At last, Algeria have breached the frontier that for so long had mocked them: the knockout stages of the World Cup. Their passage — secured by a fraught, fervid 1-1 draw with Russia — was drenched not only in sweat and adrenaline but also in the spectral weight of history. For it is Germany, the heirs to West Germany’s infamy in 1982, who now await them in the next round. Thirty-two years and a single day since the “Disgrace of Gijón,” Algeria have returned to reclaim a narrative that once left them betrayed.
Yet their
triumph was not without controversy. As Islam Slimani rose to nod home the
crucial equaliser, Russia’s goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev found himself bathed in
the eerie glow of a green laser from the stands. His complaints afterwards,
though perhaps justified, could not reverse the tide of history or quell the
Algerian celebrations that burst forth in seismic relief when the final whistle
came.
When it
did, the pent-up tension of decades gave way. Algerian players spilled onto the
field in a riot of joy, flags unfurled, tears mingling with sweat. They
embarked on a euphoric lap of honour, serenaded by thousands of travelling fans
whose subsidised pilgrimage had transformed the stadium into a pocket of
Algiers. This was more than just progression. It was absolution, and the
long-awaited shattering of an invisible ceiling.
Russia Strike Early, Algeria’s Past Looms
It had been
a perilous path. This was, in effect, a playoff cloaked in group-stage
clothing: winner advances, loser exits. Algeria, with the slight cushion of
knowing a draw would almost certainly suffice unless South Korea conjured
something miraculous far away in São Paulo, could still ill afford complacency.
Especially not when Russia struck with such cold precision.
Barely five
minutes had passed when Oleg Shatov, with a craftsman’s touch, swept in a
first-time cross from the left. Alexander Kokorin, elegant and emphatic, soared
to power a header into the top corner. It was a goal of simplicity and clinical
timing, made more cruel by the fact that Sofiane Feghouli, Algeria’s creative
dynamo, was momentarily off the field receiving treatment for a bleeding head.
For an hour
thereafter, Algeria’s dream seemed to teeter. Russia, uncharacteristically open
and swift, poured forward with brisk interchanges. Denis Glushakov weaved
through in a fine solo foray only to be crowded out; Kokorin flashed another
header wide; Shatov bent a swerving shot narrowly past the post. Algeria’s
occasional forays — including Slimani’s appeals for a tug inside the box and
two menacing headers — only underlined how slender their margin was, how
tightly history’s jaws threatened to snap shut.
A Second-Half of Nerves, Fouls and Destiny
Russia
nearly extended their lead spectacularly just after the restart.
Samedov surged forward, playing a dazzling one-two with Fayzulin, another with
Kokorin, slicing through Algeria’s rearguard. But Rais M’Bolhi was off his line
like a thunderclap, smothering the shot with his chest. Next came Kerzhakov,
his deflected attempt looping harmlessly over. Each wave of Russian pressure
seemed to chip at Algeria’s composure.
And yet
Algeria clung to their blueprint: reach Slimani by air. Feghouli and Aissa
Mandi combined to tee up a cross just beyond his reach. Then came the turning
point. A cynical tug by Kombarov earned him a booking. Moments later, Kozlov
repeated the indiscretion on the opposite flank. Djabou stood over the
free-kick and delivered a ball that was as teasing as it was lethal. Slimani
rose amid the chaos, and though Akinfeev’s timing was fractionally off — laser
or no laser — the header was emphatic.
The stadium
detonated. Smoke coiled into the humid air, green shirts raced away in
exultation, Slimani fell to the turf and kissed it, the ground now hallowed by
redemption. Algeria were, at long last, on the cusp.
Hanging On: A Climax Wrought From Fear and Hope
The
remaining minutes were a maelstrom of Russian desperation and Algerian dread.
Fayzulin’s shot slipped alarmingly through M’Bolhi’s gloves before he pounced
to smother. Kerzhakov was denied at close range. The crowd, sensing the scale
of the moment, whistled and roared with every Russian incursion. Algeria’s
lines sank ever deeper, the pitch seemed to contract. Kozlov’s header, drifting
just wide in the dying moments, was Russia’s final lament.
When the
whistle came, it unleashed a festival decades in the making. Players collapsed,
others sprinted to embrace each other. In the stands, a green tide of
supporters wept, sang, and danced. The ghosts of 1982 — of that notorious
alliance between West Germany and Austria which coldly engineered Algeria’s
elimination — were at last laid to rest. Now it is Germany who stand in
Algeria’s path again, offering a poetic symmetry no scriptwriter could have
resisted.
A Night to Remember for Algeria
Algeria’s
manager, Vahid Halilhodzic, had called it beforehand: “This could be historic.”
When he said it, it sounded like a hope. Now it is forever etched in the annals
of both Algerian and World Cup lore — not merely for reaching the last sixteen,
but for the raw, human theatre of how they did it. For surviving early blows,
for standing amid controversy, for enduring a siege with hearts hammering, for
refusing once more to be robbed by history.
The journey
is not over. But already, this night stands as testament to football’s power to
resurrect old wounds, and to heal them in the same breath. Algeria have waited
a generation for such release. Against Russia, under the floodlights and
deafening with drums, they found it.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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