The striker Islam Slimani, star of Belgian club Mechelen, sent a mysterious message to the coach of the Algerian national team, Swiss Vladimir Petkovic, less than a month before the start of the June training camp in preparation for the matches against Guinea and Uganda in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Slimani was absent from Algeria’s matches against Bolivia (3-2) and South Africa (3-3) last March, following a technical decision by Petkovic that angered the player and opened the door to questions about his future with the ‘Greens’, particularly given his advanced age of 35 and his declining form with the ‘Fennecs’.
With this in mind, Slimani posted on his Facebook account an archive photo of himself with the Algerian national team during a celebration, in a message considered by some to be mainly aimed at Petkovic, stating that the player remains loyal to the national team and is ready to return for the next training camp.
Slimani is the top scorer in the history of the Algerian national team, having scored 46 goals and provided 23 assists in 102 games played for his country in all competitions, according to data from global platform Transfermarkt.
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