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STAR WINGER RIYAD MAHREZ GUIDES ALGERIA TO 2026 WORLD CUP COMEBACK

Algeria joins Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt as the fourth North African nation to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Riyad Mahrez starred in their 3-0 win over Somalia to secure top spot in Group G.

Star winger Riyad Mahrez guides Algeria to 2026 World Cup comeback
Riyad Mahrez-led (pix)

All four of the African nations that have qualified for the 2026 World Cup are from the north, including Algeria.

Algeria's 3-0 victory over Somalia on Thursday assured them of first position in Group G in the African qualification tournament and their first World Cup appearance since 2014.

Together with Morocco, Tunisia, and Mohamed Salah's Egypt, Algeria, captained by Riyad Mahrez and coached by former Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic, has guaranteed a place in the 48-team tournament that will be staged in the United States, Canada, and Mexico next year.

Algeria will be attending the World Cup for the fifth time, and they have only ever advanced past the group stage once, in 2014, when they were defeated by Germany in the round of 16.

Nine African countries will advance directly to the World Cup competition draw, which will take place in Washington, D.C., on December 5.

Over the course of the following week, the other five group winners will be revealed. In November, the top four finishers compete in a knockout tournament, with the winner moving on to the playoffs.

Even though it was Somalia's home game, it was held at the Miloud Hadefi Olympic Complex in Algeria, where Mahrez, the team's star winger who currently plays for Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia after previously playing for Manchester City, gave the spectators a show.

The 34-year-old Mahrez scored with a hard shot into the roof of the net in the 19th minute and assisted Mohamed Amoura in the 6th and 58th minutes.

Mahrez was a member of Algeria's roster for the 2014 World Cup, but he only played in the team's opening group match. Mahrez began his international career a few weeks prior.

After defeating Botswana 1-0, Uganda moved three points clear of Mozambique, who suffered a 2-1 loss to Guinea at home, and maintained their second-place standing in the group, four points behind Algeria.

Mozambique will play Somalia in the final round of matches, while Uganda will go to Algeria.

Morocco was the first team from the continent to advance to the semifinals of the 2022 tournament in Qatar, and all of the African countries competing in the World Cup will try to emulate their success.

CRISTIANO RONALDO PROTESTS AL-HILAL'S BENZEMA DEAL BY SKIPPING AL-NASSR LEAGUE MATCH

Cristiano Ronaldo is fuming. Discover why the Al-Nassr star skipped his last match and is now threatening to leave Saudi Arabia.

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Ronaldo "considering leaving Saudi Arabia" despite signing 2027 contract extension

Cristiano Ronaldo has been the main attraction in the Saudi Pro League ever since he landed in the Middle East three years ago. Now, for the first time, it looks like he’s actually thinking about leaving. He’s frustrated. He feels the playing field isn’t level, and it’s starting to get to him.

Here’s the deal: Four clubs in the league—Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ahli—get their backing straight from the state. But Ronaldo sat out Al-Nassr’s match against Al-Riyadh on Monday night. Why? He was protesting. He found out Al-Hilal was about to sign Karim Benzema from Al-Ittihad, and that was the last straw. From Ronaldo’s perspective, Al-Hilal keeps getting more freedom to splash cash than everyone else. They’re the current champions, and Ronaldo still hasn’t managed to win his first Saudi title.

Saudi officials tried to calm him down. According to Diario AS, they reached out and argued that most of Al-Hilal’s extra spending comes from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, not the Public Investment Fund (PIF). Al-Hilal just brought in Kader Meite for €30 million, Saimon Bouabre for €23 million, and now Benzema. Al-Nassr, on the other hand, only managed two free transfers this winter. Sure, they spent a lot more in the summer, but that didn’t seem to matter to Ronaldo.

Reports from Portugal, cited by AS, say Ronaldo’s not ruling anything out—not even leaving Saudi Arabia this summer. That’s despite just signing an extension with Al-Nassr until 2027.

And honestly, he has a point. Since he arrived, Al-Hilal have spent €647 million, while Al-Nassr have shelled out €410 million and Al-Ittihad €365 million. These numbers probably don’t include salaries—and let’s face it, nobody’s making more than Ronaldo. He’s supposed to return on Friday when Al-Nassr face Al-Ittihad, but right now, no one really knows if he’ll play or if he’s planning his next move.

N’GOLO KANTE SKIPS TRAINING AS AL-ITTIHAD BLOCK HIS MOVE TO FENERBAHCE OFFICIALLY

N’Golo Kante has gone on strike at Al-Ittihad after a paperwork error blocked his move to Fenerbahce. Can he still sign by Friday?

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Paperwork error halts N’Golo Kante’s transfer to Turkey at final hour

N’Golo Kanté didn’t show up for Al-Ittihad training on Tuesday, and it’s not hard to see why. He was all set to head to Fenerbahçe, but the deal fell apart at the last minute—apparently because Al-Ittihad messed up some paperwork. Kante was supposed to fly to Istanbul and sign, but thanks to this administrative slip, he’s stuck in limbo. There’s still a shot at reviving the transfer sinceKanté Turkey’s transfer window stays open until Friday, February 6.

Kante was one of the first big European names to jump to the Saudi Pro League, joining Al-Ittihad in 2023 after seven years with Chelsea. He’s been a key player in Jeddah, helping Al-Ittihad win the 2024-25 league title and the King’s Cup.

Then, in the middle of the January window, word got out that Fenerbahce wanted him. The Turkish club were eager to add a World Cup winner to their squad. The plan was to swap Kante for Youssef En-Nesyri, who’d head to Saudi Arabia. Everything seemed set until deadline day, when news broke that an error by Al-Ittihad in the Transfer Matching System stopped the transfer cold.

Fenerbahce didn’t hold back. They blamed Al-Ittihad directly, saying they’d done everything right: agreements with the players, medicals, paperwork, all wrapped up on time. But Al-Ittihad entered something wrong in the system, and that was that. Fenerbahçe even asked for an extension and reached out to FIFA, but nothing moved. In the end, the deal died, and Fenerbahçe put out a statement saying they understood the frustration and would keep working to strengthen the squad.

Meanwhile, Kante’s making his feelings clear. According to Ben Jacobs, he skipped training on Tuesday, still hoping the move to Fenerbahce can happen. Santi Aouna says talks between the clubs aren’t dead yet. L’Equipe is reporting that Kanté doesn’t want to play for Al-Ittihad while he waits for FIFA’s decision. With the Turkish window open until Friday, there’s still a glimmer of hope for Kante, though En-Nesyri’s move is off the table for now.

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