There is nothing that Riyad Mahrez cannot achieve. “I missed two World Cups, but we’ll move heaven and earth to qualify for the next one,” he said back in March, before getting on the scoresheet and providing an assist in the win over Somalia that booked their place at the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
At the global showpiece, the Algerian star delivered on the promise he had made after sealing qualification: “I’ll do everything in my power to represent Algeria in the best possible way.”
Aged 35, Mahrez was the difference-maker in his side’s His influence was decisive, a performance that evoked the finest years of the great skipper at his peak: he fought to the bitter end to keep the ball alive after it bounced off the corner flag and got an assist for the first goal, before converting a tap in past Alexander Schlager for the second. He then rounded off his performance with a right-footed strike across goal after making an excellent run.
“I’m absolutely over the moon. It’s a very important moment, even if it’s just one game,” Mahrez told FIFA. “I’m delighted to have scored my first World Cup goals, but the most important thing is that we’ve reached the next round and can compete at the highest level.”
But the night was not only about individual celebrations. It was also another test of character for a team that has seemingly made a habit of thriving when the going gets tough. Algeria went behind twice against Austria, as they had also done against Jordan, but once again found a response when the match and qualification for the Round of 32 seemed to be slipping away. Vladimir Petkovic’s men once again showed that they still have the ambition and a remarkable knack for living on the edge.
“It shows we’ve got a strong mentality and that we never know when we’re beaten, even when we’ve gone behind in games, like today twice and also once against Jordan,” Rafik Belghali told FIFA. “That’s something important we’ve got at the moment, and things like that are really key in tournament football. It’s very, very important.”
Full-back Belghali was one of the standout players in that remarkable finale, scoring a superb opening goal. With the match becoming a chaotic, end-to-end affair, Algeria found space through their overlapping runs. “It was crazy. I think we were knocking it around and noticed they weren’t pressing, so we waited for the right moment to play through the lines,” he said.
“I think it worked out really well for us because we got our noses in front to make it 3-2. Then they started pressing higher up the pitch and restored parity to make it 3-3. So for us it was a slightly strange way to end the game, but we came into this match with the intention of winning it.”
That ambition also underlines Mahrez’s symbolic importance within the squad. For Belghali, who plays just behind him on the right-hand side, the captain is more than a technical reference, he is the team’s driving force. “Riyad plays just in front of me and helps me hugely. He helps me with my positioning and all that. It’s incredibly special for me to play alongside him because he used to be my idol,” he said.
“The way he helps me on and off the pitch is something I really appreciate. He’s a great person and very humble. Everyone knows what he can bring to the table, and we know Riyad can be the difference-maker for us. He’s shown that again today.”
Mahrez explained it with the simplicity of the truly special players, as if the goal that brought the night to life was little more than a natural consequence of the game. “It was crazy. We were playing our game, they were sitting off, my team-mate turned, I made the run into space, he picked me out and I had to score,” he said. Then, with a wry smile, he summed up the essence of a game that kept changing hands almost with every other attack: “That’s football for you.”
Mahrez has already won almost everything there is to win and belongs among the great African players of his generation: a Premier League winner, a UEFA Champions League winner, and a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations champion as one of the architects of Algeria’s triumph, along with many memorable nights for his national team. But there was still one chapter left to write in his story: delivering at a World Cup and leading his country on a run through the knockout stages.
His World Cup journey began in 2014, when he was still breaking through at the top level and featured in just one game, on his debut against Belgium. Then came the absences, the missed qualifying campaigns, World Cups watched from afar, and a promise that felt more like an act of faith than a sporting statement: to move heaven and earth to come back.
Now, more than a decade after that first outing, Mahrez has finally fulfilled his dream and is experiencing the World Cup from within. No longer a wonderkid breaking through, as he was in Brazil, but a captain who still has a silky left foot, the composure, the vision, and the competitive edge to change a game.
Algeria will face Switzerland in the Round of 32, with Petkovic underlining their progress. “We’re building a winning mentality, step by step,” he said. “In major tournaments, it’s important to try to keep improving game by game, and that’s what we’re doing.”
Sources: FIFA Official
