00:05After failing to qualify for the previous two World Cups, Algeria returned to football's
00:10greatest stage in North America.
00:15Qualification is a good thing. We have been waiting for this for 12 years. The last one
00:22was a big challenge for us. It was complicated for us. It was a difficult moment to get through.
00:29Since that day, it was time to bring Algeria back to the World Cup. We did the job. We
00:35have achieved our target.
00:39The Fenix cruised through their qualification group, losing just once along the way and
00:44scoring freely, thanks in no small part to Mohamed Amoura, who banged in ten goals.
00:52The 2026 World Cup represents an opportunity, probably a final one, for a golden generation
00:58of Algerian talent. Six of the country's top ten cap winners are still available for
01:05selection, three of whom feature in the country's top four goalscorers. Riyad Mahrez is prominent
01:14in both lists, and the most successful Algerian footballer in history will captain his side
01:19in North America.
01:22The fans were amazing. It is an incredible feeling. We are always in need of our fans.
01:30We are proud to be Algerian. This is important.
01:35Mahrez has been proving his worth for a number of years, most notably in 2019, when he helped Algeria
01:42secure only the second AFKON title in their history, and first away from home.
01:52Getting to the heart of it, we are African champions after 29 years. It is unbelievable,
01:58especially to be African champions away from our own country. The last one was in Algeria,
02:03in 1990. African champions away is extraordinary.
02:09Prior to this, Algeria's greatest legacy on the biggest stage was being the victims of what became
02:15known as the disgrace of Guijon. On debut at the 1982 World Cup, the Fenix caused one of the great
02:24upsets with a 2-1 victory over reigning European champions, West Germany.
02:32But by the final match in the group between West Germany and Austria, with Algeria having already
02:38played their final group game the day before, the European teams knew that a West German win by one
02:44or two goals would qualify them both. After 10 minutes of all-out attack, West Germany scored.
02:51Then immediately afterwards, the two teams declined to attack for the rest of the match.
03:00Algeria protested to FIFA, who ruled that the result be allowed to stand,
03:05then later introduced a revised system in which the final two games in each group had to be played
03:11simultaneously. Coach for much of the Mahrez era of modern Algerian football, including the 2019 AFKON triumph,
03:21was Jalmel 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.
03:36Of course, we achieved success with Jalmel Belmadi. Football has successes and failures.
03:42It's impossible for any coach to always be successful throughout his career.
03:46There will be losses and wins. That's football. It's part of the game.
03:50We went through a period with Jalmel Belmadi when we were happy. We got upset. We cried. That's football.
03:57Now we have a new coach, who has a high level, and he's doing a great job with the players.
04:02We wish the national team all the best, and we wish the coach success. As Algerians,
04:09we love the national team. We don't love just the names. We love the Algerian team.
04:14We love our flag, and we want to see Algeria always at the top, God willing.
04:22As well as captain and star Mahrez, now playing his trade in the Saudi Pro League,
04:27and the potent Amora, Petkovic is also able to call on the likes of Manchester City's
04:33Bayern. And a host of younger players emerging in the Bundesliga.
04:44Adredin Bouanani has impressed at Stuttgart.
04:49Ibrahim Mazer at Hertha and Bayer Leverkusen, and Ferez Chaibi at Eintracht Frankfurt.
04:58Tantalizingly, Algeria may even line up in North America with one of the World Cup's
05:02most significant family names among their ranks.
05:06Lucas Zidane, son of French legend Zinedine, nominated for Algeria in 2025.
05:14It's my country where I come from, where my parents come from too.
05:18I'm proud to be here. I will give my all for Algeria. It's my country. I'm proud to be here.
05:27Understandably, when he fronted the media as an Algerian international,
05:31after previously representing France at age group level,
05:34there was plenty of interest in Luca's World Cup-winning father.
05:38Yes, all my family are proud and behind me in all my choices. He had his own path and career.
05:45I have my own path and my career.
05:49I'm proud to be here. As I said, I will give 100% to make the Algerian people proud.
05:59Consistently ranked around the mid-30s by FIFA, Algeria will head to the 2026 World Cup,
06:04hopeful of progressing beyond the group phase for only the second time in their history.
06:11But such is the momentum behind football in North Africa.
06:15And with the example set by neighboring Morocco in Qatar,
06:19who knows how far the desert warriors might progress?
06:22Remember that?
06:22Yes.
06:23I can.
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