⏳ World Cup rewind, the match of shame that knocked Algeria out

⏳ World Cup rewind, the match of shame that knocked Algeria out Every four years, the hierarchy of world football is shaken up. Fallen favorites, inspired underdogs, moments of genius, flashes of anger: the World Cup always has its share of surprises. This series looks back at those scenarios that defied all predictions. On June 25, 1982, Gijón was the scene of a match that became infamous between West Germany and Austria. In a group featuring Algeria, Austria, and Chile, West Germany came in as overwhelming favorites. But to everyone’s surprise, they stumbled in their opening match against Algeria (1-2), while Austria beat Chile (0-1). Algeria’s victory was historic, moreover, as it was the first time an African team had defeated a European nation at a World Cup. In their second match, West Germany bounced back and comfortably beat Chile (4-1), while Algeria lost to Austria (0-2). Then came a situation that would be unthinkable today. To satisfy broadcasters at the time, the final group matches were played a day apart. Algeria got things underway with a hard-fought win over Chile (3-2). To qualify, the Fennecs therefore had to hope for either a West German victory by at least three goals, an Austrian win, or a draw. A West German win by one or two goals would eliminate Algeria. Then came the much-anticipated match between West Germany and Austria. It began with a German goal in the 11th minute and then... nothing. Both teams stopped playing, settling for harmless passes for the rest of the match, with the 1-0 scoreline allowing both teams to qualify. Faced with this disgraceful spectacle, supporters of both teams whistled, and the crowd chanted “Algéria, Algéria” and also “Get out, get out.” The journalists in the stadium blasted the attitude of both teams, with the Austrian commentator even recommending that viewers turn off their televisions. Even crazier, the German commentator declared: " You can’t call this football. This has nothing to do with a World Cup match. You can say what you like, but the end does not justify such means [...] You will now allow me to stop commenting on what we are seeing on the pitch, because what these two teams are offering us is a shameful moment. " And he kept his promise, not saying another word until the final whistle. The match inevitably ended in a 1-0 win for West Germany, eliminating Algeria after a parody of football. Since then, to limit this kind of scenario, the final matches in World Cup groups have been played at the same time. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.