Algeria on threshold of history

Cape Town : After their first-up loss to tiny Slovenia, few people gave Algeria any hope of making them past the group stage at this World Cup.

But a display of pluck, cunning and skill saw Algeria hold overwhelming favourites England to a scoreless draw on Friday, and thus avoid becoming the first nation to be eliminated from the World Cup.

Now, if Algeria beat the United States on Wednesday in their last group game, they have a chance of reaching the second round for the first time in their history.

"I didn't think of the last match," said coach Rabah Saadane, knowing his country should keep their ambitions limited. "We go match by match," he said, acknowledging he had not even thought of Fifa's tiebreaker rules in case several teams end up on the same points tally.

Wide margin

"Against the United States, it is going to be extremely difficult," he said of the match in Pretoria.

Going into the final group games, Slovenia lead Group C with four points, with England and the United States on two and Algeria on one. A victory over the US would see Algeria jump over the Americans and qualify for the knockout stages, unless England beat Slovenia by such a margin that it left Algeria and Slovenia tied on goal difference.

"We were determined to show them we were not just here for the ride and that we have a decent team. Now we have to play the United States," said midfielder Riad Boudebouz. "If we play like we did tonight, we can beat them."

Algeria's qualification demonstrated their ability to prevail in vital matches. After a 24-year absence from the finals, they only assured themselves of qualification by beating Egypt in a playoff.