Testing page = ~this is just a simulation~ ALGERIA
Algeria
Population: 37.9million
National dish: Couscous, usually with lamb
National anthem: Kassaman or Qassaman (means We Pledge)
Best World Cup finish: First round in 1982, 1986 and 2010.
Premier League pedigree: Adlene Guedioura (Crystal Palace)
Meet the coach:
Vahid Halilhodzic. Former Yugoslavia forward, 61, in charge of the Ivory Coast side that qualified for the 2010 World Cup but was sacked before the tournament.
Meet the captain:
Madjid Bougherra. French-born centre back, 31, played in England for Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton then spent three years in Scotland with Rangers.
Star man:
Islam Slimani. Tall, powerfully built 25-year-old striker who plays for Sporting Lisbon got five goals in qualifying.
Watch out for: Saphir Sliti Taider. Inter Milan spent £4.8m to buy him the midfielder, 21. Born in Castres, played for French international youth teams, but has an Algerian mother.
Algeria has qualified for four World Cups in 1982, 1986, 2010, and 2014. Algeria has also won the African Cup of Nations once in 1990, when they hosted the tournament.
The traditional rivals of Algeria have been Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. However, more recently, Egypt has become the main rival after a number of incidents involving the two teams, most recently during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, in which Algeria defeated Egypt 1-0 in a tensetiebreaker in Omdurman, Sudan to qualify to the World Cup.
The team was established in 1963 as the successor of the FLN football team.
1982 FIFA World Cup
Lakhdar Belloumi Legends of Algerian football in the 80s
Algeria caused one of the great World Cup upsets on the first day of the tournament with a 2-1 victory over reigning European Champions West Germany. In the final match in the group between West Germany and Austria, with Algeria having already played their final group game the day before, the European teams knew that a West German win by 1 or 2 goals would qualify them both, while a larger German victory would qualify Algeria over Austria, and a draw or an Austrian win would eliminate the Germans. After 10 minutes of all-out attack, West Germany scored through a goal by Horst Hrubesch. After the goal was scored, the two teams kicked the ball around aimlessly for the rest of the match. Chants of “Fuera, fuera” (“Out, out”) were screamed by the Spanish crowd, while angry Algerian supporters waved banknotes at the players. This performance was widely deplored, even by the German and Austrian fans. One German fan was so upset by his team’s display that he burned his German flag in disgust.[3] Algeria protested to FIFA, who ruled that the result be allowed to stand; FIFA introduced a revised qualification system at subsequent World Cups in which the final two games in each group were played simultaneously.
Association Information
Foundation year
1962
Affiliated since
1964
Official site
info
faffoot@yahoo.fr
Fédération Algérienne de Football
Chemin Ahmed Ouaked BP 39 DELY-IBRAHIM 16000
Phone: +213-21/984 306
Fax: +213-21/984 308
President
RAOURAOUA Mohamed
Vice President
CHAABANE Abdelkader
ZEFZEF Djahid
General Secretary
BOUZENAD Nadir
Treasurer
-
Men’s Coach
HALILHODZIC Vahid (BIH)
Women’s Coach
CHIH Azzedine (ALG)
Media Officer
HADJI Adel
Futsal Coordinator
CHAFI Kada
Referee Coordinator
LACARNE Belaid
Jerseys
White
Shorts
White
Stockings
White
Getty Image
Didier Drogba and Vahid Halilhodzic from Bosnia during the 2013 African Cup of Nations match between Algeria and Ivory Coast at Royal Bafokeng Stadium on January 30, 2013 in Rustenburg, South Africa. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
Algeria’s coach Vahid Halilhodzic gestures during the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations football match Algeria vs Togo on January 26, 2013 at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty Images)
Algeria’s Coach Vahid Halilhodzic gestures during a friendly football match between South Africa’s Bafana Bafana and Algeria in Soweto on January 12, 2013, ahead of the 2013 African Cup of nations that will take place in South Africa from January 19 to February 10. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER JOE (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty Images)
Supporters of the Algeria national football team hold the Algerian flag as they sing the national anthem during the African Cup of Nations qualification match between Libya and Algeria in Casablanca on September 9, 2013. The match was moved because of the unstable political situation in Libya. AFP PHOTO / FADEL SENNA (Photo credit should read FADEL SENNA/AFP/GettyImages)