Rayan Aït-Nouri has been omitted from Algeria’s squad for this month’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Togo. National team boss Brahim Hemdani cited a lack of regular football at Manchester City and his lack of discipline during September’s international break.
The 25-year-old left-back, who joined City from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2025, has struggled for game time under new head coach Enzo Maresca this season.
He has made just four appearances in all competitions, totalling 167 minutes, and is yet to start a single Premier League match.
That lack of football has now cost him his place with the Fennecs for the double-header against Togo, though Hemdani has stopped short of shutting the door on him entirely.
A frosty exit from the last camp
Aït-Nouri’s absence traces back to Algeria’s last international break in September, when he was left fuming after Hemdani chose Brighton’s Jaouen Hadjam ahead of him at left-back in a 3-1 win over Zambia.
According to the report, the City defender had expected to feature and was unhappy to be overlooked.
Matters came to a head when Zambia equalised and Hemdani appeared ready to introduce Aït-Nouri from the bench, only to change his mind.
After Algeria restored their lead, the full-back reportedly refused to warm up or come on, and clashed with both coaching staff and teammates in the aftermath. Days later, he withdrew from the squad altogether, having asked to leave the camp early.
Hemdani lays down conditions for a return
Explaining his decision to leave Aït-Nouri out for the Togo fixtures, Hemdani was clear about what he expects from any player hoping to wear the Algeria shirt.
Speaking in comments relayed by Fennec Football, he said: “There are two essential conditions for making the Algerian national team: playing regularly for his club and respecting the clearly defined team structure.”e, touching on both the player’s lack of minutes at the Etihad and his conduct during the Zambia game. Even so, Hemdani was careful to frame the exclusion as circumstantial rather than permanent.
“The decision made regarding Aït-Nouri is logical in the current context, but the doors remain open. No one is definitively excluded,” he said.
“We continue to monitor him. I know what this player has brought to Algeria, but not calling him up remains, above all, a tactical decision.”
Spell on the fringes at City continues
Aït-Nouri’s problems at international level mirror his situation at club level. Signed to provide competition and cover at full-back, he has found opportunities hard to come by under Maresca, who took over from Pep Guardiola in the summer and has so far preferred other options in that area of the pitch.
Of his four appearances this season, three have come in the Champions League and League Cup rather than the league itself.
With neither of Hemdani’s two conditions currently being met, the Algeria coach’s message effectively puts the ball back in both the player’s and the club’s court.
Unless Aït-Nouri can force his way into Maresca’s plans in the coming weeks, speculation over a January departure from Manchester City, in search of regular football elsewhere, looks set to grow.
