Khaberni - The Algerian national team is thinking about calling up the retired goalkeeper Osama Bin Bot for the World Cup amid a crisis of injuries to his counterparts in the current period.
Osama Bin Bot, who retired from international play after being an unused substitute at the African Nations Cup in Morocco at the end of the year, might be the solution to the dilemma that has befallen the team after the participation of Melvin Mastil and Luca Zidane became doubtful, and Anthony Mandria's absence due to injury was confirmed.
At the age of 31, Bin Bot played a major role in leading his club, USM Alger, to the African Confederation Cup final, hosting Egyptian Zamalek in the first leg match on Saturday.
Algerian media reports mentioned that he angered the Algerian national team coach Vladimir Petkovic with his statements about the lack of participation with the national team.
However, the need for a goalkeeper for the World Cup has brought him back into competition for a spot in the squad, which will be announced later this month.
Luca Zidane, son of French World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane, was Algeria's first choice goalkeeper at the African Nations Cup but his performances were unconvincing, and he suffered jaw and chin fractures last month during a match in the Spanish second division with his club Granada.
Mastil, who plays in Switzerland and participated in his first international match in March, underwent hernia surgery, while Mandria dislocated his shoulder during training with his French club Caen and will miss the tournament in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
Mandria was Algeria’s first choice for the past five years, but when his team Caen was relegated to the French third division last year, Petkovic said he would not consider selecting a player from a league of that low level.
Twenty-seven-year-old Zidane, who alongside his three brothers played for the French youth national teams, changed his international eligibility in September to be an alternative to Alexis Guendouz, who rose to become Algeria's first-choice goalkeeper.
However, Guendouz was injured one week before the African Nations Cup in December, and since his return, he has been unable to regain his place in the starting lineup of Mouloudia Alger, the leader of the Algerian league.
As an indicator of Petkovic's desperation in finding solutions, he called up the 19-year-old teenager Kylian Belzouq for the World Cup friendly matches against Uruguay and Guatemala in March, despite the fact that the player had not yet played any match with his French club Stade Rennais. He did not participate in the two international matches, and the team competes in Group Ten of the World Cup with Argentina, Austria, and Jordan.
