Nizar Al-Rashdan scored a goal in the 36th minute and Jordan held it for over half an hour. They were nine minutes from pulling off one of the great World Cup results. Nine minutes from staying alive in the tournament. Nine minutes.
Then Amine Gouiri poked the winner home from a scramble and it was gone.
Algeria 2-1 Jordan. Jordan eliminated with a match still to play. Algeria level on three points with Austria in Group J, a massive game coming up in Kansas City on Saturday. Petkovic’s resurrection complete.
This was a result built on stubbornness, substitutions, and set pieces. Algeria dominated possession all evening. Jordan sat in a deep defensive block, won the ball back on the counter, and made the most of the one moment Algeria switched off. Then they held the lead for 33 minutes while Algeria threw everything forward. And when they finally conceded — twice, from two corners — there was very little they could do about the sheer physical presence that came through the air at them.
Algeria started brightly. Mahrez — who had been benched against Argentina after the 3-0 humbling in Kansas City — was back in the starting eleven and immediately looked influential. Ibrahim Maza was tidy and creative in the pockets between the lines. Boudaoui screened. Ait-Nouri drove forward from left back. They dominated the ball, completed crisp passing sequences, and tried to find Mahrez in behind Jordan’s backline.
In the 34th minute, Mahrez made a sharp run and forced a save from Yazeed Abu Laila — he should have scored. The chance summed up Algeria’s first half. Creating, threatening, not finishing. Zerrouki then turned the ball over in defence, of all the ways for Algeria to be punished — Al-Tamari’s shot deflected sideways to Al-Rashdan who drilled it into the bottom right corner. 1-0 Jordan. The debutants were ahead.
They took it into the dressing room. The Jordan end of Levi’s Stadium celebrated with a noise that told you everything about what it meant.
Petkovic acted immediately at half-time. Nabil Bentaleb came on. Nadhir Benbouali came on. The changes shifted the tempo entirely. Algeria’s pressing became more urgent, their physicality at set pieces more imposing, and the crowd — heavily in Algeria’s favour — pushed them forward.
In the 69th minute, the equaliser. Mahrez delivered the corner. Benbouali rose highest in a crowd of bodies and sent a glancing header bouncing into the far corner. The Algeria end erupted. Thirty-three minutes of defending from Jordan — all undone in one corner routine.
They did not panic. Jordan held their shape, stayed compact, tried to hurt Algeria on the break. But the pressure was relentless now. Bentaleb gave the midfield a physical edge that had been missing. Benbouali’s goal had given Algeria belief they had lacked for the first hour.
The winner came in the 82nd minute. Another corner. This time Anis Hadj Moussa curled it in from the right. The ball deflected off Al-Rashdan — the man who had scored the opener — and found Gouiri arriving at the back post. He poked it home. An instinctive finish in a goalmouth scramble. 2-1 Algeria. Gouiri sprinted away. The bench emptied.
Jordan had no time. Nine minutes of normal time remaining, some stoppage time added. They gave everything. It was not enough.
The result eliminates Jordan from their debut World Cup. They leave with three goals conceded in both of their group games — Austria beat them 3-1 in the opener, and now this. No wins. Two defeats. Going out in the group stage. For a nation playing at the tournament for the first time, the learning curve has been steep. Al-Rashdan’s goal was a genuine moment of quality from a team that competed with more than their ranking suggested they had any right to.
For Algeria, the comeback is everything. They were 3-0 down against Argentina — Messi’s hat-trick, one of the tournament’s defining early moments — and going into this game, many wrote them off. Two second-half headers from corners against Jordan changed that narrative completely. They face Austria in Kansas City on Saturday with everything still to play for in Group J.
Austria beat Argentina earlier on the same day — no, wait. <em>Argentina beat Austria 2-0</em> with Messi scoring twice, including the goal that made him the all-time World Cup top scorer. Algeria face Austria with three points. Austria also on three. Whoever wins that game has a real chance of advancing.
Jordan face Argentina in their final group game. Messi has scored five World Cup goals already. Jordan can play without pressure. As Al Jazeera noted, they can at least enjoy the occasion.
For live World Cup scores from every group, visit fawanews.org.uk. Full results, standings and knockout bracket at the official FIFA World Cup website.
Algeria 2-1 Jordan FIFA World Cup 2026, Group J, Match 41 | Monday, 22 June 2026 Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, California
Goals: Nizar Al-Rashdan 36′ (Jordan, assisted by Al-Tamari) | Nadhir Benbouali 69′ (Algeria, assist: Mahrez corner), Amine Gouiri 82′ (Algeria, assist: Hadj Moussa corner — deflected off Al-Rashdan)
Algeria: Zidane L.; Belghali, Mandi, Bensebaini, Ait-Nouri; Boudaoui, Zerrouki (Bentaleb HT); Chaibi, Mahrez, Maza; Gouiri Subs used: Bentaleb (HT), Benbouali (HT), Hadj Moussa
Jordan: Abu Laila; Nasib, Abu Al-Dahab, Al-Arab, Al-Rawabdeh; Olwan, Al-Tamari, Al Mardi, Abu Taha; Al-Rashdan, Haddad
Half-time: 0-1
Group J standings: Argentina 6 pts (qualified, group winners) | Algeria 3 pts | Austria 3 pts | Jordan 0 pts (eliminated)
