2026 World Cup: A look back at Algeria's four World Cup appearances | OneFootball

A retrospective on Algeria's four World Cup appearances

Algeria/@Eurosport

Algeria clinched a 3-0 victory over Somalia on Matchday 9 of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. This win secures the Fennecs a fifth appearance in the tournament finals. Let's revisit their first four campaigns.

Spain 1982

Algeria exited at the group stage after finishing third in Group A with four points, edged out by West Germany and Austria on goal difference.

The Fennecs stunned West Germany (2-1) with goals from Madjer and Belloumi, and also defeated Chile (3-2). However, a 2-0 loss to Austria proved fatal to their hopes.

Mexico 1986

Four years later, Algeria again bowed out at the group stage. Djamel Zidane and his teammates held Northern Ireland to a draw (1-1) before falling to Brazil (1-0) and Spain (3-0).

South Africa 2010

In the first ever World Cup on African soil, Algeria finished bottom of Group C with just one point and failed to score a single goal: defeats to Slovenia (1-0) and the United States (1-0), and a goalless draw against England (0-0).

Brazil 2014

This was Algeria's finest World Cup run. The Greens thrashed South Korea (4-2) and drew with Russia (1-1) after an opening loss to Belgium (2-1), finishing second in their group. The dream ended in the Round of 16 against Germany (2-1 after extra time).