Algerian head coach of the Lebanon national football team, Maged Bougherra, named a 23-player squad for the upcoming international break, which will include a training camp in the Qatari capital Doha and two friendly matches to be held in Kyrgyzstan.In a packed press conference held by the Lebanese Football Association at the Movenpick Hotel, Bougherra said he has launched his project today through the wide-ranging changes he has begun making, including lowering the team’s average age.

“I’m happy to be back here to start the project I came for, which centers on giving opportunities to young and new players. This is a phase of bringing new blood into the national team,” Bougherra said.“As you know, we had a team that gave everything, and I want to give those players their due for what they offered. Now we turn the page — I came for the project and to build a competitive team over the next five years,” he added.

The Algerian coach pointed out that the main objective at this stage is to reach the required readiness before the World Cup qualifiers begin in September next year, explaining: “I will call up many players, specifically young ones, to see whether they have the ability to add to the national team. All of our technical and tactical work will be aimed at being ready for the qualifiers, starting with the camp we begin next week.”In response to a journalist’s question about his selections and how he informed experienced internationals of their exclusion, Bougherra revealed: “After the last match against Yemen, Mohammad Haidar and Qassem Al-Zein told me frankly that the time had come to make way for a new generation. I want to make clear that I have not closed the door on any player not named today; future selections will depend on the performance each player shows in the coming period.”

He also revealed that the national team will play a friendly against Qatari club Al-Sadd on the sidelines of the camp that begins next Tuesday in Doha and continues until the 28th of this month, after which the team will travel to Kyrgyzstan to play two friendlies against the Kyrgyz national team and the Maldives.The squad includes several players called up for the first time: Ali al-Rida Ismail, Badr Qawam, Hassan Kafrarani, Joao Gabriel Makhlouf, Mahmoud Zbeib, and Ralph Khoury, in addition to the return of others who were absent from the team recently for various reasons, foremost among them the attacking duo Sami Merhej and Hussein Shakroun.

Here is the squad:Goalkeepers: Mostafa Matar (Nejmeh), Ali Al-Sabaa (Jwaya), Antoine Douaihy (Al Safa)Defenders: Khalil Khamis; Ali al-Rida Ismail; Mohammed Al-Haik (Nejmeh); Badr Qawam and Hassan Kafrarani (Jwaya); Jad Samira (Karmiotissa, Cyprus); Joao Gabriel Makhlouf (Como, Italy); Pedro Bou Dib (Pachuca, Mexico)

Midfielders: Ahmad Khair al-Din (Al Ansar); Ali Al-Fadl (Nejmeh); Hassan Sarour and Walid Shour (Jwaya); Mahmoud Zbeib (Al Ahed)

Forwards: Ali Qassas (Nejmeh); Jimi Qazan (Jwaya); Khalil Badr (Al Ansar); Leonardo Shahin (Odevold, Sweden); Sami Merhej (Alverca, Portugal); Hussein Shakroun (Hannover 96, Germany); Ralph Khoury (Atlético Ottawa, Canada).Photos by Guevara Abboud.