00:06After failing to qualify for the previous two World Cups, Algeria returned to football's
00:11greatest stage in North America.
00:16Qualification is a good thing. We have been waiting for this for 12 years. The last one
00:23was a big challenge for us. It was complicated for us. It was a difficult moment to get through.
00:30Since that day, it was time to bring Algeria back to the World Cup. We did the job. We
00:36have achieved our target." The Fenix cruised through their qualification
00:42group, losing just once along the way and scoring freely, thanks in no small part to
00:48Mohamed Amoura, who banged in ten goals. The 2026 World Cup represents an opportunity,
00:56probably a final one, for a golden generation of Algerian talent.
01:03Six of the country's top ten cap winners are still available for selection, three of whom
01:09feature in the country's top four goalscorers.
01:13Riyad Mahrez is prominent in both lists. And the most successful Algerian footballer
01:18in history will captain his side in North America.
01:24The fans were amazing. It is an incredible feeling. We are always in need of our fans.
01:31We are proud to be Algerian. This is important.
01:37Mahrez has been proving his worth for a number of years, most notably in 2019,
01:41when he helped Algeria secure only the second AFCON title in their history. And first, away from home.
01:53Getting to the heart of it, we are African champions after 29 years. It is unbelievable,
01:59especially to be African champions away from our own country. The last one was in Algeria,
02:04in 1990. African champions away is extraordinary. Prior to this, Algeria's greatest legacy on the
02:14biggest stage was being the victims of what became known as the Disgrace of Guijon.
02:20On debut at the 1982 World Cup, the Fenix caused one of the great upsets with a 2-1 victory
02:27over
02:27reigning European champions, West Germany. But by the final match in the group between West
02:36Germany and Austria, with Algeria having already played their final group game the day before,
02:42the European teams knew that a West German win by one or two goals would qualify them both.
02:48After 10 minutes of all-out attack, West Germany scored. Then immediately afterwards, the two teams
02:55declined to attack for the rest of the match. Algeria protested to FIFA, who ruled that the result be
03:04allowed to stand. Then later introduced a revised system in which the final two games in each group
03:11had to be played simultaneously. Coach for much of the Mahrez era of modern Algerian football,
03:19including the 2019 AFCON triumph, was Jamel Belmadi. But in 2024, he was replaced by Serbian Vladimir Petkovic,
03:29who built his reputation during an impressive seven-year spell in charge of Switzerland.
03:37Of course, we achieved success with Jamel Belmadi. Football has successes and failures. It's impossible for any
03:44coach to always be successful throughout his career. There will be losses and wins. That's football.
03:51It's part of the game. We went through a period with Jamel Belmadi when we were happy. We got upset.
03:57We cried. That's football. Now we have a new coach who has a high level and he's doing a great
04:02job with
04:03the players. We wish the national team all the best and we wish the coach success.
04:09As Algerians, we love the national team. We don't love just the names. We love the Algerian team.
04:16We love our flag and we want to see Algeria always at the top, God willing.
04:23As well as captain and star Mahrez now playing his trade in the Saudi Pro League and the potent Amora,
04:30Petkovic is also able to call on the likes of Manchester City's Rayan Aitnuri
04:35and a host of younger players emerging in the Bundesliga.
04:45Adridin Bouanani has impressed at Stuttgart,
04:50Ibrahim Maza at Hertha and Bayer Leverkusen and Ferez Chaibi at Eintracht Frankfurt.
05:00Tantalizingly, Algeria may even line up in North America with one of the World Cup's most significant
05:05family names among their ranks. Lucas Zidane, son of French legend Zinedine, nominated for Algeria in 2025.
05:15It's my country, where I come from, where my parents come from too. I'm proud to be here. I will
05:22give my
05:22all for Algeria. It's my country. I'm proud to be here. Understandably, when he fronted the media as an
05:30Algerian international, after previously representing France at age group level,
05:35there was plenty of interest in Luka's World Cup-winning father.
05:39Let's go.
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