Thursday October 9, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) — Algeria sealed qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a composed 3-0 victory over Somalia on Thursday, returning to football’s biggest stage after missing the past two tournaments.
Mohamed Amoura scored twice and captain Riyad Mahrez added another as the Fennecs dominated from start to finish at Oran’s Miloud Hadefi Stadium. The result ensured Vladimir Petković’s side will top Group G with 22 points and confirmed their fifth World Cup appearance.
Algeria struck early. In the sixth minute, Mahrez curled a cross to the back post, where Amoura arrived to finish first time. Thirteen minutes later, the captain turned from provider to scorer, meeting a Farès Chaïbi delivery with a rising shot into the top corner. Any lingering doubt ended just before the hour when Amoura converted again after a slick passing move through midfield.
For Somalia, bottom of the group with
one point, it was another lesson in the gap that separates aspiration from experience. The Ocean Stars defended resolutely in spells but rarely ventured forward with purpose.
Mahrez was named player of the match for his goal and two assists, a performance that reasserts his influence ahead of January’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Coach Petković is expected to rotate his squad for next week’s dead rubber against Uganda as he begins planning for 2026.
This qualification marks a symbolic return for a nation still haunted by its 2022 play-off defeat to Cameroon. It also extends a lineage that includes historic World Cup appearances in 1982, 1986, 2010 and 2014, when Algeria reached the round of 16 and pushed eventual champions Germany into extra time.
As the crowd in Oran sang beneath a sea of green flags, Algeria looked every bit like a side ready to reclaim its place among Africa’s elite and perhaps test its ambitions beyond them.