KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Austria and Algeria drew in a thrilling 3-3 draw Saturday night in what was the winning score in the World Cup group stage finals, allowing both to advance to the knockout round with Iran eliminated from the tournament.
The match was tied at 2-2 in the final minutes, and Algeria seemed to be content with time running out, when Riyad Mahrez scored his second goal about a minute before the end of stoppage time. That put Austria on the brink of elimination, but Sasa Kalajidzic headed home the equalizer moments later and saved Das’ World Cup hopes.
Marko Arnautovic and Marcel Sabitzer also scored two goals for Austria, which finished second behind Argentina in Group 10 to qualify for the first time since 1982. Its reward will be facing European champions Spain on Thursday in Los Angeles.
Rafik Belghali also scored a goal for the Foxes, who became the ninth African team to qualify out of 10 teams. They finished third in the group but will get an easier Round of 32 matchup with Switzerland on Thursday night in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Iran would have advanced as one of the eight best third-place teams had Austria or Algeria won. But when Kalajidzic scored a stoppage-time equalizer to level the game for the final time, it meant the Iranians were eliminated in heartbreaking fashion.
The first three World Cup matches at Arrowhead Stadium saw the Kansas City Chiefs’ home field flooded with light blue for Argentina, yellow for Ecuador, and distinctive orange for the Netherlands. But in the final group match in Kansas City, Austria’s green and red were complemented by thousands of locals who were happy to get a cheaper ticket to the World Cup.
Many of these locals appear to be rooting for Algeria, which has made its training base in nearby Lawrence, Kansas, and has forged a unique friendship with the small college town that is home to the University of Kansas.
Few of these new Desert Foxes fans might know about the ‘Shame of Gijon’.
However, Algeria fans have long been waiting 44 years for World Cup revenge. In the 1982 tournament, it seems that Austria and West Germany stopped playing after the latter led 1-0, because this result guaranteed their qualification at the expense of Algeria, which protested to FIFA in vain and was eliminated from the World Cup.
Some were curious whether the expanded 48-team field would result in “Kansas City disgrace,” because both teams knew from the start of the game that a tie would send them through. Instead, the crowd of 69,045 enjoyed a thrilling match that lasted more than 90 minutes.
Austria scored the first goal when Arnautovic timed it perfectly between the two Algerian defences, found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Oussama Benbout, and overcame a stumble to score his 49th goal in his national team career.
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Algeria responded before the end of the first half with Baghali’s left-footed shot that easily beat Austria goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.
The frenetic pace continued into the second half on a hot night in Kansas City.
Not only did Austrian Konrad Laimer equalize 1-1, sending a sharp pass across the field that Sabitzer finished to restore the lead – and give Iran some hope – but Algeria responded minutes later, when Mahrez scored a perfect cross from Houssem Aouar.
Algeria controlled the course of play, and played the game of staying away from the goal as the fans’ anger increased. But just when it looked like both teams were happy with time running out, Mahrez and Kalidzic provided them with some sustained fireworks in stoppage time.