Gouiri inspires Algeria comeback to keep World Cup hopes alive

Amine Gouiri arrived at the decisive moment, and Algeria turned a first-half deficit into a 2-1 victory over Jordan that kept its World Cup 2026 hopes intact. At the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Nizar Al Rashdan put Jordan ahead in the 36th minute, Nadhir Benbouali pulled Algeria level in the 69th, and Gouiri completed the comeback in the 82nd minute with a close-range finish from a corner.

The sequence mattered as much as the scoreline. Algeria had spent much of the match chasing Jordan’s opener, but Benbouali’s equalizer changed the tone and gave Vladimir Petković’s side the opening it needed to push for a winner. When Gouiri reacted fastest to the set piece and finished from short range, the turnaround was complete and the pressure that had built around Algeria suddenly became momentum.

The result carried immediate tournament consequences. FIFA said the win kept Algeria alive in the race to advance to the next round, while Jordan, making its World Cup debut, was eliminated after two matches. The match was played in Group J, alongside Argentina, Austria and Jordan, in a 48-team World Cup built around 104 matches.

Gouiri’s goal also fit a wider arc in Algeria’s campaign planning. Petković named his 26-man squad on May 31, with Riyad Mahrez presented as the captain and central figure and Luca Zidane included in goal. Gouiri, 25, had said in March 2025 that playing at the 2026 World Cup was his big dream, and he spoke then about the bond he felt with Algeria through Marseille and its Algerian community.

There is still a warning light behind the celebration. FIFA noted that Algeria has kept only one clean sheet in its last 15 FIFA World Cup matches, and that solitary shutout was the 0-0 draw with England in 2010. For Algeria, that makes the late rally more than a single comeback. It is evidence that survival in this tournament may depend on the ability to absorb pressure, stay attached to the match, and strike when the moment opens.