Algeria fires national football team

Algiers, May 22 (IANS) The Algerian football federation has announced the firing of national team head coach Rabah Madjer six months after he was put in charge of the squad.

Madjer was appointed as Algerian national team head coach in October 2017 to succeed Spaniard Lucas Alcaraz, who had failed to steer the team to the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off on June 14 in Russia, reports Efe.

"Following a meeting between FAF President Kheiredine Zetchi and national coach Rabah Madjer, it was decided by mutual agreement to relieve the national technical staff of selection A from the premises," the federation said in a statement.

"This decision was taken before the official competitions are resumed to allow the (new) national technical staff to focus exclusively on the CAN-2019 (Africa Cup of Nations 2019) qualifiers, which will resume next September," the statement added.

The statement added that Madjer's replacement will be announced in due course.