Algeria: Aït-Nouri's frustration before Zambia! (Video)

Substituted against Zambia despite his limited playing time at Manchester City, Rayan Aït-Nouri showed a certain frustration before the kickoff. A choice that ultimately paid off for Brahim Hemdani.

Rayan Aït-Nouri clearly did not appreciate starting on the bench against Zambia. Lacking playing time at Manchester City since the beginning of the season, the Algerian full-back was expecting a lot from this international break. For his first starting eleven at the helm of the Greens, Brahim Hemdani preferred to start Jaouen Hadjam on the left side of the defense.

Moments before the kickoff, images broadcast from the bench showed a visibly upset Aït-Nouri, gesticulating and seeming particularly annoyed by his situation. Ahmed Touba, sitting next to him, even exchanged words with him and seemed to be trying to calm him down. A frustration understandable given his limited playing time at the club in recent weeks.

The evening then took an even less favorable turn for him as Hemdani's choice was rewarded almost immediately. In the 2nd minute, Hadjam opened the scoring with a powerful shot after a pass from Mohamed Amoura. Algeria ultimately won 3-1, thanks also to Ibrahim Maza and Anis Hadj Moussa.

Aït-Nouri will now have to wait to try to regain a place in the starting eleven. The Greens will travel to Bujumbura on Tuesday, September 29, to face Burundi in the second round of the CAN 2027 qualifiers.