Algeria: The First African Arab Team to Defeat an Asian Arab Team in the World Cup

The Algerian national team etched its name in the records of the 2026 World Cup after becoming the first Arab African team to defeat an Arab Asian team in the history of the tournament, following its thrilling victory over Jordan with a score of (2-1) in Group Ten competitions.

The victory of "the Greens" put an end to a series of Arab encounters in the World Cup where the balance was tilted in favor of Asian teams, specifically the Saudi team, which was present in all previous Arab derbies in the tournament.

Before the Algeria-Jordan match, the history of the World Cup had witnessed three all-Arab matches, all involving Saudi Arabia. The first was in the 1998 edition when the "Green" team defeated Morocco 2-1. Then, they drew with Tunisia 2-2 in the 2006 World Cup, before Saudi Arabia once again triumphed over Egypt 2-1 in the 2018 edition.

The match between Jordan and Algeria in the 2026 World Cup was the fourth Arab derby in the history of the World Cup, and the first to be held without the participation of the Saudi national team. It ended with a historic Algerian victory, granting African Arab football its first win against its Asian counterpart on the world's biggest football stage.

With this achievement, the Algerian national team succeeded in writing a new chapter in the record of Arab encounters in the World Cup, confirming its strong presence in the current edition of the tournament and revitalizing its hopes of continuing the journey towards the knockout stages.