**Rayan Ait-Nouri and Algeria produced a dramatic second-half comeback to beat World Cup debutants Jordan 2-1 in Group J at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, keeping their knockout stage ambitions firmly alive.**
**Jordan** made a bright start and took a deserved lead in the 36th minute when **Nizar Al Rashdan** struck an eye-catching first-time finish past Algerian goalkeeper **Luca Zidane** – son of the legendary Zinedine – to give the Chivalrous Ones their first-ever lead in a World Cup match.
**Algeria**, despite dominating possession, looked toothless for much of the first half, with captain **Riyad Mahrez** spurning a couple of good chances, and the Desert Warriors headed into the dressing room trailing.
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**Djamel Belmadi**‘s side emerged with far greater urgency after the break, and the turnaround began in the 69th minute when half-time substitute **Nadhir Benbouali** rose to head home from a Mahrez corner.
Algeria continued to press a tiring Jordan side and eventually snatched the winner in the 82nd minute, when Amine Gouiri prodded the ball home from close range following another corner, a goal that survived a VAR check for offside.
The victory was Algeria’s first at a World Cup since 2014, moving them level on points with **Austria** ahead of a potentially decisive Group J showdown between the two sides.
Jordan, meanwhile, are eliminated with a game to spare, though they can take pride in two spirited performances on the biggest stage in their debut tournament.
Minutes Played – 85Defensive Contributions – 7Tackles (Won) – 6(5)Interceptions – 1Recoveries – 3Ground Duels (Won) – 13 (9)Last Man Tackles – 1Fouls – 2Touches – 88Unsuccessful Touches – 3Dribbles (Successful) – 3(1)Was Fouled – 2Possession Lost – 17Total Carrying Distance – 251.7mCarries – 28Progressive Carries – 3Total Progression – 146.5mExpected Assists (xA) – 0.092Crosses (Accurate) – 4(0)Accurate Passes – 50/56 (89%)Passes in Opposition Half (Accurate) – 29/32 (91%)Passes in Own Half (Accurate) – 21/24 (88%)Long Balls (Accurate) – 2/4 (50%)Expected Goals (xG) – 0.06
Total Shots – 1
**Data courtesy of Sofascore.**