Preview: Algeria vs Guatemala - prediction, team news, lineups

Algeria will continue their preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup when they take on Guatemala in an international friendly on Friday at the Stade Luigi Ferraris in Genoa.

The Greens are scheduled to play one more friendly against Uruguay ahead of the World Cup, while for Guatemala, this marks their final outing for a while as the Chapines look to end their international break on a positive note.

Match preview

Drawn in CAF Group G, Algeria secured World Cup qualification with ease, collecting 25 points from 10 matches - seven clear of both Uganda and Mozambique.

The Desert Warriors began their campaign with a 3-1 victory over Somalia and suffered just one defeat across the two-year qualification period, underlining their consistency en route to booking their place at the tournament in the USA.

They recorded eight wins and a draw during the qualifiers, with their only setback being a narrow 1-0 loss to Guinea, a testament to their overall dominance.

Algeria also impressed in the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations, winning all three matches, although a 2-0 defeat to Nigeria brought their journey to an end in the knockout phase.

Vladimir Petkovic’s side have opened the scoring in seven of their last eight matches and will be keen to make the most of these friendlies as they fine-tune preparations for the main event.

Guatemala, in contrast, endured a difficult World Cup qualifying campaign and ultimately fell short of reaching the tournament.

Luis Fernando Tena’s side finished second behind Jamaica in the second round to progress further, but ended up third in the final stage, four points adrift of Panama.

The Mayans made a slow start, suffering a 1-0 defeat to El Salvador before dropping further points against Panama and Suriname.

They attempted to revive their campaign with a strong finish, securing wins over El Salvador and Suriname, but a 3-2 defeat to Panama ultimately ended their hopes of qualification.

While this friendly carries little competitive significance for Guatemala, they will still be eager to put in a strong performance and prove they can compete with higher-ranked opposition.

Algeria form (all competitions):

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Guatemala form (all competitions):

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Team News

Petkovic has named six new players in his 27-man squad for the World Cup warm-up fixtures, including two fresh goalkeeping options.

Kilian Belazzoug and Melvin Mastil are among the new faces called up, while around 11 players from the previous Africa Cup of Nations squad have been left out for various reasons.

Ismael Bennacer is unavailable due to a knee injury, while Ilan Kebbal (thigh), Jaouen Hadjam (ankle) and Samir Sophian Chergui (thigh) are also sidelined.

Fernando Tena, meanwhile, has no major injury concerns, with defender Aaron Herrera the only confirmed absentee due to a leg injury.

Kenderson Navarro impressed in the narrow 1-0 defeat to Canada in the previous friendly and could retain his place ahead of Nicholas Hagen.

Algeria possible starting lineup:

Zidane; Belghali, Mandi, Bensebaini, Nouri; Boudaoui, Zerrouki; Mahrez, Maza, Chaibi; Amoura

Guatemala possible starting lineup:

Navarro; Morales, Samayoa, Pinto, Ardon; Munoz, Franco, Castellanos; Avila Jr, Lom, Santis

We say: Algeria 2-0 Guatemala

Algeria will be keen to build momentum ahead of the World Cup and are expected to approach this fixture with full focus against a Guatemala side that has failed to keep a clean sheet in their last three matches.

The Greens have found the net in seven of their previous eight outings, and given the attacking quality at their disposal, they should be targeting more than just a single goal in this encounter.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.