Algerian charismatic coach Djamel Belmadi has the power to convince French-born footballers with African roots to think hard and choose to represent the land of their ancestors. One of the best young midfielders in Ligue 1, Badredine Bouanani, announced that he’d changed his allegiance to Algeria – despite having appeared for Les Bleus U16, U18 and U19 sides.🇫🇷🇩🇿 Badredine Bouanani (2004 – Nice) vs NantesFaible volume de pression, technique défensive et gestion des distances mauvaises, manque d’agressivité et d’intensité sans ballon… Son apport et ses aptitudes défensives sont très limitées (vidéo) pic.twitter.com/3TJ8vYhp53— Julien San James (@JSanJames) March 13, 2023 OGC Nice’s 18-year-old starlet decided to follow in the footsteps of his father who used to play professionally in Algeria and was an established goalkeeper. Besides, playing alongside the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Ramy Bensebaini, Said Benrahma, Ismael Bennacer and the likes was inviting to the youngster.##NAJAVA_MECA_7087816##There are still so many players that would rather wait for France to give them a call – even if that means they would be on the fringes of the national team. Badredine’s upbringing means he always kept rooted in his ancestors’ culture. Playing with fellow Algerians Youcef Atal and Hicham Boudaoui for Nice also helped decide.Bouanani played for France at youth levels (©AFP)French Football Federation had high hopes for the lad, who has already made seven appearances in Ligue 1 and delivered three assists. But despite playing over 20 games for France at youth levels, he’ll never feature of the senior national team. Bouanani will instead have a chance to make his international debut in the two AFCON qualifiers against Niger on 23 and 27 March.
