00:06After failing to qualify for the previous two World Cups,
00:09Algeria returned to football's greatest stage in North America.
00:16Qualification is a good thing.
00:18We have been waiting for this for 12 years.
00:21The last one was a big challenge for us.
00:24It was complicated for us.
00:27It was a difficult moment to get through.
00:30Since that day, it was time to bring Algeria back to the World Cup.
00:34We did the job.
00:36We have achieved our target.
00:39The Fenix cruised through their qualification group,
00:42losing just once along the way and scoring freely,
00:46thanks in no small part to Mohamed Amoura, who banged in 10 goals.
00:53The 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,
01:08three of whom feature in the country's top four goalscorers.
01:13Riyad Mahrez is prominent in both lists,
01:16and the most successful Algerian footballer in history will captain his side in North America.
01:23The fans were amazing.
01:25It is an incredible feeling.
01:26We are always in need of our fans.
01:31We are proud to be Algerian.
01:33This is important.
01:36Mahrez has been proving his worth for a number of years,
01:39most notably in 2019,
01:42when he helped Algeria secure only the second AFCON title in their history,
01:46and first, away from home.
01:53Getting to the heart of it,
01:54we are African champions after 29 years.
01:58It is unbelievable,
01:59especially to be African champions away from our own country.
02:02The last one was in Algeria in 1990.
02:05African champions away is extraordinary.
02:11Prior to this,
02:12Algeria's greatest legacy on the biggest stage
02:14was being the victims of what became known as the disgrace of Gijon.
02:20On debut at the 1982 World Cup,
02:23the Fenix caused one of the great upsets
02:25with a 2-1 victory over reigning European champions,
02:29West Germany.
02:33But by the final match in the group between West Germany and Austria,
02:37with Algeria having already played their final group game the day before,
02:42the European teams knew that a West German win
02:44by one or two goals would qualify them both.
02:48After 10 minutes of all-out attack,
02:51West Germany scored.
02:52Then, immediately afterwards,
02:54the two teams declined to attack for the rest of the match.
03:01Algeria protested to FIFA,
03:02who ruled that the result be allowed to stand.
03:06Then later introduced a revised system
03:08in which the final two games in each group
03:10had to be played simultaneously.
03:16Coach for much of the Mahrez era of modern Algerian football,
03:19including the 2019 AFCON triumph,
03:22was Jamil Belmadi.
03:24But in 2024,
03:25he was replaced by Serbian Vladimir Petkovic,
03:29who built his reputation during an impressive seven-year spell
03:33in charge of Switzerland.
03:37Of course, we achieved success with Jamil Belmadi.
03:40Football has successes and failures.
03:43It's impossible for any coach to always be successful throughout his career.
03:47There will be losses and wins.
03:49That's football.
03:50It's part of the game.
03:52We went through a period with Jamil Belmadi
03:54when we were happy.
03:55We got upset.
03:56We cried.
03:57That's football.
03:58Now we have a new coach
04:00who has a high level
04:01and he's doing a great job with the players.
04:03We wish the national team all the best
04:05and we wish the coach success.
04:09As Algerians,
04:10we love the national team.
04:12We don't love just the names.
04:14We love the Algerian team.
04:15We love our flag
04:17and we want to see Algeria always at the top,
04:20God willing.
04:23As well as captain and star Mahrez
04:25now playing his trade in the Saudi Pro League
04:28and the potent Amora,
04:30Petkovic is also able to call on the likes of Manchester City's
04:33Ryan Aitnuri
04:35and a host of younger players emerging in the Bundesliga.
04:45Adridin Bouanani has impressed at Stuttgart.
04:50Ibrahim Mazer at Hertha and Bayer Leverkusen
04:52and Ferez Chaibi at Eintracht Frankfurt.
04:59Tantalizingly,
05:00Algeria may even line up in North America
05:02with one of the World Cup's
05:03most significant family names among their ranks.
05:07Lucas Zidane,
05:08son of French legend Zinedine,
05:10nominated for Algeria in 2025.
05:15It's my country where I come from,
05:17where my parents come from too.
05:19I'm proud to be here.
05:21I will give my all for Algeria.
05:23It's my country.
05:24I'm proud to be here.
05:28Understandably,
05:28when he fronted the media
05:30as an Algerian international,
05:31after previously representing France
05:33at age group level,
05:35there was plenty of interest
05:36in Lucas' World Cup winning father.
05:39Yes,
05:40all my family are proud
05:41and behind me
05:42in all my choices.
05:43He had his own path and career.
05:46I have my own path and my career.
05:50I'm proud to be here.
05:53As I said,
05:54I will give 100%
05:55to make the Algerian people proud.
05:57I'm proud to be here.
06:00Consistently ranked
06:01around the mid-30s by FIFA,
06:03Algeria will head
06:03to the 2026 World Cup
06:05hopeful of progressing
06:06beyond the group phase
06:07for only the second time
06:09in their history.
06:12But such is the momentum
06:13behind football in North Africa.
06:15And with the example set
06:17by neighboring Morocco in Qatar,
06:19who knows how far
06:21the desert warriors
06:21might progress.
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