Algeria - Team Fact Sheet

10 Tangy Facts about Algeria's World Cup Football Team

When you think about Algeria, you think of the rolling Sahara Desert, the shimmering Mediterranean, the labyrinthine casbahs, the bustling bazaars, and the Islamic faith. But you may need to start thinking of this Arabic-speaking country of 35 million as a nation of footballers too.

Algeria's back in the game! After a glorious run of wins and qualifications in the '80s and '90s, the Algerian side has been dormant - until now.

Back in the World Cup for the first time since 1986, the team looks poised to make Africa proud. Playing on their home continent, anything can happen.

Here's the top 10 facts you need to know about the Algerian football team:

10. The nicknames for the Algerian players are Les Fennecs (Desert Foxes), Moharibou Essahra (Desert Warriors) & Les Verts (The Greens). Desert Foxes - great name.

9. In 1982, Algeria upset West Germany 2-1 at the World Cup, the first African team to beat them in the tournament. But when the Germans played Austria to decide their fate and Algeria's, they agreed to a "non-aggression pact", giving Germany a 1-0 win, allowing both Austria and Germany to go through. If Germany had scored more goals, Austria would have been out, Algeria in.

After this match-fixing fiasco, everyone was furious and FIFA changed the rules so that such deciding matches must be played simultaneously so teams can't make such underhanded agreements. Shame on you West Germany! We got your back Algeria!

8. Rabah Saadane has been the Algerian coach since 2007. This is his 5th time in the position. Either he should be really proud of that fact, or really sad. We're going with proud.

7. Yazid Mansouri captains the Algerian side. A midfielder with the Lorient club in the French Ligue, he was also born in France. Mansouri wears number 23.

6. Algeria won the African Cup of Nations in 1990. Playing on home soil, they topped Nigeria 1-0 in the final. Since then, the Desert Foxes have been stuck in the desert. Time for a comeback.

5. Abdelhafid Tasfaout is Algeria's all-time scorer with 35 goals. A midfielder who played from 1990-2002, his international career ended at the 2002 African Cup of Nations when he banged heads with another player and "swallowed his tongue" on the pitch. How does that even happen?! Thankfully, he made a full recovery.

4. Mahieddine Meftah is Algeria's most capped player with 107 caps. A defender who played for the side between 1989-2002, Meftah also managed to put in 4 goals while he was at it. Bonus!

3. FIFA ranked Algeria 28th in the run-up to the 2010 World Cup, their highest ranking ever. A good omen. The Desert Foxes are peaking at the right time.

2. Rafik Saïfi is Algeria's oldest player (b. 1975) while Rafik Halliche is the youngest (b. 1986). Both share the hometown of Algiers.

1. In Nov 2009, Egyptian fans attacked the Algerian squad on their way to the stadium in Cairo. Four players were injured and they lost the match, making the teams even at the top of their group. (Egypt, what's up with that?! C'mon!) So they played a third match in neutral Sudan where the Algerians pulled off a 1-0 victory.

Scrappy, tenacious, a team to watch.