ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) - Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic selected his provisional 30-man squad for the World Cup in Brazil on Monday with a doubt surrounding the fitness of FC Porto striker Nabil Ghilas.
Ghilas was called up even though he is carrying a left hamstring injury. If he fails to prove his fitness, Ghilas will be replaced in the squad by Ishak Belfodil, who plays for Italian team Livorno.
All but five of the players selected play their club football outside Algeria.
The squad will be trimmed to 23 players on June 1, the day after a friendly against Armenia in Switzerland.
Algeria is in Group H at the World Cup with Belgium, Russia and South Korea. In three previous World Cup appearances, the north African country hasn’t advanced beyond the first round.
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Squad:
Goalkeepers: Rais M’bolhi (CSKA Sofia), Mohamed Zemmamouche (USM Alger), Ezzdine Doukha (USM El Harrach), Mohamed Cedric (CS Constantine)
Defenders: Essaid Belkalem (no club), Madjid Bougherra (no club), Lyassine Cadamuro (Mallorca), Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli), Rafik Halliche (Academica Coimbra), Nacereddine Khoualed (USM Alger), Aissa Mandi (Reims), Mehdi Mostefa (Ajaccio), Carl Medjani (Valenciennes), Djamel Mesbah (Livorno)
Midfielders: Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham), Ryad Boudebouz (Bastia), Yacine Brahimi (Granada), Adlene Guedioura (Crystal Palace), Amir Karaoui (ES Setif), Medhi Lacen (Getafe), Saphir Taider (Inter Milan), Hassen Yebda (Udinese)
Forwards: Rafik Djebour (Nottingham Forest), Abdelmoumen Djabou (Club Africain), Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia), Ryad Mahrez (Leicester), Islam Slimani (Sporting Lisbon), Hilal Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb), Foued Kadir (Rennes), Nabil Ghilas (FC Porto)
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