Algeria face Austria with everything on the line

Win or go home Sunday

Algeria face Austria in Kansas City on Sunday, and everything is on the line (1). Win, and you reach the knockout stage. A draw may not be enough after Ecuador's result shifted the best third-placed standings (4). Algeria are now fighting for their lives.

Amoura out, Gouiri and Benbouali carry the attack

Mohamed Amoura is done for the group stage with a thigh injury (1). The attacking burden falls to Amine Gouiri and Nadir Benbouali. Riyad Mahrez will need to produce something special from the flank. The margin for error is gone.

The Gijón ghost, 44 years on

Sunday is not just a World Cup decider. It is Austria, the same nation that conspired with West Germany in 1982 to eliminate Algeria in the "Disgrace of Gijón" (2) (3). The Algerian press are calling it a chance for revenge. The players have not said much publicly, but the history is impossible to ignore.

Ecuador moved the goalposts

Ecuador beating Belgium changed everything for Algeria. The third-placed rankings now put your team in serious danger (4). What looked like a manageable path after the opening loss to Argentina is now a knife-edge. A draw might send Algeria home.

Fan-reaktioner

Fan attention has split between the pitch and the personal. One widely circulated post breaks down Ibrahim Maza's Vietnamese-Algerian background, with supporters from both countries claiming the young midfielder. Meanwhile, the knockout bracket updates have fans doing the math: after Ecuador's result, Algeria's third-placed path shifted from England to Switzerland. See the latest bracket projections