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Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale
Sport
Paul Myers

Africa's finest: Algeria seek to build on mixed history

Riyad Mahrez will captain the Algeria squad at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Riyad Mahrez will captain the Algeria squad at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada. AP - Mosa'ab Elshamy

Algeria enter the first 48-team World Cup as Africa's third-highest ranked side. In the seventh instalment of a nine-part series on African teams at the 2026 World Cup, RFI looks at a country making its fifth appearance on football's biggest stage.

Just as Algeria appear to establish consistency, they fall away. The North African side reached the World Cup for the first time in 1982 in Spain after the tournament expanded from 16 to 24 teams.

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