Algeria have appointed Lucas Alcaraz as their fourth full-time coach in the last 13 months. The Spaniard was sacked on Monday  as the coach of Granada, who are currently bottom of the Spanish La Liga.

Alcaraz

The 50-year-old replaces Belgian  Georges Leekens who quit  after Algeria were eliminated from the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations at the group stage.

Christian Gourcuff resigned as coach in April 2016 to be replaced by  Milovan Rajevac who quit  after just two games.

The move came as a surprise to many in Algeria as another Spaniard Joaquin Caparros had been expected to be given the job.

Former Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka had also been linked to the position. Alcaraz’s first competitive match in charge will be against visiting Togo as Algeria begin their qualifying campaign for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.