Algeria Rallies for 2-1 Win Over Jordan, Setting Up 44-Year Austria Grudge Match

Q: How will this comeback win shape the legacy of Algeria's veteran star, Riyad Mahrez?

It strengthens Mahrez’s legacy as the veteran who still decides major matches for Algeria when the pressure is highest. This was not just an assist in a group game. At 35, Mahrez became Algeria’s oldest World Cup starter, captained the side, led the match in chances created and crosses, and delivered the corner for the equalizer in a comeback that kept Algeria alive and eliminated Jordan. The wider significance is even greater: it was Algeria’s first ever World Cup win after conceding first, ending a 10-match run in that scenario, and their first World Cup victory since 2014. For Mahrez personally, the result adds a new layer to a legacy that was already secure after the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and his long record of goals and assists for Algeria. He is already viewed as one of the country’s greatest players; this match reinforces the idea that, even in his final World Cup and beyond his peak years, he remains Algeria’s key creative leader and emotional reference point. It also helps counter any narrative that he is now only a symbolic figure. Against Jordan, he was still decisive in open competition, not merely present because of reputation. If Algeria go on to reach the knockout stage, this comeback will likely be remembered as one of the defining late-career Mahrez performances: a captain’s intervention that preserved his team’s tournament and deepened his standing in Algerian football history.

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 23

Second-half goals from substitutes Nadhir Benbouali in the 69th minute and Amine Gouiri in the 82nd gave Algeria a 2-1 comeback win that eliminated World Cup debutants Jordan with one match left.
Jordan had led from the 36th minute through Nizar Al-Rashdan after a Ramiz Zerrouki turnover, but Vladimir Petkovic's halftime changes lifted Algeria after Riyad Mahrez had already created early chances.
The result moved Algeria level with Austria on 3 points in Group J, while Argentina's earlier 2-0 win over Austria sent the defending champions through as group winners.
Saturday's Algeria-Austria match in Kansas City now carries extra weight, reviving memories of the 1982 'Disgrace of Gijon' that denied Algeria a place in the next round.