It’s been four years since Cameroon’s Karl Toko-Ekambi scored in the 124th minute of a decisive qualifying match, crushing Algeria’s hopes of reaching Qatar 2022. Around the same time, Fares Ghedjemis was denied a chance to join another professional team. Following his time at Troyes, where he spent most of his formative years, Le Havre also declined to offer him his first professional contract.
Forty-eight months on, the situation could not be more different. While the Fennecs have made a triumphant comeback to the world’s biggest tournament, the tireless winger has seen his dream come true. Not content with signing a professional contract at Frosinone, he also donned the Algerian national team shirt for the first time last March and can now set his sights on making Vladimir Petkovic’s squad for next month’s trip to North America.
“It’s safe to say that my career path has been quite unconventional. It certainly wasn’t a smooth ride,” the player admitted with a grin. “I decided to go it alone.”
Long overlooked by the mainstream media, Ghedjemis could well have given up after Le Havre turned him down. However, the Montreuil-born player, known for his resilience, quickly devised a new plan. Rather than rushing into the top flight of European football, he decided to bide his time, even if it meant playing in the lower leagues, where he could prove his worth and climb the ladder one step at a time.
“At that point, I knew exactly what I wanted to do,” he explained. “The idea was to work my way up through National 2 to National, and then move into the professional game.”
Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan during his first spell in France’s fourth tier with Evreux (the same club that produced players such as Ousmane Dembele and Dayot Upamecano), forcing him to make the move to Vannes, also in the fourth tier, after just six months. Despite the Brittany-based club’s relegation, Ghedjemis turned heads over the course of a few decisive weeks where he produced six goals and four assists.
“I knew I only had six months to make a name for myself, so it was a real lightbulb moment for me. I poured my heart and soul into it, giving it everything I had to get into a third-tier team, and I put in six months of top-class performances. That’s when FC Rouen approached me.”
However, there was no stopping Ghedjemis’ momentum. France’s third division proved too small a stage for him. After another six months performing consistently well, he was snapped up by Serie A side Frosinone, where the right winger still plays today. Through hard work and determination, the Algerian achieved the seemingly impossible feat of rising from the French fifth tier to the Italian first division in the space of a year and a half.
“It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure. It meant moving to a new country. The team communicated mostly in Italian rather than English, so I had to pick up the language quickly. That said, I’m mad about football. Playing in Serie A, competing in that league, meant the world to me. It was pretty easy to settle in, thanks to football.”
After being thrown headfirst into the battle to avoid relegation, the newly capped international sadly saw Frosinone relegated again in May 2024. However, after a season of adapting to the Italian second tier, Ghedjemis has taken his game to a whole new level this season.
As his team celebrated their return to Serie A in style on Friday 8 May after thrashing Mantua 5-0, where he scored his 15th league goal of the season in the process, the forward could find himself doing more than just returning to the Italian top flight, with talk of him featuring in his nation’s FIFA World Cup™ squad as well.
“It would be a bit arrogant to say I’m a contender. But if they call me up, I’ll be there to give it my all,” said the 23-year-old.
He certainly made an impressive debut in the 7-0 win against Guatemala on 27 March. After coming off the bench to replace one of his childhood idols, Riyad Mahrez, whose unconventional path to the top has always inspired him, the former Rouen player only had to wait 15 minutes before scoring his first goal for the Fennecs.
“Your first call-up is always special,” he beamed. “It’s an honour to be able to play alongside top players. Most of all, it’s really quite emotional to represent my country, and the country of my parents as well.”
When the national team came together in March, Petkovic decided to review the squad. In addition to Ghedjemis, this was also the first time Melvin Mastil, Kilian Belazzoug, Achref Abada, Adil Aouchiche and Nadhir Benbouali had played for the full national team. Although it may seem far-fetched to imagine all these players making the cut in North America, some have impressed enough to stand a real chance of being selected.
“I’ve always dreamed of playing at the tournament. As a kid, you calculate how old you’ll be when you turn professional, and how old you’ll be before you can play in the World Cup. For me, it would be 2026, or perhaps the one after that.”
The footballer’s father, Khalid Ghedjemis, quickly encouraged his son to take up the sport. As a lifelong supporter of the national team, he has fond memories of watching their matches on television.
“In 2010, I was quite young, but I can still remember bits and pieces. That said, I’ve got a bunch from 2014. It was an incredible match against Germany. Even as I talk about it now, I get emotional.”
One of the key players from that legendary match is Aissa Mandi, and twelve years later, Ghedjemis found himself sharing the pitch with him in the national team, not to mention countless other players he had long admired, such as Ramy Bensebaini and Houssem Aouar.
Whether he plays in the upcoming World Cup for Algeria, Ghedjemis has shown how hard work and self-sacrifice can pay off. Now that his dream has come true, and he refuses to rest on his laurels, the Algerian international would love nothing more than for his unconventional journey to inspire other talented players struggling to find their way.
“If I met a young person in the same situation I was in four years ago, I’d tell them to stick with it, work hard, but above all, believe in themselves 100%. Even if others refuse to believe in you, saying you’re not good enough or not ready, as was the case with me, you have to believe in yourself. Anything is possible.”
