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Algeria and Austria served up a five-goal thriller in the Group J finale, ending 3-3 and sending Iran home early. Mahrez put Algeria ahead deep in stoppage time at 90+3, only for Kalajdzic to head in a last-gasp equaliser two minutes later — because of course he did. Algeria finish as one of the best third-place sides and advance; Austria go through as runners-up. Nobody in Group J had a quiet afternoon.
Pre-match Talking Points
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1Both teams have three points and are level in Group J, with Austria fractionally ahead on goal difference. Win this and you're through as runners-up. Lose it and you're out — it's that clean. Algeria need at least a draw to keep their last-16 hopes alive; Austria could even afford to lose and still sneak through as one of the best third-placed teams, though they'd rather not find out. There's also a slightly absurd subplot where Austria might actually prefer to finish third to avoid Spain in the knockouts — but ignore that, it's making everyone's head hurt.
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2These two have met at the World Cup exactly once before — in 1982, when Austria won comfortably and nobody outside either country particularly remembers it. There's no fierce rivalry here, no history of grudge matches or bad blood. What they do have is a shared group with Argentina, which means both sides have already been on the receiving end of Lionel Messi at his most insufferable. Consider that a bonding experience.
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3Algeria's Amine Gouiri scored the goal that beat Jordan and kept Algeria in this tournament, and he's the name to know going into this one. He plays his club football in France, he's got pace and a cool head in front of goal, and he tends to show up when it actually matters — which is not something you can say about everyone at a World Cup. If Algeria are going to pull this off, the ball will find him at some point.
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4Algeria's star attacker Mohamed Amoura picked up a hamstring injury in the Argentina game and has been a doubt ever since. He's the kind of player who makes things happen even when nothing's happening, so his absence would be a real blow to Algeria's chances of actually threatening Austria's defence. Meanwhile, Austria are coached by Ralf Rangnick — yes, the same Ralf Rangnick who had a brief and bewildering spell at Manchester United — and he's quietly turned Austria into a well-organised, hard-to-break-down side. Which is either impressive or boring depending on your outlook.
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5Austria are at the World Cup for the first time since 1998 — a 28-year gap that most of their current squad spent entirely in school. Their captain is David Alaba, who has won four Champions League titles and is one of the most decorated players at this entire tournament. The fact that he's playing for a team that hasn't been at a World Cup since the nineties says quite a lot about how football works. Algeria, meanwhile, are back after missing 2018 and 2022 entirely, and they're very much the sentimental pick here — the last time they made it out of the group stage was 2014, and a whole generation of fans has been waiting for a repeat.
Team Talking Points
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1Algeria's World Cup ended in the Round of 32, beaten 2-0 by Switzerland in Vancouver on July 2 — goals from Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye did the damage. It's Algeria's first knockout appearance since 2014, so there's genuine pride in how they got here, even in defeat.
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2The standout moment was the final group game: a breathless 3-3 draw with Austria in Kansas City that sent Algeria through as one of the best third-placed teams, despite having lost their opener 3-0 to Argentina. Captain Riyad Mahrez scored twice and set up a third in that game — the kind of night a captain dreams about.
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3Mahrez, 35, missed the 2018 and 2022 World Cups entirely, so this tournament was billed as unfinished business for him personally. He delivered in the one game that mattered most, even if Algeria couldn't carry the momentum past Switzerland.
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4Mahrez is the name to drop — the long-time Manchester City winger, still doing it at 35 for his country. Mention his two goals and an assist in that mad Austria draw and you'll sound like you actually watched it, not just skimmed the group tables.
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5Algeria go home having done more than most expected of a third-placed qualifier, with Mahrez's near-perfect night against Austria as the lasting image. There's enough coming through underneath him — Amoura, Belaili — that this feels like a changing of the guard rather than a full reset.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Algeria go out having drawn 3-3 with Austria in maybe the maddest group game of the tournament, with Mahrez pulling the strings at 35 — not bad for someone who spent the last two World Cups watching from home.
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Avoid saying
Anything implying Algeria snuck into the knockouts by accident — third-placed qualification sounds like a technicality, but getting there meant winning a genuine shootout of a group game against Austria. Call it lucky and a real fan will correct you.
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1Austria's World Cup ended at the first knockout hurdle — a 3-0 defeat to Spain in Los Angeles on July 2, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring twice and Pedro Porro adding a third. Spain outshot them 23 to 5, so this wasn't close on the day.
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2The moment to remember is how Austria even got there: a wild 3-3 draw with Algeria in the final group game in Kansas City, enough to send them through as group runners-up. Games like that are exactly why people watch group-stage finales.
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3Losing 3-0 to a team that went on to reach the final is a softer landing than the scoreline suggests — Spain proved to be one of the best sides in the tournament, and Austria simply ran into them at the wrong moment.
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4No single Austria player dominated headlines the way some breakout stars did elsewhere, and that tells its own story — this was a well-organised, collective effort that got them further than a star-studded lineup might have without the same cohesion.
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5Getting outclassed by the eventual finalists is nothing to be ashamed of. Austria did their job in the group and bowed out to genuinely one of the two best teams in the world — file this under 'no shame in it' rather than a low point.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Austria go out 3-0 to Spain, who then went on to reach the final — so credit where it's due, Austria just picked the wrong knockout draw at the wrong time.
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Avoid saying
Don't call it a disappointing tournament for Austria — reaching the knockouts via a 3-3 thriller and then losing to the eventual finalists is a perfectly respectable World Cup, not a collapse.