Jordan and Algeria each fell to defeats in their opening Group J fixtures of
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It’s been a historic occasion to even reach a first World Cup finals, but in their opening game with Austria, Jordan earned the respect of many neutrals with their never-say-die attitude and willingness.
Olwan wheeling away in celebration after scoring Jordan’s first-ever World Cup goal will live long in the memory for those watching on back home. Now, head coach Sellami will hope for a full 90-minute performance from his side to keep alive their hopes of an improbable knockout stage qualification. Rennes forward Musa Al-Taamari, the only Jordanian squad member with elite European experience, will need to be at his best.
Algeria, who have Luca ‘son of Zinedine’ Zidane in goal, will pose a different kind of test. The North Africans could only stand and watch as Messi got his World Cup moment again, firing in three times to condemn them to an opening-round defeat in which they failed to register a shot on target.
Yet the Fennecs did have a seventh-minute goal ruled out by VAR, as Fares Chaibi was only narrowly offside after a well-worked move. Petkovic chose not to start ex-Manchester City star Riyad Mahrez mainly because 20-year-old playmaker Ibrahim Maza has starred for Bayer Leverkusen this term. Harnessing the talent is his goal.
Jordan vs Algeria: Group J
FourFourTwo’s prediction
Jordan 1-3 Algeria
FourFourTwo predicts Algeria to emerge as the victor, with Amine Gouiri scoring.
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