Algerian national soccer team / world championships

Algeria
الجزائر / al-Jaza'ir

World Cup record goalscorer:	Salah Assad and Islam Slimani (2 each)
World Cup record players:	Rafik Halliche (7)
Rank :	42
Balance sheet
13 World Cup games 3 wins 3 draws 7 losses 13:19 goals
statistics
First World Cup game Algeria 2: 1 BR Germany Gijón ( ESP ); June 16, 1982
Biggest World Cup victory Algeria 4: 2 South Korea Porto Alegre ( BRA ); June 22, 2014
Biggest World Cup defeat Algeria 3-0 Spain Monterrey ( MEX ); June 12, 1986
successes
World Championship
Participation in the finals	4 ( first : 1982 )
Best results	Round of 16 ( 2014 )
Best placements in the countries that host the FIFA World Cup
(As of July 2018 )

The article contains a detailed description of the Algerian national soccer team at soccer world championships . Algeria has only participated in world championships four times. The best result was achieved when they last participated in 2014 when they reached the round of 16, where the team was eliminated in extra time against eventual world champions Germany.

Overview

year	Host country	Participation until ...	Last opponent	Result	Trainer	Comments and special features
1930	Uruguay	not participated				Not an independent state
1934	Italy	not participated				Not an independent state
1938	France	not participated				Not an independent state
1950	Brazil	not participated				Not an independent state
1954	Switzerland	not participated				Not an independent state
1958	Sweden	not participated				Forerunner team of the FLN not recognized
1962	Chile	not participated				Forerunner team of the FLN not recognized
1966	England	withdrawn
1970	Mexico	not qualified				Tunisia failed in the first round of qualification , but they also failed to qualify.
1974	Germany	not qualified				In the qualification in the 1st round again failed by Guinea , which could not qualify either.
1978	Argentina	not qualified				In the qualification in the second round, Tunisia failed again.
1982	Spain	Preliminary round	Germany , Austria , Chile	13.	Rachid Mekhloufi	Algeria was eliminated after one win, one loss and one win. Austria, which was level on points with Algeria, played against Germany in the last game. In the so-called non - aggression pact of Gijón between Germany and Austria , the two teams left it with a 1-0 victory for Germany, which gave Austria the better goal difference against Algeria.
1986	Mexico	Preliminary round	Northern Ireland , Brazil , Spain	22nd	Rabah Saâdane	Eliminated as last group.
1990	Italy	not qualified				In the qualifying in the third round of Egypt failed.
1994	United States	not qualified				In the qualification in the 2nd round to Nigeria failed.
1998	France	not qualified				In the qualifiers in the first round of Kenya failed, which also failed to qualify.
2002	South Korea / Japan	not qualified				Failed in the qualification in the 2nd round at Senegal .
2006	Germany	not qualified				In the qualification in the second round of Angola failed.
2010	South Africa	Preliminary round	Slovenia , England , USA	28.	Rabah Saâdane	Eliminated as last group
2014	Brazil	Round of 16	Germany	14th	Vahid Halilhodžić	In the preliminary round, Algeria came second behind Belgium and ahead of Russia and South Korea, which was the first time they reached the second round, in which the team met eventual world champions Germany and lost 2-1 to Germany for the first time after extra time.
2018	Russia	not qualified				In the qualification in the third round, Nigeria, Cameroon and Zambia failed, from which Nigeria could qualify.

Statistics (data including 2018: 21 World Championships; percentages are rounded)

• Athletic qualification: 4 × (19% or 31% of the attempts)
• Did not take part (no independent state or not recognized): 7 × (33%; 1930 to 1962)
• Withdrawn: 1 × (5%; 1966)
• Unqualified: 9 × (43%; 1970, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2018)
• Preliminary round: 3 × (14%; 1982, 1986, 2010)
• Round of 16: 1 × (5%; 2014)

World Cup tournaments

1930 to 1962

As a French colony, Algeria could not take part in the first five tournaments and in 1958 and 1962 the forerunner of the FLN was not recognized by FIFA. With Alexandre Villaplane and Ernest Libérati , however, there were already players born in Algeria in the French squad for the 1930 World Cup . In 1934 , Algerian-born Joseph Gonzales and Joseph Alcazar were on the French squad. In 1938 , Abdelkader Ben Bouali , Jean Bastien , Michel Brusseaux and Mario Zatelli, born in Algeria, followed . In 1954 , Abdelaziz Ben Tifour, born in Algeria, took part in the World Cup for France. 1958 Célestin Oliver was part of the French squad, which finished the World Cup in third, but was not used.

1966 in England

For the World Cup in the "motherland of football" Algeria was allowed to qualify for the first time and should compete in the qualifying round against Tunisia and Liberia . But since the teams from Africa, Asia and Oceania were only allowed one place in the final round, all 15 African teams withdrew. Only Australia and North Korea competed for the qualification, North Korea qualified for the World Cup in England.

1970 in Mexico

For the first World Cup in Central America , Algeria had to face Tunisia in the first round. The first World Cup qualifier on November 17, 1968 in Algiers was lost 2-1, so that Tunisia 0-0 in the second leg in Tunis was enough to reach the second round. In this, Tunisia failed by drawing lots after the playoff against Morocco , which was the first African team to participate in a World Cup after the Second World War .

1974 in Germany

In qualifying for the first World Cup in Germany , Algeria met Guinea in the first round . After a 1-0 win in Algiers they lost 5-1 in Conakry , which meant that qualification was missed. Guinea was eliminated in the second round against Morocco, which failed in the fourth round to Zaire, who qualified as Africa representative for the World Cup finals.

1978 in Argentina

For the fourth World Cup in South America , Algeria first had to play against Libya in qualifying and won the home game 1-0. A goalless draw in the second leg was enough to reach the second round for the first time, in which Tunisia were the opponents. After a 2-0 draw in Tunis, the 1-1 draw in the second leg was not enough to advance. In the end, Tunisia secured the only African World Cup starting place in the final tournament in Argentina.

1982 in Spain

For the qualification for the World Cup on the Iberian Peninsula , in which the Africans were granted two places for the first time, Algeria first had to play against Sierra Leone and after a 2-2 in Sierra Leone the second leg was won 3-1. In the second round, Sudan was the next opponent and with 2-0 in the home game and a 1: 1 in the second leg, the third round was reached. In this the Niger was defeated 4-0 in the home game, so that a 0-1 in the second leg could be coped with. In the last round they won two wins (2-1 and 2-0) against Nigeria , which meant Algeria qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time. Cameroon qualified as the second Africa representative, also for the first time.

In the final round a surprising 2-1 opening win against European champions Germany succeeded , which underestimated the Algerians. In the second game against Austria they lost 2-0 after a superior but goalless first half. The last group match between the Algerians and Chile took place the day before the game between the two European teams. Although the team was already leading 3-0 at halftime and would almost certainly have qualified for the final round with this score, the Chileans managed to score two more goals against the team with the stars Lakhdar Belloumi and Rabah Madjer towards the end of the game to achieve. Due to this starting position, the German national team and the Austrian team scored 1-0, for which Horst Hrubesch scored in the 10th minute of the game , to move into the second final round. After Hrubesch's goal, both teams were keen to keep this result, which is why this so-called non - aggression pact is also known as the "Shame of Gijón". As a consequence, FIFA later stipulated that in subsequent World Cups on the last match day of each preliminary round group, both games would be played at the same time.

1986 in Mexico

The qualification for the second World Cup in Mexico meant that Algeria had to face Angola for the first time in the second round after a bye in the first round . In Luanda they were 0-0 and in the second leg in Algiers a 3-2 was enough to advance. Both games were won against Zambia in the third round (2-0 and 1-0). In the final round they also won two wins against Tunisia (4: 1 and 3: 0), so that the final round was reached for the second time. Morocco qualified as the second Africa representative, also for the second time.

In the finals , the Algerian team only achieved a 1-1 draw after a poor performance in the first game of the preliminary round against Northern Ireland . The second group match against fellow favorites Brazil was lost 1-0, even if Algeria had good chances through Belloumi and Assad. The only goal for Brazil came from a defensive mistake. After another clear 3-0 defeat against Spain , Algeria was eliminated and said goodbye to the World Cup for 24 years.

1990 in Italy

To qualify for the second World Cup in Italy , Algeria only had to face Ivory Coast , Zimbabwe and Libya in the second round , but they withdrew after defeats against Ivory Coast and Algeria. As group winners with only one point loss (0-0 against Ivory Coast), the third round was reached. In this Algeria could not prevail against Egypt. After a 0-0 win in Constantine , the second leg was lost 0-1 in Cairo and Egypt qualified for the World Cup again after 56 years. Cameroon qualified as the second Africa representative, also like Egypt for the second time, but only after an eight-year break.

1994 in the United States

To qualify for the World Cup in the USA , the Algerians were drawn into a group with Ghana , Burundi and Uganda , but the group withdrew. The group winners reached the next round with 5: 3 points. In this one, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast were stronger. Algeria lost both away games and only scored 1-1 in each of the home games. Due to the better goal difference, Nigeria qualified for the finals for the first time. For the first time, African teams were entitled to three finals. These went to Morocco, Nigeria and Cameroon.

1998 in France

The qualification for the second World Cup in France was even worse. Already in the first round Algeria were eliminated after a 1: 3 in Nairobi and a 1: 0 in the second leg against Kenya . Kenya only finished third in one of the five groups of four in the second round, behind Nigeria and Guinea and ahead of Burkina Faso. The five group winners of the second round qualified for the World Cup in France; they were Nigeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Cameroon and Morocco.

2002 in Japan and South Korea

In qualifying for the first World Cup in Asia, Algeria prevailed in the first round with 0-0 and 2-0 against Cape Verde , which was played for the first time. In the second round, Senegal , Morocco , Egypt and Namibia were the opponents. After a 1-1 draw against Senegal, Morocco lost 2-1. It was a 1-0 win against Namibia, but after that three games were lost. The 4: 0 against Namibia and a final 1: 1 against Egypt were then no longer enough to qualify, which was clearly missed when fourth in the group. As in 1998, the five group winners of the second round qualified for the World Cup finals; they were Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia and South Africa.

2006 in Germany

Algeria was also unable to qualify for the second World Cup in Germany . After two victories in the first round against Niger (1-0 and 6-0), Angola , Nigeria , Zimbabwe and Gabon were stronger in the second round . Only Rwanda was weaker. For group winners Angola, this meant the first successful qualification for a World Cup finals. The four other group winners who also qualified were: Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Tunisia.

2010 in South Africa

Scene from the game against England

The qualification for the first World Cup in Africa then succeeded again. Algeria initially prevailed in the second round against Gambia , Senegal and Liberia . Algeria benefited from the fact that Senegal and Gambia separated 1: 1 in the last game, so that Algeria 0-0 in Monrovia against Liberia was enough to reach the third round with one point ahead of group winners. In this Algeria was able to prevail in the playoff against Egypt. This became necessary after both had scored 9: 4 goals and 13 points in a group with Zambia and Rwanda and had won against each other with the same goal difference. After the last qualifying match in Cairo on November 14th, 2009, Algerians suffered injuries from Egyptian fans, but the Egyptian press did not, or at best, reported heavily. In the Algerian press, on the other hand, there was initially talk of deaths, which were later denied by the official government side. After the playoff in Sudan, Egyptians were attacked by Algerians. The Egyptian media at times spoke of several dozen dead until these reports were corrected again. In the meantime there was great excitement, especially among the Egyptian population; Among others, Gamal Mubarak , the Egyptian general secretary of the political committee of the ruling National Democratic Party and son of the then President Husni Mubarak , spoke up . The four other group winners who also qualified were: Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast. Host South Africa was the sixth African team to take part.

At the World Cup finals, the team first met Slovenia in the preliminary round and kept a 0-0 for a long time. Six minutes after Abdelkader Ghezzal was sent off with a yellow-red card , Robert Koren scored the 1-0 winner for Slovenia through a mistake by goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi . Chaouchi was then no longer used and against England - also thanks to a strong performance by goalkeeper Raïs M'Bolhi - a 0-0, so that he was used in the last game against the USA . Algeria then lost it with a goal in stoppage time with 0: 1 and was eliminated without having scored a goal.

2014 in Brazil

Scene from the opening game against Belgium

Algerian fans at the World Cup in Brazil

In qualifying for the second World Cup in Brazil, Algeria, which has been coached by Bosnian Vahid Halilhodžić since July 2011, prevailed in the group stage with five wins and one defeat against Mali , Benin and Rwanda . In the subsequent playoffs, the team initially lost the first leg in Burkina Faso with 2: 3. The 1-0 in the second leg was enough to qualify for the World Cup finals through the away goals rule . With Algeria, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana and the Ivory Coast, the same five African teams qualified as at the previous 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

In the finals , the team made it into the round of 16 of a World Cup for the first time. In the opening game against Belgium Algeria took the lead thanks to a penalty that Sofiane Feghouli converted in the 24th minute. Belgium was able to turn the game around with two goals in the final quarter of an hour. The second game against South Korea was then won 4-2, so that against Russia a draw was enough in the last game. Islam Slimani scored the decisive goal to make it 1-1 against the Russians . In the last sixteen the elimination against eventual world champions Germany followed after a 1: 2 after extra time, in which the Algerian team was the better team for a long time and the German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer intercepted Algerian counterattacks several times. All goals came in extra time, the Algerian in stoppage time immediately after the 0-2. After the round of 16, Halilhodžić decided not to extend his contract with the Algerian association.

2018 in Russia

In qualifying , the team only had to intervene in the second round, which took place in November 2015. The opponent was then Tanzania , the winner of the first round meeting against Malawi . After a 2-2 win in Tanzania, Algeria achieved their highest win of the round three days later with a 7-0 home game. The Algerians were in the third round, which began in October 2016 and lasted until November 2017. Here they met Cameroon, Nigeria and Zambia in the only group with three former African World Cup participants. After a 1-1 draw against Cameroon at the start, they lost the next three games and had no chance of reaching the finals before the last two games. The only victory of this round was awarded to them at the green table , as the Nigerians had used an ineligible player to make it 1-1.

player

Ranking of the Algerian World Cup players with the most appearances

Rafik Halliche , Algerian with most World Cup games

01. Rafik Halliche - 7 games in 2 tournaments

02. Madjid Bougherra , Mahmoud Guendouz , Medhi Lacen , Rabah Madjer , Faouzi Mansouri , Raïs M'Bolhi - 6 games in 2 tournaments

08. Salah Assad , Lakhdar Belloumi , Noureddine Kourichi , Djamel Zidane - 5 games in 2 tournaments

Ranking of the Algerian World Cup players with the most goals

01. Salah Assad , Islam Slimani and Abdelmoumene Djabou - 2 goals

04. Djamel Zidane , Rabah Madjer , Rafik Halliche , Yacine Brahimi and Sofiane Feghouli 1 goal each

World Cup captains

• 1982: Ali Fergani
• 1986: Mahmoud Guendouz
• 2010: Anthar Yahia
• 2014: Madjid Bougherra (1st and 2nd game), Rafik Halliche (3rd game and round of 16)

Players banned from World Championships

• 2010: Abdelkader Ghezzal received the yellow-red card in the first game against Slovenia and was suspended for the second game against England. Anthar Yahia received a yellow-red card in the third minute of stoppage time in their last game against the USA. With Algeria eliminated, the following suspension was carried over to the first game in qualifying for the 2012 African Cup . The second yellow cards for Medhi Lacen and Hassan Yebda in the game against the USA had no further effect due to the elimination.

Share of players playing abroad in the World Cup squad

In the first two participations, Algeria used legionnaires who formed the core of the team. In 2010 and 2014 there were only three and two players in the squad who played in Algeria.

Year (games)	Number (countries)	Players (stakes)
1982 (3)	7 (1 in Belgium, 6 in France)	Djamel Zidane (2); Abdelmajid Bourebbou (1), Mustapha Dahleb (3), Noureddine Kourichi (3), Faouzi Mansouri (3), Karim Maroc (0), Djamel Tlemçani (1)
1986 (3)	11 (1 in Belgium, 1 in England, 8 in France, 1 in Portugal)	Djamel Zidane (3); Rachid Harkouk (2); Salah Assad (2), Tedj Bensaoula (1), Fathi Chebal (0), Noureddine Kourichi (2), Abdellah Liegeon (2), Alim Ben Mabrouk (2), Faouzi Mansouri (3), Karim Maroc (2); Rabah Madjer (3)
2010 (3)	20 (1 in Bulgaria, 3 in Germany, 3 in England, 7 in France, 1 in Greece, 2 in Italy, 1 in Portugal, 1 in Scotland, 1 in Spain)	Raïs M'Bolhi (2); Karim Matmour (3), Anthar Yahia (3), Karim Ziani (3); Nadir Belhadj (3), Adlène Guedioura (3), Hassan Yebda (3); Djamel Abdoun (1), Habib Bellaïd (0), Foued Kadir (3), Yazid Mansouri (0), Carl Medjani (0) Ryad Boudebouz (3) Rafik Saïfi (2); Rafik Djebbour (2); Abdelkader Ghezzal (2), Djamel Mesbah (1); Rafik Halliche (3); Madjid Bougherra (3); Medhi Lacen (3)
2014 (4)	21 (1 in Bulgaria, 3 in England, 3 in France, 4 in Italy, 1 in Qatar, 1 in Croatia, 3 in Portugal, 4 in Spain, 1 in Tunisia)	Raïs M'Bolhi (4); Essaïd Belkalem (3), Nabil Bentaleb (3), Riyad Mahrez (1); Aïssa Mandi (3), Carl Medjani (3), Mehdi Mostefa (2); Faouzi Ghoulam (3), Djamel Mesbah (2), Saphir Taïder (2), Hassan Yebda (1); Madjid Bougherra (3); El Arbi Hillel Soudani (3); Rafik Halliche (4), Nabil Ghilas (3), Islam Slimani (4); Yacine Brahimi (3), Liassine Cadamuro-Bentaïba (0), Medhi Lacen (3), Sofiane Feghouli (4); Abdelmoumene Djabou (3)

Games

Algeria have played 13 World Cup games so far, three of which have been won, seven lost and three have ended in a draw. The last game, the only knockout game so far, had to be extended and was lost in extra time. Algeria played once against the eventual world champions (2014) but never against the hosts, defending champions or newcomers to the World Cup. Germany is the first and so far last opponent and the only team against Algeria twice.

All World Cup games
No.	date	opponent	Result	occasion	venue	comment
1.	June 16, 1982	BR Germany	2: 1	Preliminary round	Gijón ( ESP )
2.	June 21, 1982	Austria	0: 2	Preliminary round	Oviedo ( ESP )	First international match against Austria
3.	June 24, 1982	Chile	3: 2	Preliminary round	Oviedo ( ESP )	First international match against Chile
4th	June 3, 1986	Northern Ireland	1: 1	Preliminary round	Guadalajara ( MEX )
5.	June 6, 1986	Brazil	0: 1	Preliminary round	Guadalajara ( MEX )
6th	June 12, 1986	Spain	0: 3	Preliminary round	Monterrey ( MEX )	First international match against Spain
7th	June 13, 2010	Slovenia	0: 1	Preliminary round	Polokwane ( ZAF )	First international match against Slovenia
8th.	June 18, 2010	England	0-0	Preliminary round	Cape Town ( ZAF )	First international match against England
9.	June 23, 2010	United States	0: 1	Preliminary round	Pretoria ( ZAF )	First international match against the USA
10.	17th June 2014	Belgium	1: 2	Preliminary round	Belo Horizonte ( BRA )
11.	June 22, 2014	South Korea	4: 2	Preliminary round	Porto Alegre ( BRA )	First World Cup game with more than three goals
12.	June 26, 2014	Russia	1: 1	Preliminary round	Curitiba ( BRA )	First international match against Russia
13.	June 30, 2014	Germany	1: 2 a.d.	Round of 16	Porto Alegre ( BRA )	First defeat against Germany

The Algerian team achieved their highest victories against the following countries in World Cup tournaments

•  Chile : 1982 preliminary round 3-2 (only game against Chile)
•  South Korea : 2014 preliminary round 4: 2 (also a 3: 1 at the Merdeka Cup 1983)

The Algerian team suffered their biggest defeats at World Cup tournaments against the following countries

•  Germany : 2014 round of 16 1: 2 a.d. (only defeat against Germany)
•  Austria : 1982 preliminary round 0-2 (only game against Austria)
•  Slovenia : 2010 preliminary round 0-1 (only loss to Slovenia)
•  Spain : 1986 preliminary round 0-3 (only game against the Spanish senior team)
•  United States : 2010 preliminary round 0: 1 (only game against the USA)

Web links

• fifa.com: Algeria

References and footnotes

1. ↑ The placements from 5th place onwards were determined by FIFA without any placement games. See: All-time FIFA World Cup Ranking 1930-2010 (PDF; 200 kB).
2. ↑ dfb.de: "WM 1982: Algeria shock at the beginning"
3. ↑ dfb.de: "Victory against Austria: No reason to be happy"
4. ↑ World Cup qualification: Nigeria loses points . Sport1.de , December 13, 2017, accessed on July 13, 2018.