Algeria fought back from a goal down and beat Jordan 2-1 in their Group J World Cup match after two late set-piece goals turned the game around.
Jordan led at the break despite spending long periods without the ball. Algeria controlled possession with 74 per cent in the first half and reached the final third repeatedly, but Jordan used direct attacks and quick transitions to create danger.
Nizar Al-Rashdan gave Jordan the lead in the 36th minute after Mousa Al-Tamari picked out the right pass. Jordan created six first-half shots from only 122 passes and almost matched Algeria for touches inside the penalty area despite seeing little of the ball.
Algeria moved the ball cleanly through midfield but struggled in front of goal. Riyad Mahrez carried much of the attacking threat while Amine Gouiri and Farès Chaibi found little room around Jordan’s compact back line.
The pattern shifted after the break. Algeria coach Vladimir Petkovic changed his attack and sent on Nadhir Benbouali and Nabil Bentaleb. The changes increased the pressure around Jordan’s penalty area and Algeria began to force mistakes.
Benbouali brought Algeria level in the 69th minute. Mahrez swung a corner across goal and the substitute rose above the defence before driving his header into the far corner.
Jordan still threatened on the counter. Mahmoud Al-Mardi forced Luca Zidane into a low save and Mousa Al-Tamari continued to stretch Algeria with direct running.
Algeria kept loading the box and finally broke Jordan’s resistance again in the 84th minute. Another corner caused confusion inside the area and Gouiri reacted first to flick the ball home. A VAR check confirmed the goal after a tight offside call.
Jordan won only one corner across the match while Algeria won 10 and scored twice from them. The pressure finally told.
The win gave Algeria their first World Cup victory since 2014 and kept their knockout hopes alive.
