The 27-year-old Granada goalkeeper represented France at youth levels before officially switching his international allegiance to Algeria. He debuted in a World Cup qualifier against Uganda two months ago and joins Oussama Benbot of USM Alger and Caen's Anthony Mandrea as the chosen goalkeepers. Speaking after his debut, Zidane called it an honor, vowing to give his total effort to make the Algerian people truly proud.
Coach Vladimir Petkovic, formerly of Switzerland, confirmed the players are highly motivated for this AFCON. He highlighted that the immediate objective is surviving the first round, while harboring strong ambitions to go as far as possible.
Algeria kicks off their Group E campaign against Sudan on December 24, subsequently facing Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea. The group winners and runners-up automatically qualify for the Round of 16, while the four best third-placed nations across the six groups will also advance to the knockout stage.