The 1982 World Cup match between West Germany and Austria in Gijon, Spain, is infamous for the teams' collusion to avoid playing Algeria, who would have been eliminated with a 0-1 defeat. The match descended into a farce, with both teams playing square-passes and back-passes to the goalkeeper. Algeria was eliminated, and FIFA ensured that last-round matches kick off simultaneously. On Saturday, Austria and Algeria will meet in Kansas City in a rematch of that infamous match.
Austria and Algeria are both in Group J and will know exactly what they need to do to progress to the round of 32. Both teams have three points, but Algeria has a goal difference of -2, while Austria's is zero. Four points is likely to ensure progress for both teams, one of them as the best third-placed team.
The 48-team World Cup has proved UEFA boss Aleksander Ceferin wrong, with seven teams qualifying for the round of 16 after two rounds, compared to three in 2022. The expanded competition has not been a walk in the park for all top teams, with Uruguay, Belgium, England, Spain, Portugal, and Croatia failing to seal a knockout round berth after two matches.
