Algeria and Austria meet at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on 28 June with second place in Group J effectively on the line. Argentina are already through on six points, so this is a knockout game before the knockout stage: win and you are almost certainly through, draw and you are left sweating results elsewhere. Both sides have three points but Algeria sit third on goal difference, meaning they need the win while Austria would be content with a draw or better. The shadow of the 1982 Disgrace of Gijón hangs over any World Cup group finale with stakes like these, adding an awkward undercurrent that both sets of players will feel even if nobody mentions it.
Vladimir Petkovic has been in charge of Algeria since February 2024 and Ralf Rangnick has had Austria since 2022, though the two have never faced each other at senior international level making this their first tactical collision in about as high pressure a setting as you can get.
Austria beat Jordan 3-1 and lost 2-0 to Argentina in the group stage, whereas Algeria have won one and lost one, though they have been in high stakes moments before through AFCON campaigns and previous World Cups.
With no major injuries or suspensions expected on either side, Algeria are likely to line up in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 with Luca Zidane in goal, a back four of Bensebaini, Mandi, Tougai and Ait-Nouri and a midfield built around Zerrouki, Bentaleb or Chaïbi and Boudaoui or Maza, with Hadj Moussa or Gouiri, Amoura and Mahrez leading the line. Austria should go 4-2-3-1 with Schlager behind Posch, Danso, Lienhart and Mwene, Grillitsch or Seiwald alongside Laimer in a double pivot, Schmid, Sabitzer and Wimmer behind Arnautovic, with Alaba available from the squad.
Algeria sat deep in their group games and moved quickly when they won the ball back, with Mahrez cutting inside from the right and Amoura stretching the line in behind the defence. Rangnick's Austria pressed high against Jordan and recovered possession quickly in the middle third before moving it forward at pace. The midfield contest between Zerrouki and company against Seiwald or Grillitsch alongside Sabitzer is where the tempo gets settled and Austria's wide players created overloads against Jordan that they will look to replicate here against Algeria's full backs.
These sides have only met once in senior competition, when Austria beat Algeria 2-0 at the 1982 World Cup in the match that sparked the Disgrace of Gijón controversy, leaving both coaches working almost entirely from current form and scouting reports with no recent friendlies to reference.
Set pieces are worth watching here, given that Algeria carry aerial threat in the box and Austria have shown they can move quickly from clearances. The tiebreaker mathematics and the pressure of a packed Kansas City stadium tend to produce conservative football at exactly the moments when teams need to be brave, which makes this a match where one dead ball moment could settle everything.
Algeria 2-1 Austria. Mahrez cutting inside and Amoura running the channels should cause Danso and Lienhart real problems and while Austria will have their moments on the break, Algeria have been in this kind of game before in a way that Austria simply haven't, which feels like the decisive edge.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
