Let’s get one thing out of the way early:
Egypt.
Phew – that’s over. (It’s media law that in mentioning the Algerian football team of this World Cup, Egypt must follow shortly thereafter.)
The Desert Foxes – but for Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions, probably the coolest nickname at the World Cup if only because it sounds like a scantily clad female pop group – are thrilled to be here. Not only are they at the World Cup, but this did so at the expense of rivals and two-time defending African champs Egypt in the tie-breaking playoff. (Now three-time, but Algeria have requested that go unmentioned.)
In derbies, the prize is simply the victory. However this little trinket, a trip to the World Cup, is no small potatoes for Algeria.
Nickname: Les Fennecs (The Desert Foxes)
Group: C; England, Slovenia, USA.
FIFA World Ranking as of March 31st 2010: 27th
Coach: Rabah Saâdane. No really, that’s correct: an African team does have an African coach. Rabah is in fact, at this moment, the only African coach at the tournament. Better yet: he’s actually Algerian. What a novel concept.
Despite not having enjoyed a World Cup since 1990, this will not be Rabah’s first dance: his first gig included the trip to Spain in 1982 with the national team. This now his fifth stint with the team, he’ll get another crack at the big ball. Honestly, this time.
Key Players: Beginning in the back Nadir Belhadj begins in the back, but often does not stay there as a very attack-oriented wingback with plenty of pace. Qualifying hero Antar Yahia and Madjid Bougherra will make up the strong, overseas based central duo.
Captain Yazid Mansouri leads from midfield along with Karim Ziani, perhaps the most well-known abroad for his tricky attacking skills and ballwork. Youngster Karim Matmour has also begun making a name for himself along the attacking flank as a skillful and quick winger, and Mourad Meghni will provide the creativity.
Up top Abdelkader Ghezzal is a strong point man who will likely lead the line now that one-time leading man Rafik Saifi is into his 35th year. They’ll need goals from somewhere, as outside of Saifi’s 18 the next best lies in the back with Belhadj and Yahia at 5 apiece.
Player with best YouTube video: Nadir Belhadj. Anytime a “defender” gets a freestyle video, it’s worth the price of admission.
Player with best name: Any nation with this many double consonants and uninhibited vowel runs is going to roll off the tongue like a dream. It’s an embarrassment of riches, really, so select at your leisure.
However, one stands above the rest: Lounès Gaouaoui. No typos – seven vowel run. And according to Wikipedia: His name is believed to be the only surname with seven vowels in a row, reported by the International Board of Statistics.
Player with best nickname: How about all of them? The individual nicknames are few and far between, so it’s only fitting this honor goes to the supremely cool team name. And mascot.
Qualification: Coming down to the last day of qualifying, Algeria were ahead by three points over Egypt and anything less than a two goal loss would see them into South Africa. Egypt, of course, won 2-0 on a 95th minute goal in Cairo and that put everything even across the board: 13p, 9, 4, +5. This setup the ultra dramatic one-off playoff with heated rivals Egypt once again, this time in neutral Sudan.
Algeria would win 1-0 on an Antar Yahia fireball in the 40th, and the rest is history – along with a lot of global news coverage.
Interesting: The Algerian team is heavily influenced by those born in France. In fact there’s a chance more players born in France than Algeria will play at the World Cup: of the eleven starters for the one-off playoff versus Egypt, only 3 were born in Algeria, the remaining 8 in France.
National Anthem: “Kassaman” (”The Pledge”)
More on the anthem here.
Kit: The traditional Puma African home kit with the mascot draped over the shoulder is a favorite of many.
You can buy the Algerian kits in our store.
World Cup History:
Expectations: Though the Algerians may be confident, qualification for the knockouts will be an uphill battle to say the least. At this point, a parting gift is all that the world expects.
Squad: TBA.
Blog: Omar runs the Algerian WCB.
- More World Cup 2010 Team Profiles.
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