The final group stage match of the 2026 World Cup between Algeria and Austria ended with chaos.
Following a Riyad Mahrez goal in the 60th minute for Algeria, both sides seemed content with taking the 2-2 draw.
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With a draw, both teams would see themselves through to the round of 32, with Austria taking second and Algeria third in Group J.
With both sides advancing on a draw, it seemed both were content just running down the clock to full-time late in the match.
From the 85th to 90+3 Algeria would maintain total possession, showing little regard to mount an actual offensive push.
That was until Houssem Aouar exploited a hole in the Austrian defense which allowed Mahrez to sneak through and put Algeria up late.
It seemed Austria’s terrible mistake would end their World Cup run then and there.
With an Algerian win, Austria would fall to third in the group and be eliminated from the World Cup due to Iran’s higher goal differential
However, Austria would receive late game heroics from substitute Sasa Kalajdzic.
Having just been subbed on following the Mahrez goal, Austria and Kalajdzic had little time to keep their tournament hopes alive.
In the 90+5 Austria seemed to have created a scoring chance to tie the match at the death.
But the opportunity for Philipp Lienhart, with just seconds left, would be skied over the bar, seemingly squandering Austria’s last chance.
Austria, however, would get one final attacking opportunity, with failure ending their World Cup run early.
A last-ditch cross into the box would overshoot the net entirely, finding the head Michael Gregoritsch who just barely managed to keep the ball in play.
Gregoritsch’s header would find itself right in the center of the box.
Kalajdzic, positioned perfectly, struck a header onto net, slotting it perfectly into the bottom right corner and drawing the game level at three.
The match would come to an end following the preceding kickoff, sealing a six-goal thriller and one of the most chaotic finishes to a World Cup match in history.
With the match concluded, the round of 32 has been completely set.
South Africa and Canada will kick-start the knockout stage with their match at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Follow Adrian Murillo Silva on Instagram at @adrianms_official
