Niger head coach Nabil Neghiz declined to discuss his time with Algeria after facing his former team in a 2-1 friendly defeat in Tizi-Ouzou on Tuesday.
Neghiz, who was part of Vladimir Petkovic’s Algeria coaching staff before being appointed Niger manager on 11 September, returned to the stadium with the Menas during the latest international break.
Asked about his previous role with the Fennecs at his post-match news conference, the 55-year-old said: “I forbid myself from talking about Algeria.”
The former MC Alger coach said he was pleased to be back in front of the Algerian public, but refused to revisit his previous experience out of respect for his current employer.
Neghiz appeared visibly emotional as the Algerian national anthem was played before kick-off. His Niger side took the lead after 13 minutes, but Algeria turned the match around after the interval through Bachir Belloumi in the 54th minute and Ramy Bensebaini in the 72nd.
The match followed a mixed start to Neghiz’s tenure as Niger manager. His team beat Lesotho 2-1 before losing 2-0 to Gabon in the qualifying campaign for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
Tuesday’s defeat was Neghiz’s first meeting with Algeria since leaving the national-team set-up. He credited his time with the Verts for helping him secure his first appointment as a senior national-team manager, while also thanking the Niger federation for choosing him.
Neghiz had previously worked as an assistant with Algeria under Christian Gourcuff, Georges Leekens and Milovan Rajevac. He also served with the Algeria A’ team under Madjid Bougherra.
His time alongside Petkovic ended at the beginning of August after Algeria’s disappointing 2026 World Cup campaign. The Fennecs were eliminated in the last 16 and, according to the source report, left a poor impression beyond their exit from the tournament.