Nabil Bentaleb regrets missing out on Tottenham Hotspur’s League Cup semi-final but insists he has a duty to represent Algeria in the Africa Cup of Nations. The 20-year-old scored the first goal as Spurs cruised to a 4-0 victory over Newcastle on Wednesday to set up January’s last-four date with League One Sheffield United. Bentaleb, though, will be in Equatorial Guinea with Algeria, the country of his parents’ origin. Nabil Bentaleb celebrates scoring the opener for Tottenham in the 4-0 rout of Newcastle at White Hart Lane And the France-born midfielder says he could not refuse the call to appear at his first Cup of Nations.
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Tottenham face Sheffield United in the Capital One Cup semi-final
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Nabil Bentaleb scored as they beat Newcastle United in the quarter-final
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But Bentaleb will miss the semi-final due to the Africa Cup of Nations
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The Algerian said he has a duty to represent his country at the tournament
When people ask me why I chose Algeria over @placeholder, I say when I was younger and France lost, I was not crying in front of my TV, whereas when Algeria lost I was crying and I was getting angry.