World Cup 2026: Algeria

The Story

Algeria arrives in 2026 ending a 12-year absence — the longest wait between World Cups in the modern Fennecs era. They're the fourth Arab-speaking nation in the field (Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria — a North African quartet nobody saw coming a decade ago) and they arrive with a Swiss manager, Vladimir Petković, the former Lazio boss and Switzerland national team coach who took the job in 2024 and rebuilt the squad around a single idea: control the midfield and let Mahrez finish.

The qualifying run was not a miracle. Algeria topped a group that included Mozambique and Uganda, won nine of ten matches, and conceded six goals across the entire campaign. What they haven't done is play a top-tier nation since 2022. Group J gives them three in a row: Argentina (the reigning champions), Austria (organized, physical, dangerous), and Jordan (a debutant they absolutely have to beat).

For anyone new to Algerian football, know this: the 2014 team took Germany to extra time in the Round of 16 and outran them for most of 120 minutes. This squad is deeper, faster, and more technical than that one. Whether they have the composure to beat Argentina is the question the entire country is asking. The honest answer is probably not. But the honest answer in 2014 was also probably not. Algeria has a habit of ignoring the honest answer.

Week 1 Update: The 3-0 loss to Argentina was the honest answer winning for once. Les Fennecs never got a foothold — Argentina's press smothered Bennacer in midfield, Mahrez couldn't find space, and Gouiri spent the match chasing shadows. It's the worst possible start in a group where Algeria needed points from somewhere. The Austria and Jordan matches are now must-wins, and the margin Petković built his qualifying campaign on has evaporated in 90 minutes.

Matchday 2 Update: Algeria beat Jordan 2-1, coming from behind after Al-Rashdan's opener to equalize through Benbouali (69', a header off a Mahrez corner) and win it through Gouiri (82'). Three points after a nightmare MD1 — the Austria match is now a straight shootout for the knockout round. Mahrez's last tournament is still alive, and the honest answer might have to wait a little longer.

Matchday 3 Update: Riyad Mahrez, 35 years old and burning everything he has left, scored in stoppage time to send Algeria through as Group J runners-up. Austria led 1-0 through Sabitzer's screamer, but Mahrez's brace — equalizer, then the winner with Austria asleep at the wheel — turned the match and a country's night. Les Fennecs face Switzerland in the Round of 32. He said it would be his last World Cup. He's not done yet.

Round of 32 (July 2): Switzerland 2-0 Algeria — and Riyad Mahrez's last World Cup match was the one night where the story didn't bend for him. Breel Embolo headed Switzerland in front in the 10th minute; Dan Ndoye doubled it just after halftime. Algeria pressed and probed and Mahrez dribbled and created, but the Swiss defensive structure held without drama. He said it would be his last tournament. In Vancouver, on a July evening, it was. Algeria leave as one of the group stage's best stories, and Mahrez leaves as one of the greatest African players to never get the ending he deserved. He has nothing to apologize for.

3 Players to Know

Riyad Mahrez

The captain, 35 years old, the 2016 Premier League champion with Leicester and the man who still takes every free kick. He's at Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia now — just scored a 117th-minute free kick to send them into the Asian Champions League quarters — and his contract runs through 2027. He was top assist-provider in African qualifying. If Algeria beat Jordan, steal a point off Austria, and upset Argentina on set pieces, it'll be because Mahrez put the ball exactly where the goalkeeper couldn't reach.

Ismaël Bennacer

The deep-lying midfielder who spent four years as AC Milan's metronome before a long-term leg injury cost him most of 2024-25. He's on loan at Dinamo Zagreb this season getting his minutes back, and manager Vladimir Petković is desperate to have him fit for June — he's the one Algerian midfielder who can control tempo against Argentina's press. If Bennacer plays 90 minutes, Algeria are dangerous. If he doesn't, they're a counter-attacking side asking Mahrez to create magic.

Amine Gouiri

The 25-year-old striker who grew up in Bourgoin-Jallieu, came through Lyon's academy, and chose Algeria over France in 2022. He moved from Rennes to Marseille in January 2025 and has been the Ligue 1 form striker of the spring — 14 goals, the kind of movement in the box that Algeria has lacked for a decade. If this team is going to score against Argentina, it's going to be Gouiri on the end of a Mahrez cross.

The Food

Signature Dish

Couscous royale is the Friday ritual — semolina steamed three times until it's impossibly light, served with a stew of lamb, chicken, merguez sausage, and seven vegetables (carrots, turnips, zucchini, chickpeas, the list is flexible) in a saffron-and-harissa broth. Start the meal with chorba frik — a lamb and cracked-wheat soup that's the national hug during Ramadan. Finish with m'hanncha, a coiled almond-paste pastry dusted with powdered sugar, and mint tea poured from three feet up so it foams.

Where to Eat in DFW

Algerian-specific is rare in DFW — the closest reliable spot is Baboush on McKinney Avenue in Uptown Dallas, a Moroccan-Mediterranean kitchen where the tagine and the couscous are close cousins to what you'd get in Algiers. Ask for the merguez, order the mint tea, and request they put the match on — the Uptown staff are game. Kasbah Grill in Irving has closed, so Baboush is the play.

Fan Culture

Algerian support is loud, green-and-white, and Mediterranean in the best sense of the word — they sing, they whistle, they absolutely bring flares they shouldn't have gotten through security. The "One-Two-Three, Viva l'Algérie!" chant will start in the concourse and not stop until the team bus pulls away. Expect drums, expect the darbuka, expect the full diaspora from Paris and Marseille in the stands — Algerian football belongs to France almost as much as it belongs to Algiers. Sit near them and you'll be offered dates, you'll be handed a flag, and you'll sing things in French and Arabic you don't fully understand. The vibe is raucous, welcoming, and emotionally unregulated in exactly the way a good match demands.