On Tuesday morning, the Algerian press heavily criticized Fennecs coach Vladimir Petkovic following a 0-0 draw against Guinea in Casablanca during the 8th round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Despite Algeria’s near-certain qualification, the national media spared no criticism of the coach’s tactical choices.
“C’est un nul!” (It’s a draw!) headlined Le Soir d’Algérie, featuring a close-up of Petkovic. The newspaper summarized the general sentiment: the Greens “missed the mark,” struggling as they did in their narrow 2-1 win over Botswana. Petkovic faced backlash for his lineups, accused of stubbornly sticking to underperforming players like captain Riyad Mahrez and Saïd Benrahma, despite having a wealth of young talent on the bench.
La Gazette du Fennec echoed this sentiment, drawing a troubling parallel with former coach Djamel Belmadi. “Petkovic is entrenched in ideas that mirror his predecessor’s tactical inertia, which led to his downfall,” the outlet analyzed.
Journalist Nabil Djellit delivered a sharp critique: “Petkovic has restored order but isn’t building a team. He plays it safe with functional players and big names. That might yield decent results, but nothing more.” According to Djellit, Algeria is “wasting time.”
