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Algeria

Les Fennecs (Desert Foxes)

Capital
Algiers
Confederation
Africa
Population
~45 million
Languages
Arabic, Berber (Tamazight)
World Cups
5th appearance
Best result
Round of 16 (2014)

The Anthem

Kassaman (We Pledge)

β€œKassaman bi-nazilat il-mahiqat / We swear by the lightning that destroys…”

Its defiant words were written by a nationalist poet imprisoned by colonial authorities.

β–Ά Listen on YouTube β†—

The Legends

Names that echo

Rabah Madjer

Forward Β· 1980s

Famed for an audacious backheel in the European Cup final; a national hero.

Lakhdar Belloumi

Midfielder Β· 1980s

African Footballer of the Year and star of the 1982 side.

Riyad Mahrez

Winger Β· 2010s–20s

Premier League champion and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations winner.

Fun Facts

Worth knowing

  1. 01

    At the 1982 World Cup, Algeria beat reigning European champions West Germany β€” only to be eliminated by the infamous 'Disgrace of GijΓ³n' fix.

  2. 02

    That 1982 scandal led FIFA to make all final group matches kick off simultaneously, forever.

  3. 03

    Algeria is the largest country in Africa by land area, most of it Sahara desert.

At the World Cup

The story so far

The Desert Foxes burst onto the scene in 1982 with a famous win over West Germany, and reached their high point in 2014, pushing eventual champions Germany to extra time in the last 16.

●
1982

Beating the European champions

Algeria stunned West Germany 2-1 on its World Cup debut β€” a result that exposed a notorious group-stage stitch-up.

●
2014

Taking Germany to the brink

Algeria pushed the eventual world champions all the way to extra time in a thrilling round-of-16 tie.

Group Stage

Their three fixtures