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Riyad Mahrez scored the 3-2 in the 90th minute, and Sasa Kalajdzic immediately responded with the final 3-3: at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, which qualified both teams for the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup.
The match, corresponding to the last round of the , started with Marko Arnautovic as the main character: the Austrian forward received a yellow card in the 11th minute and scored the 1-0 in the 28th.
Argelia reached halftime with the draw thanks to Ramiz Belghali, who scored in the 45th minute to level the score before the whistle.
At the beginning of the second half, Austria made three simultaneous changes, and the introduction of new players paid off: Marcel Sabitzer scored the 2-1 in the 55th minute to regain the lead for the Europeans.
Mahrez equalized in the 60th minute with a 2-2 score, and the match seemed to be heading towards a calm draw until Mahrez reappeared in stoppage time to score the 3-2, putting Algeria on the brink of victory.
However, Kalajdzic —who had just come on in the 90th minute to replace Mwene— immediately scored the equalizer at 3-3 to prevent an Austrian defeat in one of the most dramatic finishes of the group stage.
Algeria dominated the match with 65% possession and 12 shots compared to Austria's nine, although only five of theirs were on target compared to two from the Austrians. Austria committed seven fouls to Algeria's three and received the only yellow card of the match, shown to Arnautovic in the first half.
With the tie, the Group J was fully defined: Argentina was crowned leader with nine points and a perfect record; Austria advanced as the second qualifier with four points and a goal difference of zero; and Algeria made it through as the best third place, also with four points but a goal difference of -2.
Jordan, which lost 1-3 to Argentina simultaneously at the AT&T Stadium, was eliminated without earning a single point in three matches.
Algeria will have to wait for the conclusion of the group stage to confirm its place among the eight best third-placed teams of the tournament, according to the 48-team format of the 2026 World Cup, which qualifies those eight third-placed teams for the round of 16.
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