ALGERIA ANNOUNCE 30-MAN PROVISIONAL WORLD CUP SQUAD

Coach Vahid Halilhodzic named his provisional squad for the eagerly-awaited tournament on Monday, with Feghouli and Taider the star quality in a squad that contains five players based in England and the same number in France.

Highly-rated Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb is included after forcing his way into the Premier League's club first team this season, despite the 19-year-old having played just twice for Algeria.

Napoli's Faouzi Ghoulam and Porto attacker Nabil Ghilas are also included, but Ishak Belfodil misses out on a place.

Captain Madjid Bougherra said last week that the nation were "promising" supporters a spot in the second round.

His bold pledge may set Algeria up for a fall, given that Group H in Brazil also features Belgium, South Korea and Russia.

Halilhodzic's side reached the World Cup finals after winning five of their six matches in African qualifying, with Sporting Lisbon striker Islam Slimani netting five times.

Algeria open their 2014 World Cup campaign against Belgium on May 17.

Squad in full:

Goalkeepers: Izzedine Doukha (USM El-Harrach), Rais M'bolhi (CSKA Sofia), Cedric Si Mohamed (CS Constantine), Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche (USM Alger)

Defenders: Essaid Belkalem (Watford), Madjid Bougherra (Lekhwya), Liassine Cadamuro Bentaiba (Mallorca), Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli), Rafik Halliche (Academica), Nacreddine Khoualed (USM Alger), Aissa Mandi (Stade Reims), Carl Medjani (Valenciennes), Djamel Eddine Mesbah (Livorno), Mehdi Sebaa Mostefa (AC Ajaccio)

Midfielders: Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham), Ryad Boudebouz (Bastia), Yacine Brahimi (Granada), Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia), Adlene Guedioura (Crystal Palace), Amir Karaoui (ES Setif), Medhi Lacen (Getafe), Saphir Taider (Inter), Hassan Yebda (Udinese)

Forwards: Abdelmoumen Djabou (Club Africain), Rafik Djebbour (Nottingham Forest), Nabil Ghilas (Porto), Foued Kadir (Rennes), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester City), Islam Slimani (Sporting Lisbon), Hilal Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb)