Leicester stars Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani axed from Algerian World Cup qualifying squad
African nation has already failed to qualify for Russia so will use up-and-coming players against Cameroon
RIYAD MAHREZ and Islam Slimani have been left out of Algeria' squad for the World Cup qualifier with Cameroon.
The two Leicester City stars were expected to feature.
But the Algerian FA have decided to use the fixture to give a chance to some up-and-coming players.
Algeria have already failed to qualify for next summer’s World Cup.
They suffered home and away defeats against Zambia in their last qualifiers, which ended their hopes.
That was a great disappointment having made the second round of the last World Cup in Brazil.
And Leicester boss Craig Shakespeare is far from happy, too.
He hoped some of his fringe players, like Slimani who has started just one league game this season, would get valuable game time on international duty.
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He said: “From my point of view some may get some important game time.
Mahrez, incidentally, only appeared as a substitute in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth.
And striker Slimani stayed put on the bench.
Cameroon, too, also saw their hopes of qualifying ending last month.
Group leaders Nigeria will qualify if they beat Zambia in Uyo on Saturday.
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