Spurs teen star gets Algeria call-up

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, May 12, 2014

[WORLD CUP 2014] Tottenham teenager Nabil Bentaleb, who switched allegiances from his native France to Algeria after making his English Premier League debut in February, was included in Algeria's 30-player short list submitted to FIFA.

Coach Vahid Halilhodzic also included uncapped midfielder Riyad Mahrez of Leicester City, the English League Championship winner.

"I only found out about Mahrez in February and went to watch a few of his matches," said Halilhodzic. "He's an interesting player."

The Fennecs will play Armenia and Romania in friendlies in Switzerland before heading to Brazil.

Algeria Roster (30 players):
Goalkeepers: Azzedine Doukha (USM El Harrach), Rais Mbolhi (CSKA Sofia/BUL), Cedric Si Mohamed (CS Constantine), Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche (USM Alger)
Defenders: Essaid Belkalem (Watford/ENG), Madjid Bougherra (Al Lekhwiya/QAT), Liassine Cadamuro (Mallorca/SPA), Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli/ITA), Rafik Halliche (Academica Coimbra/POR), Nacereddine Khoualed (USM Alger), Aissa Mandi (Reims/FRA), Carl Medjani (Valenciennes/FRA), Djamel Mesbah (Livorno/ITA), Mehdi Mostefa (Ajaccio/FRA)
Midfielders: Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham/ENG), Ryad Boudebouz (Bastia), Yacine Brahimi (Granada/SPA), Abdelmoumene Djabou (Club Africain/TUN), Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia/SPA), Adlene Guedioura (Crystal Palace/ENG), Foued Kadir (Rennes/FRA), Amir Karaoui (Entente Setif/TUN), Mehdi Lacen (Getafe/SPA), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City/ENG), Saphir Taider (Inter Milan/ITA), Hassan Yebda (Udinese/ITA).
Forwards: Rafik Djebbour (Nottingham Forest/ENG), Nabil Ghilas (Porto/POR), Islam Slimani (Sporting/POR), El Arabi Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb/CRO).