Former Man City star shines, Algeria wins World Cup ticket after 12 years

(NLDO) – Overcoming the weakest team in the group, Somalia, in the penultimate match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Algeria returned to the biggest arena on the planet after 12 years of waiting.

The impressive performance of Riyad Mahrez and his teammates in the away match against "host" Somalia brought the Algerian team an unexpected victory. Algeria actually did not have to fly too far, because the neutral stadium Miloud Hadefi is located right on Algerian territory, giving tens of thousands of home fans the opportunity to come to the stadium to support coach Vladimir Petković and his team.

A large number of Algerian spectators supported coach Vladimir Petković's team.

The opening goal for the "Desert Foxes" came in the 7th minute when Mohamed Amoura took advantage of a mistake in the Somali defense to score after a cross from captain Riyad Mahrez. The former Man City star, now playing for Al-Ahli, then doubled the lead himself in the 19th minute with his signature left-footed finish.

Mohamed Amoura opened the scoring for Algeria

After the break, Riyad Mahrez completed his dream match when he assisted Mohamed Amoura to complete his double in the 57th minute, sealing a 3-0 win for Algeria. Amoura is in extremely impressive form, having scored a total of 8 goals in the World Cup qualifiers.

Mohamed Amoura completed his double

The victory over Somalia gave Algeria 22 points, 5 points ahead of second-placed Uganda with only one qualifying round left. This means that the "Desert Foxes" have officially secured an early World Cup ticket, the 5th time in history to qualify for the biggest tournament on the planet after the 1982, 1986, 2010 and 2014 World Cups. The last time they participated was in Brazil 2014, where Mahrez and his teammates made Germany sweat to get past in the round of 16.

Riyad Mahrez contributed to all three goals of Algeria

Under the new qualifying format, the top nine teams in the African group will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in Canada, the United States and Mexico. Algeria will be the fourth African representative at the World Cup, after Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.

FIFA congratulates Algeria on winning a ticket to the World Cup

The victory not only ended a 12-year absence from the world's biggest stage, but also marked a strong revival of Algerian football — a football once renowned for its resilient fighting spirit and technical style of play typical of North Africa.

The long absence from the World Cup has caused Algerian football to lose some of its position in the international arena. However, this return is considered an important milestone for the team to regain its image as a major team on the "Black Continent".

20 national teams have qualified for the 2026 World Cup:

Co-hosts: USA, Mexico, Canada

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Paraguay, Colombia

Africa: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria

Asia: Japan, Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, Australia

Oceania: New Zealand

Source: https://nld.com.vn/cuu-sao-man-city-toa-sang-algeria-doat-ve-du-world-cup-sau-12-nam-196251010072922769.htm