Algeria were in full celebration in 2019, beating Senegal to win the Africa Cup of Nations. But it also marked the last time they made it to the knockout stages of the competition.
The Desert Foxes finished bottom of their group in each of the last two editions of the tournament.
Still, the 2019 title will live on as their second-ever trophy in the competition, ending a 29-year drought.
But what has happened to that Algeria squad since? We’ve taken a look at the 14 players who spent time on the pitch in the 1-0 win over Senegal in the final.
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Rais M’Bolhi
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Age: 39
Legendary Algerian goalkeepr Rais M’Bolhi is almost 40 years old and still going strong. He joined a few of the following teammates at ES Mostaganem in August 2025, back in their home country.
M’Bolhi played in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, performing a few miracles in that famous round of 16 loss to Germany in the latter and even keeping a clean sheet against England in the former.
Mehdi Zeffane
- Position: Defender
- Age: 33
Mehdi Zeffane came through the ranks at Lyon, where he made his professional debut in 2012 and stayed until 2015. The right-back spent most of his career in France as a back-up option, also playing for Rennes and Clermont.
He also joined M’Bolhi at Mostaganem, having signed in late August.
Aissa Mandi
- Position: Defender
- Age: 34
Aissa Mandi is now 34 but still a starter in the top five European leagues. He currently plays for Lille, having joined in 2024, following eight years in Spain – across stints for Real Betis and Villarreal.
The versatile centre-back can play all roles as a central defender but has already spent time as a full-back as well. Mandi is still part of the Algeria national team and was called up to the November friendlies vs Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia.
Djamel Benlamri
- Position: Defender
- Age: 35
Probably the least-known defender, Djamel Benlamri has spent most of his career in and around the Middle East. He did have a short stint at Lyon, but made just eight appearances for the club between October 2020 and July 2021.
Benlamri also plays for Mostaganem, having joined in January 2025, alongisde M’Bolhi and Zeffane.
Ramy Bensebaini
- Position: Defender
- Age: 30
Now the most famous defender of the list. Ramy Bensebaini is currently a Borussia Dortmund starter and previously enjoyed a four-year stint at Borussia Monchendgladbach.
Before that, he played for Rennes and Montpellier in France, Lierse in Belgium and Paradou in his home land of Algeria.
Bensebaini is probably in the peak of his career and seems to have made a permanent switch from left-back to left-centre-back, with a license to charge forward.
Adlene Guedioura
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 40
Adlene Guedioura is the only retired player from Algeria’s title-winning squad. The former midfielder actually spent most of his career in England, most notably with Watford. He also had stints with Nottingham Forest, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United and Burton Albion.
He retired in 2024, putting end to a 19-year career, having featured 62 times for his country.
Riyad Mahrez
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 34
A five-time Premier League winner, Riyad Mahrez graced English football with his dazzling skills and a wand of a left foot.
He joined Leicester City from Le Havre still in the Championship, helped the Foxes go up, maintain themselves in the top tier and then win it – all within two and a half years.
Mahrez is now 34 years old and has been in Saudi Arabia since July 2023. He captained Algeria in the 2019 Afcon and lifted the trophy.
Sofiane Feghouli
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 35
Another skillful winger, Sofiane Feghouli became more of a centre-midfielder over time. He’s most known for his time at Valencia, between 2010 and 2016 – having left for West Ham United.
His time in England, however, was short. He left for Galatasaray a year later and remained in Turkey when moving to Fatih Karagumruk.
Feghouli was playing in Europe until 2024 and now finds himself in the Iraqi league for Amanat Baghdad.
Ismael Bennacer
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 27
Once a promising and skillful centre-midfielder, Ismael Bennacer is now playing for Dinamo Zagreb, on loan from AC Milan.
The 27-year-old spent time in the Arsenal academy and even made an appearance of the bench, in a 0-3 loss to Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup back in 2015.
He impressed for Empoli during the 2018-19 season and got a move to Milan. Still, the Italian giants don’t seem to be happy with his performances, with the current one being his second loan spell of the year. He played for Marseille between February and June 2025.
Youcef Belaili
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 33
Youcef Belaili started six of Algeria’s seven games in the 2019 Afcon title run in the left wing. He is still 33 years old and plays for Tunisian side Esperance – having appeared in the recent Club World Cup, and even scoring against Los Angeles FC.
He had a few tastes of European football across his career, all of them in France (for Angers, Brest and Ajaccio). Belaili actually spent two years away from football between 2015 and 2017 after failing a drug test. He is now in his second stint for Esperance, having played for the club previously between 2018 and 2019.
Baghdad Bounedjah
- Position: Forward
- Age: 33
Scorer of the goal that gave Algeria the 2019 Afcon title, Baghdad Bounedjah has played in just three different countries across his career: Algeria (El-Harrach), Tunisia (Etoile du Sahel) and Qatar (Al-Sadd and Al Shamal).
He got a lucky deflection in his title-winning shot, but performed a nice body feint to find room to cut inside and fire from distance less than two minutes into the final.
Bounedjah is still playing for Algeria – he scored and assisted in a recent win over Zimbabwe in an international friendly, in November 2025.
Yacine Brahimi
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 35
Yacine Brahimi enchanted the whole world in Brazil 2014. His performances during that World Cup warranted him a move to Porto in the summer, but he could never find consistent form and minutes.
His international career follows suit. He played just two times in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations – both off the bench, getting just 25 minutes of action in the whole tournament.
Brahimi currently plays for Qatari side Al-Gharrafa.
Mehdi Tahrat
- Position: Defender
- Age: 35
Centre-back Mehdi Tahrat was not a starter in the 2019 Afcon and made just two appearances during Algeria’s title run. One of them was as a late substitute in the final to lock things up at the back.
He spent most of his career in France, across spells for Sainte-Genevieve, Lille B, Paris FC, Angers, Valenciennes, Lens and Troyes. Now, the 35-year-old plies his trade at Thai side Kanchanaburi Power.
Islam Slimani
- Position: Forward
- Age: 37
Islam Slimani was already showing signs of decline as a 31-year-old in 2019. He made just two appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations – both off the bench – following a loan campaign at Fenerbahce from Leicester City in which he scored just one goal in 15 games in the Super Lig.
Still, he’s enjoyed a strong international career and is Algeria’s all-time top goalscorer (47 in 102 caps). Slimani showed a lot of promise for Sporting between 2013 and 2016, which caught the eye of Leicester City. The Foxes brought him in to strengthen their attacking depth, but it didn’t work out for him at the King Power – or anywhere else in England for that matter.
He went on to play for Newcastle, as well as Fenerbahce, Monaco and Lyon before returning to Sporting. After that, he had a few adventures around the world: Brest (France), Anderlecht (Belgium), Coritiba (Brazil), Mechelen (Belgium), Belouizdad (Algeria), Westerlo (Belgium) and now Cluj (Romania).
