they face their first two AFCON 2027 qualifiers, playing at home against Zambia, followed by an away match against Burundi.

Goalless Football, Complete Breakdown, and Excessive Mockery

Walid Sadi, President of the Algerian Football Federation and Sports Minister, completely misread the situation. Before the World Cup, he chose to extend Petković's contract, hoping to maintain team stability. However, Algeria's performance at the World Cup was extremely disappointing. Worse, the players and the Swiss coach had a complete falling out—Petković's behavior after the humiliating 0-2 loss in the Round of 16 provoked widespread outrage across Algeria. Particularly damaging was Algeria's elimination following toothless displays due to heavily criticized tactical choices, and Petković's continuous mockery of his Swiss players on the pitch was an unacceptably indifferent display.

No Contact with Renard, Plan A Completely Failed

After the World Cup, the Algerian Football Federation immediately began searching for a new coach. On social media, many "Desert Foxes" supporters believed it was time to approach Renard. The French coach had nearly taken over Algeria after the Ivory Coast Africa Cup of Nations, but this time there was no contact between the two parties, and this recruitment path was never genuinely pursued.

After contacting several foreign coaches, the Algerian Football Federation, through the National Technical Committee headed by Rabah Saâdane, unveiled a shortlist of three candidates: Benítez, Belgian Tom Saintfiet, and Félix Alexis. The former coach of Qatar and Ecuador negotiated with Algeria but subsequently indicated he preferred an offer from Asia. Since then, Plan A to find a coach has completely failed.

No standout candidates emerged from the pool of local coaches either. Since Djamel Belmadi, Algeria has become the highest-paying nation in Africa for head coaches, which has attracted many candidates with varied profiles (Poyet, Stefano Cusin, etc.). The Federation also approached several coaches (Tudor, Xavi, etc.), but received no positive responses. However, were these approaches official Federation actions, or the work of overzealous intermediaries?

Yahia: Interim Role Could Become Assistant Coach Position?

Ultimately, the Algerian Football Federation recognized that no ideal candidate exists in the current coaching market to lead the national team. During the coaching vacuum, former international Antar Yahia was tasked with selecting the squad for September's matches. The former defender called players and their clubs to reassure them and ease the disappointment caused by the World Cup chaos. Yahia's interim role could transition into a long-term position, or even be "elevated" to assistant coach.

Currently, the Algerian Football Federation is seriously considering a joint coaching staff comprising Yahia and Brahim Hemdani. Hemdani only came to public attention a month ago; he was appointed U20 national team head coach in July and has just led Algeria's U21 team to gold at the Mediterranean Games, the nation's first victory at the tournament since 1975.

The coaching career of the former Marseille player has been relatively modest, having coached lower-tier French clubs at Côte Bleue, Marignane, and Courbevoie. Both men's advantage is that they have worn the Algeria national team jersey and are familiar with the current state and environment of Algerian football. If this solution is ultimately chosen, can they transcend their "emergency stopgap" role?

Despite lacking high-level coaching experience, the Algerian Football Federation is willing to gamble, and if the partnership works well, there is hope they can work together long-term to prepare for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (June 19 - July 18) co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. A final decision will be made Saturday this week at an executive committee meeting of the Federation.

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