Metz midfielder Ahmed Kashi and Osasuna defender Liassine Cadamuro will join the Algeria squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, coach Christian Gourcuff said Sunday.

They will replace Newcastle's Mehdi Abeid and Trabzonspor's Essaid Belkalem, who have both been ruled out of the competition.

Kashi and Cadamuro had been named in the initial 27-man squad for the January 17 to February 8 tournament in Equatorial Guinea.

Algeria will play Ghana, South Africa and Senegal in the first round of the tournament they won for the only time in 1990.

"My aim is to win all these matches," said Gourcuff, who replaced Bosnian Vahid Halilhodzic after last year's World Cup and helped the team qualify with five victories against just one defeat.

"My philosophy is the same -- to impose our game on our rivals in all the matches we play."

Algeria will play a friendly warm-up against 2004 winners Tunisia on January 11 in Rades.