Chelsea U18 Goalkeeper Sami Tlemçani Chooses Morocco Over Algeria for International Career

While the choice of Algeria seemed obvious, the 16-year-old goalkeeper has decided to play for the Atlas Lions in the next U17 CAN to be held in Morocco in March.

The Algerian Football Federation and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation had set themselves the goal of recruiting the player, but it was the FRMF that managed to get the upper hand, succeeding in convincing Sami Tlemçani, as well as his entourage, of the advantages for the latter of wearing the Moroccan jersey.

Born in France to an Algerian father and a Moroccan mother, the young goalkeeper had joined the goalkeepers’ training of the Paris FC professional group at the age of only 15.