Caen does not want to, it does not want to. After more than a year of watching Algeria’s matches on his couch due to Stade Malherbe’s relegation to the National, Anthony Mandrea returned to the group during the 2025 AFCON, taking advantage of Alexis Guendouz’s withdrawal. The goalkeeper from Grasse will ultimately have to withdraw from the 2026 World Cup.
A catastrophe at this position for Algeria
According to information from Ouest-France, the player with 21 caps dislocated his shoulder during training on April 13. In a press conference, Gaël Clichy confirmed that his goalkeeper underwent surgery this Wednesday. “It’s over for the World Cup. He accepted it, in a way, there is not much to do,” explained the Normans’ coach.
The misfortunes continue for Algerian goalkeepers. During the last AFCON, Mandrea was behind Luca Zidane in the hierarchy, but the son of Zinedine did not fully convince. The withdrawal of the Caen player adds to that of Melvin Mastil. On the other hand, Guendouz was relegated to the bench at his club MC Alger. Third goalkeeper during the continental competition, Oussama Benbot retired from international football, causing some headaches for Vladimir Petković.
Faouzi Chaouchi is still available, just in case.
:fill(black)/2026/04/23/69ea6ebbae67a000429345.png "National tribute to the French soldier killed in Lebanon.")
