LONDON: Algeria have ended their search for a new coach, appointing former international Djamel Belmadi on a four-year contract. Les Fennecs had been looking for a new man since June and had been strongly linked with a move for Iran boss Carlos Queiroz. Belmadi’s appointment ends the search to replace Rabah Madjer that was threatening to turn into a saga.
Queiroz was the latest big name to distance himself from the job. With the 65-year-old’s contract with Iran expiring on July 31 without an extension yet agreed, the former Real Madrid and Portugal boss was heavily linked with the Algerian hotseat, with reports suggesting Queiroz was very keen on the move.
“After any World Cup there are always lots of speculation and reports,” a source close to Queiroz told Arab News. “There was no truth in these rumors.”
The source refused to comment on whether the ex-Manchester United assistant, who guided Iran to four points at the 2018 World Cup in the country’s best-ever performance on the global stage, would stay on in Tehran until the 2019 Asian Cup in January.
Algeria’s needs were more pressing, however, with the Algerian Football Federation keen to make an appointment as soon as possible with qualification for the 2019 African Nations Cup resuming in September.
“Djamel Belmadi is the new coach of the Algerian national team following the agreement found between him and the president Kheireddine Zetchi,” said a statement released by the federation. The statement added that the first target would be qualification for the African Nations Cup, though Belmadi’s contract is set to run until the 2022 World Cup.
Fans in the country had become frustrated with the lack of a concrete decision despite the pronouncements from Zetchi on Monday that the new man would be in place within a matter of hours.
The president revealed that the new tactician was a “global coach, very motivated to coach the national team.”
That the mystery man turned out to be Belmadi may be something of a disappointment for fans who had been expecting a bigger name. Since the end of the World Cup, a tournament that took place without Algeria, Herve Renard and Vahid Halilhodzic, along with Queiroz, had both been heavily touted as possible replacements.
Renard impressed in Russia with Morocco despite the team collecting just a single point. The Frenchman is still with the Atlas Lions and pledged his future to Morocco in July, and especially ruled out joining a continental rival.
“Some people talk about my future in the media to sow trouble,” Renard said.
“Out of respect for Morocco and all Moroccans, I will not leave in any way for another African nation regardless of who it is.”
Former coach Halilhodzic was also in the running. The Bosnian took Algeria to the second round of the 2014 World Cup, where they ran eventual winners Germany close in the knockout match — the Germans needing extra-time to eventually see off the North Africans — and is available after being fired by Japan in April, despite ensuring the Samurai Blue qualified for this summer’s tournament in Russia.
According to reports, Halilhodzic, also on South Korea’s hitlist should they, as expected, decide to axe Shin Tae-yong, could not agree financial terms with his one-time employers.
Belmadi, a former Manchester City, Marseilles and Southampton midfielder, tasted failure with Qatar in the 2015 Asian Cup when the highly rated team lost all three games in an all West Asian group to crash out in the first round. He did, however, lead Al-Duhail to the last two Qatari league titles.
In July he was replaced in Doha by outgoing Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul. His first competitive game in charge of Algeria will come against the Gambia on Sept. 7. Algeria collected all three points from the Group D opener back in June 2017 with a 1-0 win over Togo.
Algeria land former player Djamel Belmadi as new boss after Carlos Queiroz rules himself out
Algeria land former player Djamel Belmadi as new boss after Carlos Queiroz rules himself out
- Iran boss distanced himself from the job as Les Fennecs boss
- Belmadi the new boss with qualification for the African Cup of Nations the first target
Iva Jovic hopes to channel Novak Djokovic on Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships debut
- American teen sensation looking to build on strong start to 2026 season
Things have been developing fast for American teenager Iva Jovic.
This time last year, she was ranked 167 in the world and had just lost in the opening round of a Challenger in Cancun.
Today, she is perched nicely at a career-high No. 20 in the world rankings, with a WTA title under her belt (in Guadalajara last year) and an Australian Open quarterfinal appearance last month.
At 18, the Californian became the youngest American woman to reach the last-eight stage at Melbourne Park since Venus Williams in 1998.
Having started 2026 with an impressive 11-3 win-loss record (semis in Auckland, final in Hobart, quarters at the Australian Open), Jovic withdrew from the WTA tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha to take some much-needed time off and is now in the UAE ready to make her debut at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
We caught up with Jovic on Saturday ahead of her Dubai opener against former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari.
What does it mean for you to be coming to these tournaments now that you probably were watching in the past coming to this part of the world?
I mean, it’s so special. Obviously, it’s one thing to kind of play your first WTA events and get the feel for it, but it’s a different one to be in the tournaments every week and have your ranking at a place where you can play the full calendar. So that was the goal for me, and it’s pretty incredible to have had it all as it is now and to just be here.
Obviously, I want to win every match I play. I hate to lose. But I also try to remember that just being here is an incredible accomplishment and privilege. But Dubai has been so fun. I went to the mall yesterday. I went to the top of the Burj Khalifa. So I’ve already got to do a couple of things.
The culture and everything is very cool here. It’s my first time in this part of the world, so it’s very cool to see all these new things. I feel like I’m learning a lot, so much more to come.
I know you had to pull out of the last couple of tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Doha. I’m just wondering, post-Australia, what came into that decision?
Yeah, I think I just needed a little bit more time. I think I played the most matches out of anyone in the Australian swing. It was a lot, and I’m really happy with how it went. It was a great experience, and I won a lot, right? So that’s what you want. But I also needed to rest and train a little bit to just take care of my body. And now I’m feeling good and ready to go to be here in Dubai.
With Australia, now that you’ve had a little bit of time and space since then, what was the biggest takeaways from that? And did any of it take you by surprise?
I like to think that it’s surprising but not surprising, because obviously having great results and maybe some wins weren’t expected, but I also know how hard I’ve worked, and that good things tend to come when you put in the right work. So, surprised, but also not that surprised. Again, I think it’s one thing to have a couple of those good results, but for me the most important thing is consistency. So I want to establish myself as a player who’s going deep every single week.
You’ve got Maria Sakkari in your first round. She just made the semis in Doha. How do you look ahead to that match?
That’s definitely going to be a tough one. So thank you, Alex (Eala) for giving me a tough match. She pulled my name out (during the draw), but that’s okay. I’ll forgive her. But no, that’ll be a difficult one. Maria is a fighter. I played her in doubles, first meeting in singles. I mean I’m so new on the tour, still. I haven’t played a lot of these women. But she’s a competitor. She’s been around for a while and obviously making semis last week. She’s in top form. But, you know, again, you love the battle and you want the tough matches. So hopefully I can pull through.
You got to play the world number one in a Grand Slam quarterfinal. Didn’t go your way, but I’m wondering what did you take from that experience?
Yeah, I think that obviously you want to play the best just to win, yes, but even if you don’t, to just see where you stand. I think I’ve done a good job so far of learning from every loss, and I think that’s all it is. You learn from it, and it’s just fine margins. The differences aren’t that big.
It’s just little details that you need to work on that I’ve already been working on the past couple weeks, so hopefully that can show.
I know Novak Djokovic has been sending you tips. You’ve been in contact. He’s won this tournament a bunch of times. Are you going to perhaps be like, give me some tips for this Dubai court?
Oh, my God. Well, I hope … I don’t know if I’m brave enough to do that. I’m still a little nervous when I talk to him. He’s definitely my idol, but yeah, I see him at every corner. I’m like, how many times did this guy win the tournament? I see him on every screen. But just try to be like Novak. I’m going to keep it that simple.
