Group: J — Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan

How they Qualified: Algeria won CAF Group G and sealed qualification with a 3-0 win away to Somalia on October 9, 2025, with Mohamed Amoura scoring twice and Riyad Mahrez adding the other.

Best World Cup Finish: Round of 16 (2014)

Transfermarkt Roster Value: $270.22 M

FIFA Rank: 28

Odds to Win Group: 7-1

Odds to Advance: -310

Odds to Win Cup: 350-1

Key Players:

  • Mohamed Amoura — Striker — Wolfsburg (Germany). Amoura looks like Algeria’s most dangerous current attacker. Valued at $34m, Amoura scored twice in the win over Somalia that sent Algeria to the World Cup and led them with ten goals in the qualifying campaign.
  • Riyad Mahrez — Winger — Al-Ahli (Saudi Arabia). Mahrez is still the captain, still the main creative reference point, and still the player most likely to decide a match with one moment of quality. He has notched 107 caps and 34 goals in his international career and led the team in assists during qualification.
  • Rayan Aït-Nouri — Left Back — Manchester City (Premier League). Aït-Nouri gives Algeria a modern, high-level threat from the back line and raises their ceiling athletically. He made a big-money move to Manchester City last year and is currently valued around $50m.

Playing Style and Outlook

Under coach Vladimir Petkovic, Algeria generally wants to control the game, not just survive it. They lined up in a 4-3-3 attacking against Botswana, Somalia, and Uganda, with a 4-2-3-1 away to Guinea, and the numbers back up their desire to control the ball: Algeria had 66.3% possession against Botswana and 68.9% against Uganda. This is a team that usually expects to have the ball, push its fullbacks forward, and let players like Mahrez, Amoura, Gouiri, and Aït-Nouri create pressure in the final third.

However, the AFCON quarterfinal against Nigeria was a useful warning sign. Nigeria dominated from start to finish and left Algeria with no clear scoring opportunities, while Petkovic admitted afterward that his team had been prevented from playing the way it wanted. So while Algeria can look assertive and front-footed against a lot of opponents, against stronger, more physical teams they can be knocked out of rhythm.

That makes Group J pretty interesting. Argentina are the clear favorite, but Algeria seem like a real challenger to Austria for second place rather than a team just hoping to finish third. They have more attacking quality than Jordan, more individual craft than a lot of teams in this tier, and enough control in their game to make Austria uncomfortable if they can dictate tempo. They are not a threat to win the whole tournament, but they are one of the more plausible mid-tier teams to get out of the group and become annoying for somebody in the knockouts.