⚽️ Kick-off time: 8pm local/1pm AEST/4am BST/11pm EDT
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Algeria were immediately on the back foot when opening their tournament campaign against reigning champions Argentina and with a certain Lionel Messi on the march toward the all-time World Cup goalscoring record. But Vladimir Petkovic’s side will get a better idea of their prospects of reaching the knockout phase in their clash with Jordan.
Jonathan Wilson has considered what Algeria – as well as the other nine African teams at this World Cup – need to do in North America to justify the doubling of the number of World Cup spots handed to Caf for this edition.
No region benefited as much from the expansion of the World Cup as Africa. In Qatar in 2022, five of the 32 slots (16% of the field) went to the Confederation of African Football (Caf). Of the 48 slots this time around, nine went automatically to Caf, and they secured a 10th when DR Congo beat Jamaica in an interconfederational playoff in March. Caf had lobbied for years for more representation, arguing it was unfair that it had only five slots for its 54 members, while Conmebol, the South American confederation, had four plus a playoff for 10 members (21% of the field). The response was that Conmebol sides had won the World Cup nine times, while Caf sides had only made the quarter-finals on three occasions. By the end of the last World Cup, Conmebol were up to 10 victories and Caf had its first semi-finalist.
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