Algeria rallies past Jordan to keep World Cup hopes alive

Algeria refused to let its World Cup campaign slip away. Trailing Jordan after Nizar Al-Rashdan struck in the 36th minute, the Desert Foxes flipped the match in the second half and won 2-1 at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, a result FIFA said eliminated Jordan from the tournament.

The comeback changed the shape of Group J. Algeria finished the day with three points and remains in contention heading into the final round, where the group still offers two automatic places and a possible route for the best third-place teams. Algeria now goes into its June 28 meeting with Austria in Kansas City knowing the last match will decide whether this revival becomes a qualification run or a painful near miss.

The turnaround was built on patience and pressure after the break. Nadhir Benbouali leveled the score, then Amine Gouiri completed the recovery to rescue a result that had been drifting toward Jordan after the first-half opener. For Algeria, the two goals were more than a response to a deficit. They were the kind of decisive second-half shift that keeps a national team’s campaign intact when the margin for error has almost disappeared.

Jordan’s exit carries its own weight. This was Jordan’s first appearance at a World Cup, a breakthrough earned on June 6, 2025, after nine failed qualifying attempts and 40 years since its first cycle began. The team had already made history by scoring its first World Cup goal against Austria on June 16, 2026, but that milestone was not enough to protect it from elimination in a group that also includes Argentina, Austria and Algeria.

FIFA named Ibrahim Maza the Superior Player of the Match, while Slavko Vincic handled the contest as referee. For Algeria, the narrow victory did more than add three points: it restored belief in a group that had been threatening to close early and turned the final game into a test of nerve as much as skill. The final group match now stands as a referendum on Algeria’s resilience, and on whether this comeback can become the foundation for a deeper run in World Cup 2026.