First Touch ’26 - Algeria Featuring Dean Ammi

Algeria might be best known to casual U.S. fans as the team on the wrong end of Landon Donovan’s “Go Go USA” moment in 2010—but the Fennec Foxes have one of the richest, most political football histories on the planet. In this World Cup Capsule, David Gass traces how the game arrived under French occupation in the late 1800s, how European settler clubs gave way to Algerian-run teams that doubled as hubs of cultural and anti-colonial resistance, and how the FLN’s exile team turned football into a weapon for independence. We relive the golden 1980s, the infamous “Disgrace of Gijón” in 1982 that forced FIFA to change its group-stage rules, and the 2014 run to the knockouts where Algeria took eventual champions Germany to extra time. From there we jump to a modern era defined by a massive diaspora talent pool and a new qualifying campaign where Vladimir Petković’s tactically flexible side—built around Riyad Mahrez, Baghdad Bounedjah, Aïssa Mandi and rising star Rayan Aït-Nouri—cruised through their group and now aims to turn continental pedigree into World Cup wins. Along the way, we spotlight Rabah Madjer’s backheel in the 1987 European Cup final, USM Alger’s recent continental success, and the way Algerian football continues to mirror the country’s broader struggles, pride, and sense of identity.