At a time when, during the current World Cup, Ibrahim Mazza captured the spotlight of the media, the press, and the critics, and was then chosen as the man of the match between Algeria and Jordan, and at a time when Riyad Mahrez’s double against Austria caught the spotlight and made him the subject of everyone’s talk, there was another player who was silently shining, and performing at consistent levels, which made him, in the opinion of observers, without exaggeration, the best player in the Algerian national team during the first round of the 2026 World Cup.
Fares Shaybi was not the most scorer, the most dribbler, or the most goal-creator during the matches of this round, but he was the most present and influential in the details of the matches, as he proved to be one of the most important keys to the game in Vladimir Petkovic’s squad.
In the opening match against Argentina, Scheibé played on the left flank of the attack, and was the only bright spot in Algeria’s disappointing performance. His movements worried the Argentine defense, and he was able to score before the video technology deprived him of a goal that would have given the “Greens” the lead, in a shot that confirmed that he was able to make the difference despite the difficulty of the confrontation.
With the disappointing performance of midfielders Hicham Boudaoui and Nabil Bentaleb, Petkovic decided to adjust Scheibey’s position starting from the second match, returning him to midfield. There, another face of the Eintracht Frankfurt player appeared, after he played a great match in linking lines, recovering, and building attacks, and he lacked nothing but luck once again after goalkeeper Abu Laili hit the crossbar with a wonderful shot that deserved to be his first goal in the World Cup, and his fourth goal with the “Greens.”
In the decisive match against Austria, the Swiss coach renewed his confidence in Scheibe in the middle of the field, and the response came on the field. Regular performance, tremendous physical effort, continuous pressure on the opponent, and recovering balls, in addition to his contribution to the rapid transition from defense to attack, confirm once again that he is one of the most stable players in the national team.
The irony is that the player himself was questioned by Petkovic when he took over the reins of the “Greens”, in March 2024, when the Swiss technician stated that he was unable to determine a specific position for the player, and was he a midfielder or a striker? But the World Cup matches clearly provided the answer, as he is a multi-role player who can provide an addition whether on the flanks or in the middle of the field, and has the tactical intelligence that makes him adapt to the requirements of each match.
Scheibe’s relationship with the national team, and especially with his coach, was not easy, as Petkovic expelled him at the beginning of his career, after a dispute during his first training session, before giving him a new opportunity during which he proved his right to return, to win the bet and become one of the Swiss coach’s most important technical cards.
Djamel Belmadi was the first to call the Toulouse graduate to the national team in March 2023, after he preferred to represent Algeria without preconditions. Despite the period in which he experienced some hesitation, doubt, confusion, and even exclusion, today, Chaibi seems to have found his true place within the national team, not only as a talented player, but as an essential piece in the collective system.
Fares Chaybi may not top the news headlines or technical analysis boards, and he may not receive the attention that goalscorers and spectacle shots get, but what he presented during the first round confirms that the Algerian national team has a modern-class player who combines technical quality, tactical flexibility, and fighting spirit.
In a tournament the size of the World Cup, the shadow men are often the ones who have the greatest impact, and Shaibi was undoubtedly the most prominent among the ranks of the “Greens.”
