The 17th team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup is born

In the early morning of October 10, the Algerian team defeated the Somali team 3:0 in the African World Cup qualifiers. It once again advanced to the World Cup finals after 12 years and became the 17th team in the world to obtain a ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

With this victory, Algeria firmly topped Group G and successfully advanced. They also became the fourth African team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.

Under the leadership of head coach Vladimir Petkovic, the Algerian team showed the style of a mature and strong team - rich experience, clear tactics and excellent psychological quality. Captain and core star Riyad Mahrez once again proved his worth. He was directly involved in all three goals in this game.

At the beginning of the game, Mahrez assisted Amoura to open the scoring in the 6th minute; in the 19th minute, he personally scored a wonderful long-range shot to expand the score to 2:0; in the 58th minute of the second half, he sent another precise assist to help Amoura score twice, completely sealing the victory.

Although this game is nominally the home stadium of Somalia, due to security reasons, the actual game venue is the Miloud Hadfi Stadium in Oran, Algeria. Tens of thousands of enthusiastic local fans poured into the scene, and together they witnessed the glorious return of their beloved national team after 12 years away from the highest stage in world football.

This is the fifth time in Algeria’s history that it has qualified for the World Cup finals. The previous four times were in 1982, 1986, 2010 and 2014. Their best record in the World Cup came at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, when the North African powerhouse made a historic run into the top 16, but ultimately lost to the champion Germany in overtime, regrettably stopping.

According to the new competition format of the 2026 World Cup, the African region will have 9 direct qualifying places. Currently, 4 places have been confirmed, and the remaining 5 group top spots will be decided next week. In addition, the four second-placed teams with the best results will also participate in the play-offs to compete for a cross-continental play-off qualification, which will be held in November.

As of now, 17 teams around the world have locked their seats in the 2026 World Cup in advance. In addition to the three major hosts, the United States, Canada and Mexico, other teams that have qualified include:

Asia: Australia, Japan, Iran, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan

Africa: Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

Oceania: New Zealand

The map of the World Cup is gradually becoming clearer, but competition on the African continent is still fierce.