Algeria and Somalia get their World Cup qualifying campaigns underway with a meeting at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Baraki on Thursday evening.

The home side are looking to book a place at football's biggest event for the fifth time, while their visitors target a first-ever World Cup appearance.

Match preview

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Algeria were involved in a share of the spoils in their friendly outing against the Pharaohs of Egypt, which ended in a 1-1 draw at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium on October 16.

Djamel Belmadi's men fell behind to Hamdi Fathi's opener just past the hour mark but managed to restore parity through Islam Slimani in second-half stoppage time.

While the Fennec Foxes were denied a third straight win, they are now unbeaten in each of their last 11 matches dating back to November 2022.

Coming up next is the challenge of an opposing outfit who are a whopping 163 places below in the latest FIFA ranking of all national teams.

Unbeaten on home turf since March 2022, Thursday's hosts have established themselves as a real force to reckon with in front of their fans and will certainly take some stopping.

Somalia played out a goalless stalemate against the Libyan Mediterranean Knights when the teams in a behind-closed-doors friendly on October 19.

Rachid Losteque's men failed to find the back of the net for the fourth game on the bounce, but a first clean sheet since 2019 saw them come away undefeated.

Having now snapped an eight-game losing streak across all competitions, the Ocean Stars will be keen to secure a much-needed return to winning ways.

Winless on the road in nearly four years, Thursday's visitors have it all to do as they look to avoid another fruitless outing on the road.

Team News

With 11 direct goal contributions in 13 league matches at club level this term, Algeria's Riyad Mahrez is definitely one to keep an eye on.

Islam Slimani's leveller against Egypt was his 43rd international strike for the hosts, and he continues to extend his lead at the top of the all-time scoring charts.

Farhan Ahmed remains the last Somalia player to find the back of the net on the international scene, and he will be looking to deliver the goods once again.

Said Ahmed Said is set to rack up his 13th international cap for the visitors, moving him one step closer to the top of the all-time appearances chart.

Algeria possible starting lineup:
Mandrea; Mandi, Touba, Attal, Bensebaini; Aouar, Zerrouki, Mahrez; Amoura, Gouiri, Slimani

Somalia possible starting lineup:
Yuusuf; Gigli, Elmi, Ali, Ahmed; Abdulahi, Ismail, Jama; Mohamed, Askar, Awad

We say: Algeria 4-0 Somalia

Algeria boast a vastly superior squad, and it is hard to envisage any other outcome than a win for them. We can see the hosts cruising to a comfortable win come the end of the 90 minutes.


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