Algeria World Cup Team Preview Odds To Win

Algeria

Odds to Win World Cup: +40000

For just the third time in the history of its nation, Algeria will make an appearance in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Home field advantage may be about the only thing going for the Algerians though, as this is clearly a team that is outmatched against the best in the world.

How They Got Here: The Desert Foxes never really felt assured of their World Cup position. Yes, they won all six of their qualifying matches at home in the second and third stages, but they were woeful on the road. As a result, Algeria only finished one point ahead of three other teams just to make the final qualifying rounds, and needed a late strike to take care of Egypt to advance to the World Cup in a decisive winner take all match.

Player to Watch: D Antar Yahia was the man that sent Algeria to the World Cup. His goal against Egypt, his third on this tournament, was arguably the most important strike in the history of Algerian soccer. In his career with his home nation, Yahia has scored four times in 19 matches, and he also anchors a defense which only conceded eight goals in 13 matches in African qualifying for the World Cup.

Previous World Cup Experience: Algeria was the subject of one of the more controversial World Cup moments in 1982. The Desert Foxes upset reigning champions, West Germany in the first round of the tournament. Going into the final day of the first round, West Germany and Austria knew that a win by either one or two goals by the West Germans would let both teams advance, while any other result would put Algeria through. Many felt the match was fixed, as West Germany took a 1-0 lead early and there weren't any other serious attempts on net for the rest of the match. The next World Cup in 1986, Algeria's most recent World Cup appearance, was a short one, as it went 0-1-2 in three matches and was eliminated.

Key to Advancing: Algeria is simply going to have to find a way to catch either the United States or England napping to have a chance. An opening round game against World Cup rookies, Slovenia is an absolute must have three points situation, but beyond that, it's probably going to take at least one draw, if not either a win or two draws to get through to the second round. There isn't enough offense on paper on this team, so the defense is going to have to buckle down and try to ultimately steal a goal on a counterattack.

Predictions: It'll be another short World Cup for Algeria, home field advantage or not. We tend to believe that there will be a lot of pressure put on the loser of the England/United States match (or on both should that match end in a draw), as we expect the Desert Foxes to use their minor home pitch advantage to take care of Slovenia. But from there, even getting a point from either of their other two matches seems like an unreasonable prospect barring 0-0 finals.

Round 1 Schedule
Algeria vs. Slovenia (June 13th, 7:30 AM ET, Polokwane)
England vs. Algeria (June 18th, 2:30 PM ET, Cape Town)
United States vs. Algeria (June 23rd, 10:00 AM ET, Tshwane)

All Odds for 2010 World Cup from Brobury Sports

Odds to Win Group C
Algeria +1400
England -333
Slovenia +1000
United States +420
Odds to Advance Group C
Algeria +275
England -2000
Slovenia +200
United States -175