Rabat (AFP) – Bayer Leverkusen’s German midfielder Ibrahim Mazza imposed himself as a “bright star” in the sky of Algerian football and its future, and it became its hope to regain its glow seven years ago, when it won the continental title for the second time in its history.
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Mazza (20 years old) caught attention in his first participation in the continental tournament since the first match against Sudan, when he came on as a substitute for his compatriot, Eintracht Frankfurt player Fares Shaybi, by scoring the third goal (3-0), which was his first international goal and his 100th for the “Desert Foxes” in the continental tournament.
He confirmed his attacking skills, dribbles and decisive passes in the third match with a decisive pass to Shaybi, from which he scored the second goal against Equatorial Guinea, before scoring the net himself, strengthening the Algerian superiority with a hat-trick following a decisive pass from Anis Hadj Moussa.
Mazza, born to an Algerian father and a German mother of Vietnamese origins, raised his offensive contributions to seven in the last nine matches with the national team and his club (3 goals and 4 assists), including two international goals.
Algeria’s Bosnian-Swiss coach, Vladimir Petkovic, praised him in the press conference on the eve of facing the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the eighth-final in Rabat, stressing that he and Feyenoord’s Dutch striker Anis Hadj Moussa (23 years old) constitute the future of Algerian football.
Petkovic said, “Hajj Moussa and Maza will be an important part of the Algerian football journey in the future. They are participating for the first time in the African Cup of Nations, and their gaining experience during this tournament is very important, because they embody Algeria’s football future.”
In turn, midfielder Ismail Ben Nasser, who was crowned the best player in the 2019 edition in Egypt, said, “Mazza is a very, very talented and skilled player. We have seen him on the field. He is very mature for his age, and we hope that he will help us win all the matches.”
Bin Nasser, who was present alongside Petkovic at the press conference, added: “We support him and try to accompany him so that he can show everything he has on the field, and this is what he does.”
The former player for Italian Milan, French Marseille, and currently Croatian Dinamo Zagreb continued, in response to the number 22 that he had in the Egyptian version and is now in Mazza’s possession: “It is a beautiful irony. I wish him great matches and that he will help us advance in this tournament.”
Mazza was unknown to the public before the start of the continental tournament, but he became a bright star linked by Spanish reports to Barcelona.
The rising talent has proven his ability to adapt to rising levels, relying on high fitness and impressive playing volume at a young age.
Among these advantages, he quickly found himself in the attention of German national team coach Julian Nagelsmann.
Greater chances with Algeria
He was born in Berlin to an Algerian father and a German mother of Vietnamese origins. He spent years in the ranks of the German national teams, where he played eight matches with the U-18 national team and two with the U-20 national team, which prompted the “De Mannschaft” coach to include him on an expanded list of closely monitored talents during the year 2023.
“From a sporting standpoint, I had more chances with Algeria,” Mazza said.
More than a year ago, after his brilliance in the Bundesliga with Hertha Berlin, he made his decision in favor of Algeria, in a choice that combines heart and mind, for a young man who speaks Arabic and visited the country every summer in his childhood to meet his grandparents in the Harrach neighborhood in the capital, and he fell in love with the “Desert Foxes” during the 2014 World Cup.
He added in an interview with the official website of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) on the sidelines of his first match in Algerian colors against Togo in October 2024: “At that moment, I understood what it meant to be Algerian and defend the colors of your homeland. This is what pushed me to work seriously and believe in my abilities,” stressing that the historic 16-final match that captain Riyad Mahrez and his teammates played against Germany in the World Cup in Brazil, which they lost after overtime, left a deep impact on him.
In a statement to Bild newspaper, Mazza explained that the fierce competition for his position within the German national team was an additional reason for changing his sporting nationality: “With the presence of (Jamal) Musiala, (Florian) Wirtz and others, it was very difficult for me to get playing time. My goal was to participate in the World Cup, and from a sporting point of view, my chances were greater with Algeria.”
After he has become an indispensable starter, all eyes will be on him on Tuesday in a strong confrontation against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the round of 16.
© 2026 AFP
