Algeria qualified for the 2022 World Cup play-offs, finishing first in its group A, after battling hard against Burkina Faso.
There is only one step to the Greens to qualify for the World Cup, for the 5th time in their history.
To successfully cross this crucial step, Riyad Mahrez’s comrades will have a hard time at the dams where they could fall on big African cars, which used to give the national team a hard time.
With its 4th African rank last FIFA rankings, Algeria is guaranteed not to face Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal, and Nigeria. On the other hand, the Greens can fall on Cameroon, their pet peeve, Ghana, Mali, DR Congo, and a good old acquaintance, Egypt.
The possibility of facing the Pharaohs awakened bad memories of the Omdurman play-off in Sudan in the world of football. It was in 2009.
After a group stage where the two teams had finished tied, Algeria and Egypt played the third match in Omdurman for a qualifying place at the 2010 World Cup.
Algeria had won, thanks to a magnificent goal from Antar Yahia in a match that took place in extreme tension, going so far as to cause a mini diplomatic crisis between the two countries.
To the sporting rivalry between the two teams was added the political context in the two countries where the Algerian and Egyptian political leaders absolutely wanted to obtain a qualification for the South African World Cup.
Can such a scenario be repeated next March if fate forces the Fennecs to face the Pharaohs for a place in Qatar? For the president of the Algerian Football Federation (FAF), Charaf Eddine Amara, the answer is “no”.
“These events are not going to happen again”
“No, even if the draw gives a match between Algeria and Egypt, and the probability exists. The Omdurman match took place in a special context and under tense conditions. This match was a lesson for both countries, supporters, and both teams. These events will not happen a second time,” he reassured this Saturday in an interview with a Qatari TV channel.
The president of the FAF wished the qualification for the World Cup for all the Arab teams who will play the play-offs. “We don’t have any particular preferences (for the team to face), we just hope to qualify and that our Arab and African teams also qualify. We would like the presence of Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt at this cup,” he said.
