The French-born midfielder plays his club football in the Bundesliga for VfL Wolfsburg. At 27 he is approaching his prime and since his international debut in 2003 has featured regularly in the Algeria national side. He has won the Algerian Player of the Year award on several occasions and will be the player his coach will look to make the biggest impact on their World Cup campaign.

 

Ziani has spent most of his career in the top two league of French football, starting out with Troyes for whom he made over sixty appearances and moving on to Lorient, first on loan, then permanently, followed by Sochaux. He played for Sochaux for a year, eight goals in 38 appearances, before an 11M Euro move to Marseille in 2007. After two years and nine goals in nearly 50 games, he signed for his current employers Wolsburg in 2009.

Karim Ziani has never been a prolific goal scorer but rather a creative player making chances for others. With over half a century of games for his country under his belt, his skills will be very much tested in a group that features England and the USA.