4 Takeaways From Algeria’s Comeback Win Over Jordan At World Cup

In a tense game between two teams that lost their respective Group J openers, Algeria prevailed 2-1 over Jordan after conceding the opening goal but scoring twice from set pieces to find a victory that kept its hopes alive of advancing at the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup. 

With the result, Jordan cannot advance to the knockouts but will face Argentina in its finale. While Algeria and Austria will meet in a game that will decide second place in the group and guarantee advancement. 

1. This Was A Tight And Tactical Game

This was an interesting tactical battle from the start. It was clear that Algeria was going to control possession in a 3-4-3 formation but still look to play at a fast pace. 

Jordan was going to sit out of possession in a conservative 4-2-3-1 formation and look to get aggressively into the attack, force turnovers, and catch Algeria out of possession. Jordan was the heavy underdog in this game and had never won a World Cup game in its history. 

Algeria had a few very important performances. Playmaker Ibrahim Maza of Bayer Leverkusen was instrumental in applying pressure over the full 90 minutes. But immediately, Algeria was looking to attack from out wide through left winger Farès Chaïbi and captain Riyad Mahrez on the right side, but neither was effective until the second half. 

In its opening game, Jordan lost to Austria 3-1 but was even in the game until the 76th minute. It was an inspired performance as Jordan put Austria on its heels at many moments. 

In this game, Jordan kept up the same tactics and was initially effective, but ultimately, Jordan could not keep up with Algeria’s adjustments. Midway through the first half, Algeria had more success in its attempt to play balls over the Jordanian backline and find Marseille forward Amine Gouiri. Then, in the second half, Algeria simply had too much quality. 

2. Algeria Won The Chess Match

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Algeria manager Vladimir Petkovic made several key decisions in the second half that gave his team a good chance to make a comeback. To start the second half, Petkovic made two key substitutions when he removed the two deeper holding midfielders and brought in more attacking options with speed. It also changed the team’s formation to a two-forward setup with fullbacks pushed way up front to combine with the wingers and overload the wide areas.

By around the 60th minute, Algeria was taking complete control of the game and Jordan was completely overwhelmed.  Algeria’s substitutions were the difference, with Nadir Benbouali finding an equalizer. 

For Jordan, manager Jamal Sellami made a major mistake in waiting too long to make his first substitutions. Algeria was picking up the pace and the pressure. Jordan desperately needed to make a substitution to slow the game down and allow everyone to regroup. Sellami appeared to be waiting until the hydration break to make the move, but by then it was too late. 

Jordan defended hard and aggressively, but its inability to defend set pieces was its downfall. 

3. Costly Mistakes Played A Huge Factor

In this game, the first two goals came from mistakes.

Jordan was not bothered by Algeria’s huge possession edge and instead was looking to force mistakes through pressing Algeria in its own half. Jordan’s tactical approach paid off in the 36th minute when it took its first-ever lead in a World Cup.

The play began with a very poor decision from Algerian midfielder Ramiz Zerrouki, who had the ball on the right side deep inside his own half. He then tried to hit a long looping ball back across the middle of the field. It was a decision where afterward you could hear the groans from the large contingent of Algerian fans inside the stadium. 

Jordan attacker Mousa Tamari then took the ball down the right side and sent a ball to Nizar Al Rashdan, who then beat Luca Zidane with a clever shot off the side of his foot. 

But the goal was completely avoidable from Algeria’s perspective. All that possession only increased the chances that eventually the African team would make a mistake. But this was even more painful as it originated from a reckless decision that offered very little upside, even if the pass was completed. 

In the 69th minute, it was Jordan that conceded an avoidable goal. Algeria was fully in command and enjoying a strong run as it pushed for the equalizer. On a corner kick, Jordan goalkeeper Yazeed Abulaila took a few steps as he looked to try to punch the ball away. When he realized he could not get to the ball, he tried to retreat and instead was caught in no man’s land as Benbouali headed home. 

4. Not A Memorable World Cup For Zidane

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In Algeria’s 3-0 loss to Argentina in its opening game, Zidane faced criticism for his performance. On one goal, he made a save but could not hang onto the ball. Instead, he allowed a rebound to fall into the middle of the box, which Lionel Messi was able to put away with ease. 

In this game, Zidane will once again face scrutiny among Algerian fans and media because – on the goal from Al Rashdan – Zidane was able to get a hand on the shot, but he was unable to push it away from goal. It was not nearly as egregious an error as he made against Algeria, but it was a shot that could have been saved. With Algeria’s World Cup hopes requiring a big save, Zidane was not able to deliver. 

In this game, Zidane’s mistakes did not cost his team a win. It’s still a very significant concern for Algeria because it remains to be seen whether his teammates have confidence in his ability to make big saves in important games. 

It is a tough situation for Zidane, whose father is one of the greatest players of all time, but this tournament has not gone well for him.