Debutants Jordan have been knocked out of the World Cup after Algeria’s second-half turnaround 2-1 win kept their group-stage qualification hopes alive.
Nadhir Benbouali and Amine Gouiri both scored from corners in California to earn the African side their first victory of the 2026 tournament.
The comeback win confirmed Argentina’s place as Group J winners, with the holders to meet the Group H runners-up, currently Uruguay, in the round of 32 on July 3.
But Jordan will not be in the knockout stages after a second consecutive defeat saw them eliminated with a game to spare.
The Asian side took a 36th-minute lead through Nizar Al Rashdan, whose first-time outside-of-the-boot effort beat Algerian goalkeeper Luca Zidane – son of Zinedine – to give them hope of a first World Cup point.
Algeria failed to trouble Jordan in the first half, leading to half-time changes, and one of those had the desired impact as Benbouali headed in from Riyad Mahrez’s corner in the 69th minute.
Algeria’s Nadhir Benbouali levelled it up
Algeria then pushed for a winner with Jordan tiring, and it eventually came in the 82nd minute through another corner as Gouiri prodded home from a knockdown, with the goal surviving a VAR check for offside.
The two-time AFCON champions held on for the win to move level on points with Austria, whom they play next in Kansas on Sunday (3am UK time) in their final Group J game with both sides potentially needing just a draw to reach the knockout stages.
Jordan, meanwhile, will look to end their first-ever World Cup campaign in style as they face three-time winners Argentina in Dallas on Sunday at 3am UK time.
The key moments from Santa Clara…
Jordan’s Nizar Al Rashdan scored a first-half opener
- 1: FIRST CHANCE FOR JORDAN! Al Rashdan heads wide from a free-kick after just 50 seconds!
- 33: MAHREZ CHANCE! The Algeria captain is sent through over the top but his prodded effort is saved behind by the Jordan goalkeeper.
- 36: GOAL FOR JORDAN! Al Rashdan’s first-time outside-of-the-boot finish gives the Asian side their first-ever World Cup lead.
- 69: ALGERIA EQUALISE! Benbouali heads in from Mahrez’s corner to level up with their first goal of the 2026 tournament.
- 82: ALGERIA TAKE THE LEAD! Gouiri finishes from close range at a corner and his winner survives a VAR check for offside.
What the result means…
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