Olympique Lyon’s Houssem Aouar and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Rayan Ait-Nouri are now eligible to represent Algeria at international level.
Lyon-born Aouar had made only one appearance for France national team to date, a 7-1 drubbing of Ukraine in an international friendly in which he was responsible for assisted both the third and fourth goal.
Midfielder Aouar is now eligible to represent Algeria at international level after falling out of favour with Didier Deschamps since that fateful night at Stade de France in 2020.
Ryan Ait-Noir, on the other hand, has featured for both U-19 level and Under 21 level for France, with two and five appearances respectively.
The 21-year-old defender, who was born in Montreuil, enjoyed a really good season with Wanderers in 2021/22 season, finishing the campaign strongly.
The pair is expected to be part of the African nation’s next squad in March as they had not beeen given the green light in time to be selected for the upcoming friendly match against Sweden on November 19.
This news were confirmed by Algeria national team head coach Djamel Belmadi in an interview on Sunday as the team prepares Sweden and Mali in November international friendlies.
The Algeria Football Federation has been working assiduously to convince the players with duo nationality to switch international allegiance.
Most African teams are benefiting from a recent FIFA rule allowing players a greater scope to switch national teams.
Players can switch national sides as long as they they have played no more than three competitive matches at senior level prior to them turning 21.
However, appearances in World Cup or continental finals such as the European Championships would prohibit a change of eligibility.
