With the 2026 World Cup approaching, Algerian football legend Lakhdar Belloumi has revived an old dispute by mentioning the match against Austria, which he considers decisive and controversial in Algeria's elimination during the 1982 World Cup.

Forty-four years after the infamous "match of shame" between Germany and Austria (1-0), which remains in the memory of African football, the former playmaker believes that Algeria was deprived of a historic qualification because of the way the Germany-Austria match unfolded, played in an atmosphere deemed suspicious.

As a reminder, during the 1982 World Cup, Algeria had a perfect start to their campaign by beating eventual finalists Germany (2-1), before losing to Austria (0-2) and then winning against Chile (3-2). But Germany's 1-0 victory over Austria in the final group match sealed the elimination of the Greens, in a game long criticized for its lack of intensity after Germany opened the scoring.

In an interview with El Heddaf, Lakhdar Belloumi reaffirmed his bitterness and symbolically called on the current Algerian players to approach the next duel against Austria with a spirit of revenge.

He believes this match should allow Algerian football to "turn the page" on a painful chapter in its history. According to him, it's a historically significant encounter that must be harnessed as motivation to achieve a victory with strong symbolic significance.

Algeria, making its return to the world stage after a twelve-year absence, will compete in Group J with renewed ambitions and a challenging schedule for its entry into the competition.