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| FIFA Trigramme = ALG
| FIFA Trigramme = ALG
| Badge = Algeria FAF (logo).gif
| Badge = Algeria FAF (logo).gif
| Nickname = {{nowrap begin}}''[[Fennec Fox|Les Fennecs]]'' (The Desert Foxes)<br>''Les Verts'' (الخُضر) (The Green Ones)<br> ''الخضرة=ⵜⵢⵣⵉⵣⴰ'' (The Green One)}
| Nickname = {{nowrap begin}}''[[Fennec Fox|Les Fennecs]]'' (The Desert Foxes)<br>''Les Verts'' (الخُضر) (The Green Ones)<br> ''الخضرة=ⵜⵢⵣⵉⵣⴰ'' (The Green One)<br>''محاربو الصحراء'' (The Desert Warriors){{nowrap end}}
| Association = [[Fédération Algérienne de Football]]
| Association = [[Fédération Algérienne de Football]]
| Confederation = [[Confederation of African Football|CAF]] ([[Africa]])
| Confederation = [[Confederation of African Football|CAF]] ([[Africa]])
Line 715: Line 715:
|caps = 1
|caps = 1
|goals = 0
|goals = 0
|club = [[Zamalek SC|Zamalek]]
|club = [[JS Kabylie]]
|clubnat = EGY
|clubnat = ALG
}}
}}
{{nat fs g player
{{nat fs g player

Revision as of 13:46, 27 December 2010

 Algeria
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Les Fennecs (The Desert Foxes)
Les Verts (الخُضر) (The Green Ones)
الخضرة=ⵜⵢⵣⵉⵣⴰ (The Green One)
محاربو الصحراء (The Desert Warriors)
AssociationFédération Algérienne de Football
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Head coachAbdelhak Benchikha
CaptainAntar Yahia
Most capsMahieddine Meftah (107)
Top scorerAbdelhafid Tasfaout (35)
Home stadiumStade 5 Juillet 1962
FIFA codeALG
First colours
Second colours
Third colours
FIFA ranking
Current34
Highest13 (July 1982)
Lowest103 (June 2008)
First international
 Tunisia 1–2 Algeria Algeria[2]
(Tunisia; 1 June 1957)[1][2]
Biggest win
Algeria Algeria 15–1 South Yemen 
(Tripoli, Libya; 17 August 1973)
Biggest defeat
 West Germany 5–0 Algeria Algeria
(Cottbus, Germany; 05 May 1980)
World Cup
Appearances3 (first in 1982)
Best resultRound 1, 1982, 1986 and 2010
African Nations Cup
Appearances14 (first in 1968)
Best resultWinners, 1990

The Algeria national football team, nicknamed Les Fennecs (The Desert Foxes), represents Algeria in association football and is controlled by the Fédération Algérienne de Football. Algeria's home ground is the Stade 5 Juillet 1962 in Algiers and their head coach is Abdelhak Benchikha.

Algeria has qualified for three World Cups in 1982, 1986 and 2010. Algeria has also won the Africa Cup of Nations once in 1990, when they hosted the tournament.

The traditional rivals of Algeria have been Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. However, more recently, Egypt has become the main rival after a number of incidents involving the two teams, most recently during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, in which Algeria defeated Egypt 1-0 in a tense tiebreaker in Khartoum, Sudan to qualify to the World Cup.

History

World Cup 1982

Algeria caused one of the great World Cup upsets on the first day of the tournament with a 2–1 victory over reigning European Champions West Germany. In the final match in the group between West Germany and Austria, with Algeria having already played their final group game the day before, the European teams knew that a West German win by 1 or 2 goals would qualify them both, while a larger German victory would qualify Algeria over Austria, and a draw or an Austrian win would eliminate the Germans. After 10 minutes of all-out attack, West Germany scored through a goal by Horst Hrubesch. After the goal was scored, the two teams kicked the ball around aimlessly for the rest of the match. 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 German and Austrian fans. One German fan was so upset by his team's display that he burned his German flag in disgust.[3] 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.

World Cup 1986

In 1984, Algeria took third place in the 1984 African Nations Cup in Côte d'Ivoire. During the 1986 African Nations Cup, the national teams recorded two defeats and one draw and was eliminated in the first round. In Mexico, at the 1986 World Cup, the Algerians were not able 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 managed to score during this competition: Djamel Zidane. From thereon, Algeria failed to qualify for another World Cup until 2010.

Africa Cup of Nations 1990

In 1990, Algeria hosted the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations. In Group A, the Algerians started the tournament by beating Nigeria (5–1, with doubles by Djamel Menad and Rabah Madjer and a goal by Djamel Amani), Côte d'Ivoire (3–0, with goals by Djamel Menad, Tahar Cherif El Ouazzani, and Cherif Oudjani) and Egypt (2–0, with goals by Djamel Amani and Moussa Saib). In the semi-finals, Algeria beat Senegal 2–1 (goals by Djamel Menad and Djamel Amani in front of 85,000 fans in the Stade 5 Juillet 1962.

In the final against Nigeria, in front of 200,000 fans in the same stadium, Cherif Oudjani, in the 38th minute, enabled Algeria to win the African Nations Cup for the first time. Djamel Menad was crowned top scorer of the competition with four goals.

1990–2008

Having won an African Nations Cup title, the Algerian team, however, had not managed to qualify for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. In 1991, the national team won the Afro-Asian Cup of Nations against Iran. As title holders, Algeria disappointed at the 1992 African Nations Cup in Senegal, recording a loss against Côte d'Ivoire (3–0) and a draw against Congo (1–1, with a goal by Nacer Bouiche). In 1994, Algeria was disqualified from the 1994 African Nations Cup in Tunisia due to the use of an ineligible player and failed during the 1994 World Cup qualifying.

In 1996, Algeria returned to African Cup of Nations, but were eliminated by hosts South Africa in the quarter-finals. The Algerians failed to qualify for the following World Cups in 1998, 2002 and 2006. During the 1998 African Cup of Nations, Algeria finished last in its group with three defeats and was eliminated in the group stage. In the 2000 African Cup of Nations, the Fennecs managed to pass to the first round only to lose to Cameroon (2–1). Algeria once more failed to pass the first round in the African competition in 2002 but managed to get to the quarter-finals in 2004; however, they were eliminated by Morocco by a score of 3–1 after extra-time (the lone Algerian goal was scored by Abdelmalek Cherrad. Algeria failed to qualify for the following two Africa Cup of Nations in 2006 and 2008 although Algeria did manage to qualify for the 2010 world cup.

World Cup 2010 qualifiers

Algeria fans at a friendly vs. Republic of Ireland in Dublin.

On 11 October 2008, Algeria returned to the top 20 African teams by finishing first in their group ahead of Senegal, Gambia, and Liberia for the second round on the combined 2010 World Cup and 2010 African Cup of Nations qualifications. In the third and final round of the qualifiers, Algeria was joined by Zambia, Rwanda, and Egypt. In July 2009, Algeria made their return amongst the world's top fifty after a 3–1 win against the double African champions Egypt and a 2–0 away win against Zambia. Beating Zambia in Blida 1–0 followed by a 3–1 win against Rwanda, Algeria ensured that the qualification for the World Cup would go down to the wire with a final encounter against Egypt in Cairo, where nothing less than a loss by three goals would stop the Fennecs from going to South Africa. Prior to the game the Algerian team bus was attacked, leaving several team members injured. This led to a diplomatic row between the two countries. Algeria lost the game 2–0. Algeria won the resulting play off in Sudan 1–0. Algeria moved to the 29th position in FIFA ranking – one place behind Egypt in the October 2009 ranking. In November 2009, they beat fierce rivals Egypt in a playoff 2010 World Cup in South Africa and moved to the highest FIFA ranking ever reached by Algeria (26) in December 2009.[4][5]

They were drawn in Group C, where they faced England, the United States, and Slovenia.

Africa Cup of Nations 2010

The team put on a mixed performance in the tournament. Being drawn in Group A, with Angola, Malawi and Mali, Algeria started poorly by losing 3–0 to group outsiders Malawi. However, they improved in the following game against Mali, beating them 1–0 thanks to a Rafik Halliche header. In the last match, they drew 0–0 with Angola, which sent them to the second round, finishing with the same amount of points as Mali, but with a superior head-to-head record. Playing in Cabinda, Algeria faced Côte d'Ivoire in the quarterfinals, who were considered heavy favourites to qualify. But they got a historic win. After trailing 1–0, Karim Matmour equalized, but Keita gave the Ivorians the lead in the 89th minute, a goal which seemed sure to seal their victory. However, the Algerians equalized with Madjid Bougherra just 2 minutes later in added time, and Hameur Bouazza gave the Fennecs the lead in extra time. Algeria faced Egypt in the semi finals, Egypt, in their first meeting since the World Cup qualification play-off. In a controversial match, Egypt won 4–0 which was the biggest defeat in the history of the teams' meetings. Algeria lost 1–0 to Nigeria in the third place game and finished fourth in the competition.

FIFA World Cup 2010

Algeria vs England in the 2010 FIFA World Cup

Algeria was drawn in Group C with England, USA, Slovenia. In their first game they lost to Slovenia 0–1. The match was scoreless until Slovenia's captain Robert Koren scored in the 79th minute after Abdelkader Ghezzal was sent off for his second bookable offence. In their second group game, Algeria drew with England leading to mass celebration throughout the world's Algerian communities.[6] The Fennecs lost their final group game to the United States 1–0 thanks to a Landon Donovan winner in second-half injury time.

Honours

World Cups:
African Competitions:
Arab Competitions:
Afro-Asian Cup of Nations :
  • 1 Time Champion (1991)
Vahdat Cup (International Tournament hosted by Iran)
1 Time Runner Up: 1981

Competitive record

Africa Cup of Nations Record

African Cup of Nations
Year Position Year Position Year Position
Sudan 1957 Did not enter Ethiopia 1976 Did not qualify Tunisia 1994 Disqualified
Egypt 1959 Did not enter Ghana 1978 Did not qualify South Africa 1996 Quarter-finals
Ethiopia 1962 Did not enter Nigeria 1980 Second place Burkina Faso 1998 Round 1
Ghana 1963 Did not enter Libya 1982 Fourth place GhanaNigeria 2000 Quarter-finals
Tunisia 1965 Did not enter Ivory Coast 1984 Third place Mali 2002 Round 1
Ethiopia 1968 Round 1 Egypt 1986 Round 1 Tunisia 2004 Quarter-finals
Sudan 1970 Did not qualify Morocco 1988 Third Place Egypt 2006 Did not qualify
Cameroon 1972 Did not qualify Algeria 1990 Winner Ghana 2008 Did not qualify
Egypt 1974 Did not qualify Senegal 1992 Round 1 Angola 2010 Fourth place

2010 FIFA World Cup

Qualification

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup
Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - CAF Third Round


Group C Template:2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - CAF Third Round (Group 3)

2010 FIFA World Cup Group C

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup Group C

Template:2010 FIFA World Cup Group C

Algeria 0 – 1 Slovenia
Report Koren 79'
Attendance: 30,325
Referee: Carlos Batres
England 0 – 0 Algeria
Report
Attendance: 64,100
United States 1 – 0 Algeria
Donovan 90+1' Report
Attendance: 35,827

Results and Fixtures

Algerian National Team Results and Fixtures.[7]

Results

Date Location Home Team Score Away Team Occasion
7 June 2009 Blida Algeria Algeria 3–1  Egypt 2010 World Cup/2010 African Cup Qualifiers
12 August 2009 Algiers Algeria Algeria 1–0  Uruguay Friendly match
6 September 2009 Blida Algeria Algeria 1–0  Zambia 2010 World Cup/2010 African Cup Qualifiers
11 October 2009 Blida Algeria Algeria 3–1  Rwanda 2010 World Cup/2010 African Cup Qualifiers
14 November 2009 Cairo  Egypt 2–0 Algeria Algeria 2010 World Cup/2010 African Cup Qualifiers
18 November 2009 Omdurman  Egypt 0–1 Algeria Algeria 2010 World Cup/2010 African Cup Qualifiers
11 January 2010 Luanda  Malawi 3–0 Algeria Algeria 2010 Africa Cup of Nations – GS
14 January 2010 Luanda  Mali 0–1 Algeria Algeria 2010 Africa Cup of Nations – GS
18 January 2010 Luanda  Angola 0–0 Algeria Algeria 2010 Africa Cup of Nations – GS
24 January 2010 Cabinda  Ivory Coast 2–3 (AET) Algeria Algeria 2010 Africa Cup of Nations – QF
28 January 2010 Benguela Algeria Algeria 0–4  Egypt 2010 Africa Cup of Nations – SF
30 January 2010 Benguela  Nigeria 1–0 Algeria Algeria 2010 Africa Cup of Nations – TPM
3 March 2010 Algiers Algeria Algeria 0–3  Serbia Friendly match
28 May 2010 Dublin Algeria Algeria 0–3  Republic of Ireland Friendly match
5 June 2010 Fürth Algeria Algeria 1–0  United Arab Emirates Friendly match
13 June 2010 Polokwane Algeria Algeria 0–1  Slovenia 2010 FIFA World Cup
18 June 2010 Cape Town Algeria Algeria 0–0  England 2010 FIFA World Cup
23 June 2010 Pretoria Algeria Algeria 0–1  United States 2010 FIFA World Cup

2012 African Cup of Nations (Qualification)

Group D

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
 Central African Republic 2 1 1 0 2 0 +2 4
 Morocco 2 1 1 0 1 0 +1 4
 Tanzania 2 0 1 1 1 2 –1 1
 Algeria 2 0 1 1 1 3 –2 1
Algeria Algeria1 – 1 Tanzania
Guedioura 45' Report Tegete 33'
Referee: Kokou Djaoupe (Togo)
Central African Republic 2 – 0Algeria Algeria
Boutou 81'
Foxi 86'
Algeria Algeriav Morocco
Morocco vAlgeria Algeria
Tanzania vAlgeria Algeria
Algeria Algeriav Central African Republic

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly against Luxembourg on November 17:[8]

Caps and goals as of November 18, 2010, subsequent to the friendly match against Luxembourg.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Raïs M'Bolhi (1986-04-25) April 25, 1986 (age 38) 7 0 Russia Krylia Sovetov
1GK Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche (1985-01-02) January 2, 1985 (age 39) 3 0 Algeria MC Alger
1GK Cédric Si Mohamed (1985-01-09) January 9, 1985 (age 39) 0 0 Algeria JSM Béjaïa
2DF Madjid Bougherra (1982-10-07) October 7, 1982 (age 41) 47 4 Scotland Rangers
2DF Antar Yahia (1982-03-21) March 21, 1982 (age 42) 49 5 Germany Bochum
2DF Rafik Halliche (1986-09-02) September 2, 1986 (age 37) 21 1 England Fulham
2DF Mohamed Rabie Meftah (1985-05-05) May 5, 1985 (age 39) 6 0 Algeria JSM Béjaïa
2DF Djamel Mesbah (1984-10-09) October 9, 1984 (age 39) 5 0 Italy Lecce
2DF Carl Medjani (1985-05-15) May 15, 1985 (age 39) 4 0 France Ajaccio
3MF Karim Ziani (1982-08-17) August 17, 1982 (age 41) 60 5 Germany Wolfsburg
3MF Hassan Yebda (1984-04-14) April 14, 1984 (age 40) 15 0 Italy Napoli
3MF Khaled Lemmouchia (1981-05-29) May 29, 1981 (age 43) 15 0 Algeria ES Sétif
3MF Mehdi Lacen Error: Need valid birth date: year, month, day 8 0 Spain Racing Santander
3MF Ryad Boudebouz (1990-02-19) February 19, 1990 (age 34) 6 0 France Sochaux
3MF Hocine Metref (1984-01-01) January 1, 1984 (age 40) 5 0 Algeria ES Sétif
3MF Mehdi Mostefa (1983-08-30) August 30, 1983 (age 40) 1 0 France Nîmes Olympique
3MF Zahir Zerdab (1982-01-09) January 9, 1982 (age 42) 1 0 Algeria JSM Béjaïa
4FW Rafik Djebbour (1984-03-08) March 8, 1984 (age 40) 21 4 Greece AEK Athens
4FW Walid Mesloub (1985-09-04) September 4, 1985 (age 38) 1 0 France Le Havre AC
4FW Karim Benyamina (1981-12-18) December 18, 1981 (age 42) 1 0 Germany 1. FC Union Berlin
4FW Mohamed Amine Aoudia (1987-06-06) June 6, 1987 (age 36) 1 0 Algeria JS Kabylie
4FW Abdelmoumene Djabou (1987-01-31) January 31, 1987 (age 37) 1 0 Algeria ES Sétif

Recent callups

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Faouzi Chaouchi (1984-12-05) 5 December 1984 (age 39) 11 0 Algeria ES Sétif
1GK Mohamed Ousserir (1978-02-05) 5 February 1978 (age 46) 5 0 Algeria CR Belouizdad
1GK Lounès Gaouaoui (1977-09-28) September 28, 1977 (age 46) 49 0 Algeria USM Blida
2DF Réda Babouche (1979-07-03) 3 July 1979 (age 44) 2 0 Algeria MC Alger
2DF Mohamed Chakouri (1986-05-21) 21 May 1986 (age 38) 0 0 Belgium Charleroi
2DF Slimane Raho (1975-10-20) 20 October 1975 (age 48) 48 0 Algeria ES Sétif
2DF Samir Zaoui (1976-06-03) 3 June 1976 (age 47) 24 0 Algeria ASO Chlef
2DF Nadir Belhadj (1982-06-18) June 18, 1982 (age 41) 51 5 Qatar Al-Sadd
2DF Habib Bellaid (1986-03-28) March 28, 1986 (age 38) 1 0 France Sedan
2DF Abdelkader Laïfaoui (1981-07-29) July 29, 1981 (age 42) 7 0 Algeria ES Sétif
3MF Yacine Bezzaz (1981-07-10) July 10, 1981 (age 42) 21 3 France Troyes
3MF Hameur Bouazza (1985-02-22) February 22, 1985 (age 39) 15 2 France Arles-Avignon
3MF Foued Kadir (1983-12-05) December 5, 1983 (age 40) 6 0 France Valenciennes
3MF Yazid Mansouri (1978-02-25) 25 February 1978 (age 46) 67 0 Qatar Al-Sailiya
3MF Mourad Meghni (1984-04-16) April 16, 1984 (age 40) 9 0 Italy Lazio
3MF Djamel Abdoun (1986-02-14) February 14, 1986 (age 38) 11 0 Greece Kavala
3MF Karim Matmour (1985-06-24) June 24, 1985 (age 38) 26 2 Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach
3MF Adlène Guedioura (1985-11-12) November 12, 1985 (age 38) 7 1 England Wolverhampton Wanderers
3MF Lazhar Hadj Aïssa (1984-03-23) March 23, 1984 (age 40) 7 0 Algeria ES Sétif
4FW Rafik Saïfi (1975-02-07) 7 February 1975 (age 49) 64 19 France Amiens SC
4FW Abdelkader Ghezzal (1984-12-05) December 5, 1984 (age 39) 24 3 Italy Bari
4FW Chadli Amri (1984-12-14) December 14, 1984 (age 39) 10 0 Germany Kaiserslautern
4FW Abdelmalek Ziaya (1984-01-23) January 23, 1984 (age 40) 6 0 Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad Jeddah

All-time record against FIFA recognized nations

  • Below is a record of all matches (correct as of November 18, 2010 subsequent to Luxembourg friendly) Algeria has played against FIFA recognized nations:

(a) Denotes defunct national football team.
(b) Includes games against USSR.
(c) Includes games against Yugoslavia

Player records

See also: Algeria International Footballers

Manager history

World Cup squads

Olympic Games football Tournament squads

Cup of Nations squads

Kit suppliers

Titles

Preceded by Africa Cup of Nations
1990 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Afro-Asian Cup of Nations
1991 		Succeeded by

See also

Notes

A.^ Prior to Algerian independence in 1962, matches were organised under the auspices of the Front de Libération Nationale.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Courtney, Barrie (23 April 2010). "Algeria - List of International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  2. ^ "World Football Elo Ratings: Algeria". ELO. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  3. ^ Booth, Lawrence (11 August 2004). "What's the dodgiest game in football history?". guardian.co.uk. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 25 February 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Yahia sends Algeria to World Cup". BBC Sport. 2009-11-18. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  5. ^ "Yahia cracker seals play-off win". ESPN. 2009-11-18. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
  6. ^ Youtube video of Police intervention at Champs-Élysées gathering
  7. ^ [1] fifa.com
  8. ^ Luxembourg - Algérie / Amical

External links

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