Algeria has rivalries with Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, while competitive matches have been played against Nigeria, especially in the 1980s, and Mali due to sharing a common border and a long-standing competitive rivalry, and against Senegal. For the Algerians, their biggest victory on the world stage was their 2–1 win against West Germany during the 1982 FIFA World Cup, and in 2014, Algeria became the first African team to score at least four goals in a match at a World Cup, doing so against South Korea.
History
1957–1958: ALN
In 1956, in Tunis, Tunisia, the first team representing Algeria was formed, the Armée de Libération Nationale (ALN) team led by Ahmed Benelfoul and Habib Draoua.[5][6] The team was approved by the FLN in May 1957 and was managed by Salah Saidou, with Abdelkader Zerrar the captain.[7] The first game was played on 1 June 1957 against Tunisia in the Stade Chedly Zouiten. In April 1958, the team was dissolved and was replaced by the FLN team.
The FLN football team was a team made up mainly of professional players in France, who then joined the Algerian independence movement of the National Liberation Front (FLN), and assisted in organizing football matches against national football teams. The FLN linked African football to anti-colonial resistance using the idea of Pan-Africanism as a legitimizing tool and symbol of national identity. The French authorities easily obtained the non-recognition of the team by FIFA.[citation needed]
1962–1980
Football in Algeria was established in the 1930s by European settlers bringing the sport to the country. The Algerian football team was established in 1962 after gaining independence from France, as the successor of the FLN football team.[8] Under French rule, Algeria was not allowed to have a national team, the FLN football team was sort of a rebellion against the French colonization. All of their games were considered friendlies and were unrecognized by FIFA. During a press conference in Tunis, the Algerian football team refused to make any political statements, referring to football as a sport rather than a political influence.[9] After the Algerian national football team was officially recognized by FIFA in 1963, the team qualified to the 1968 Africa Cup of Nations and failed to qualify for the next five editions of the AFCON until 1980.
In the final match in the group between West Germany and Austria, with Algeria and Chile having already played their final group game the day before, the European teams knew that a West German win by one or two goals would qualify them both, while a larger West German victory would qualify Algeria over Austria, and a draw or an Austrian win would eliminate the West Germans. After 10 minutes of all-out attack, West Germany scored through a goal by Horst Hrubesch, with the two teams kicking the ball around aimlessly after. Chants of "Fuera, fuera" ("Out, out") were screamed by the Spanish crowd, while angry Algerian supporters waved banknotes at the players. This performance was widely deplored, even by the West German and Austrian fans. Algeria protested to FIFA, who ruled that the result be allowed to stand; FIFA introduced a revised qualification system at subsequent World Cups in which the final two games in each group were played simultaneously.[10]
1986 FIFA World Cup
In 1984, Algeria finished in third place in the AFCON in Ivory Coast. During the 1986 AFCON, Algeria recorded two defeats and one draw, being eliminated in the first round. In Mexico, at the 1986 World Cup, the Algerians were unable to pass the first round once again in a group that included Northern Ireland (1–1 draw), Brazil (1–0 loss), and Spain (3–0 loss). Only one Algerian scored during this competition, Djamel Zidane. Algeria then failed to qualify for another World Cup until 2010.
Algeria hosted the 1990 AFCON, being drawn into Group A, with Nigeria (who they defeated 5–1), Ivory Coast (a 3–0 win), and Egypt (with Algeria winning 2–0), before reaching a final that had a crowd of 105,302 fans at Chérif Oudjani. In a rematch against Nigeria, Algeria won the AFCON for the first time.[citation needed]
After winning the AFCON, Algeria barely missed out in qualifying to the 1990 World Cup, and the country was on the brink of a civil war. Although Algeria qualified to the 1992 African Cup of Nations, the title holders were eliminated in the first round of the competition.
In the 1994 African Cup of Nations Algeria was disqualified from the tournament after fielding an ineligible player. Algeria returned to the 1996 African Cup of Nations, but were eliminated by hosts South Africa in the quarter-finals. Two years later, Algeria finished last in its group with three defeats and was eliminated in the group stage.
In 2000, the Fennecs passed the first round only to lose to 2–1 to eventual champions Cameroon in the quarter-finals. They then were eliminated in the first round in 2002, before losing to hosts Tunisia in the 2004 final.[citation needed] They then failed to qualify for either the AFCON or World Cup in 2006, and missed the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations.
A playoff game was played in Sudan in November 2009 with the winner qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa. Algeria won 1–0 after a stunning goal from Anthar Yahia and qualified for the finals for the third time in their history.[11][12]
After qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa, Algeria finished fourth in the 2010 African Cup of Nations.
The goalless Algeria vs England match at the 2010 FIFA World Cup
Algeria was drawn in Group C with England, the United States, and Slovenia. The north African side came in the tournament in poor form, losing nearly all their World Cup preparation games in friendlies. In their first game they lost to Slovenia 0–1, with Slovenia's captain Robert Koren scoring in the 79th minute after Abdelkader Ghezzal was sent off for his second yellow card. In their second group game, Algeria drew with England leading to massive celebrations throughout the world's Algerian communities.[13] The Fennecs lost their final group game to the United States 1–0 thanks to a Landon Donovan winner in second-half injury time. Algeria exited the championship as one of two teams, along with Honduras, to fail to score a goal.
2010–13
After the World Cup, Algeria suffered a 2–1 home loss to Guinea in a friendly and a 1–1 draw at home to Tanzania, leading to veteran manager Rabah Saâdane resigning and being replaced by Abdelhak Benchikha. The newly appointed coach tried to bring in new faces to the squad to bolster their offense but poor results continued for Benchikha's side who started off with a 2–0 away loss to Central African Republic. There was a little bit of hope restored for the Algerians after they beat Morocco 1–0 at home after a goal from Hassan Yebda but After they lost 4–0 to Morocco in the return leg, their manager resigned. Algeria failed to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations and the nightmare continued.
Algeria against Belgium at the 2014 FIFA World Cup
Algeria were drawn in Group H with Belgium, Russia, and South Korea. In their opening game against Belgium, Sofiane Feghouli scored Algeria's first World Cup goal in 28 years giving his team a 1–0 lead. Eventually, Belgium caught up and scored two goals to give themselves a 2–1 victory. In their second game against South Korea, Algeria won 4–2, becoming the first team to score four goals in a single match in the World Cup. On 26 June, Algeria played Russia for second place in Group H. Russia scored the opening goal but Islam Slimani equalized to carry Algeria to the second round of the World Cup for the first time, where they were eliminated in extra time by Germany.
2015–2018: Decline
After coach Vahid decided to opt out of a contract extension following the World Cup, Lorient coach Christian Gourcuff was appointed by FAF president Mohamed Raouraoua.
After topping their qualification group which consisted of Mali, Malawi, and Ethiopia, Algeria were drawn in a group including South Africa, Ghana, and Senegal. Playing Ghana in the last group stage match, goals from Riyad Mahrez and youngster Nabil Bentaleb sent the Foxes to the next round. The Desert Foxes finished second in their group behind Ghana despite their goal difference due to their head-to-head record. Ivory Coast awaited them, where Wilfried Bony would score twice for an eventual 2–1 win for the Elephants, eliminating the Desert Foxes from the competition.
2016–2018
Manager Christian Gourcuff was widely criticized after the African Cup exit and would eventually resign from his position. Milovan Rajevac was then appointed manager in June 2016, but resigned four months later after Algeria's first World Cup qualifying game ended in a home draw against Cameroon. The Algerian Football Federation then hired Georges Leekens; despite this, Algeria lost to Nigeria 3–1 during matchday 2 of the World Cup qualifiers in November 2016.
Leekens then coached Algeria during the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, where Algeria drew against Zimbabwe and Senegal and lost against Tunisia, resulting in a group stage elimination. Algeria then failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
After a slew of underperforming coaches, the federation appointed former Algerian international Djamel Belmadi on 2 August 2018.[14] Belmadi was a young coach and had mainly previously coached in Qatar. However, due to his unsuccessful tenure with the Qatar national team, when they were eliminated early in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup,[15] skepticism arose about the manager. Algeria's performance in the 2019 AFCON qualification also suffered a setback, including a 0–1 away loss to Benin.[16] and two 1–1 draws to Gambia,[17][18] Algeria eventually topped Group C as they won all three matches including a 1–0 victory over 2018 World Cup participant Senegal.[citation needed] Algeria's solid performance continued with a 3–0 win over Guinea in the round of sixteen,[19] before they overcame Ivory Coast in a hard-fought encounter which they won in a penalty shootout 4–3, after having drawn 1–1 after 120 minutes.[20] The Algerians then went on to defeat Nigeria 2–1 with a dying minute's free kick shot by Riyad Mahrez.[21] Facing Senegal once again in the final, Baghdad Bounedjah scored the only goal of the game as Algeria won 1–0, earning them their first title since 1990. This made Algeria the second North African side after Egypt to win multiple AFCON trophies.[22]
Algeria competed in the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup held in Qatar. As the tournament did not occur during the international break, Belmadi was unable to coach and national team veteran and assistant coach Madjid Bougherra filled in. Algeria managed to stay undefeated through the group stages, winning 4–0 against Sudan and 2–0 against Lebanon. The last match for the top spot of Group D ended in a draw against Egypt, putting Egypt at the top of the group due to their disciplinary record. This brought them to the knockout stages where they started with a match against Morocco, with a 5–3 win for Algeria on penalties, moving them to the semi-finals against hosts, Qatar, where Algeria won after a match that lasted a record 19 minutes of stoppage time added to the first 90. The Arab Cup final against neighbours Tunisia ended regular time in a scoreless draw, with the match concluding with a goal in the fifth minute of second-half extra time and winning the team another trophy.
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations came off to a rough start. Their first match against Sierra Leone ended in a scoreless draw. Their second match ended in their first loss since 2019 against Equatorial Guinea, losing 0–1, ending their 35-game unbeaten streak, two games away from the record held by Italy. The Algerian team suffered a defeat to Ivory Coast which led to their early exit at the group stages of the AFCON.[23] Four years later, they would qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after topping their group.[24]
The following players were called up for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.[27] Caps and goals correct as of 10 January 2026, after the match against Nigeria.
1.^Algeria withdrew in protest at CAF's decision to order a replay of the first leg against Tunisia; CAF had made this decision following Tunisia's protest that Algeria had fielded two ineligible players.
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6 (19 January 2026) [4] 
Algeria 2–1 Bulgaria 
Hungary 9–2 Algeria 
