The Anthem
Kassaman (We Pledge)
▶ Listen on YouTube ↗“Kassaman bi-nazilat il-mahiqat / We swear by the lightning that destroys…”
Its defiant words were written by a nationalist poet imprisoned by colonial authorities.
The Legends
Names that echo
Rabah Madjer
Forward · 1980s
Famed for an audacious backheel in the European Cup final; a national hero.
Lakhdar Belloumi
Midfielder · 1980s
African Footballer of the Year and star of the 1982 side.
Riyad Mahrez
Winger · 2010s–20s
Premier League champion and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations winner.
Fun Facts
Worth knowing
- 01
At the 1982 World Cup, Algeria beat reigning European champions West Germany — only to be eliminated by the infamous 'Disgrace of Gijón' fix.
- 02
That 1982 scandal led FIFA to make all final group matches kick off simultaneously, forever.
- 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.
Beating the European champions
Algeria stunned West Germany 2-1 on its World Cup debut — a result that exposed a notorious group-stage stitch-up.
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