Sasa Kalajdzic headed a 96th-minute equaliser to seal a 3-3 draw between Austria and Algeria in Kansas City, a result that carried both teams into the FIFA World Cup Round of 32 at the expense of Iran.
Riyad Mahrez had appeared to win the match for Algeria with his second goal of the night in added time, but the former Stuttgart striker intervened with virtually the last action to secure Austria second place in Group J. Algeria progressed as one of the best third-placed teams.
Six-goal thriller
The contest delivered a spectacle for the 69,045 spectators at Kansas City Stadium, who endured stifling humidity despite a 9pm local kick-off. Twelve Bundesliga players featured in total, with nine representing Ralf Rangnick’s Austria including Bayern Munich’s Konrad Laimer and Borussia Dortmund’s Marcel Sabitzer.
Marko Arnautovic opened the scoring on 28 minutes, latching onto David Alaba’s lofted pass to lob goalkeeper Oussama Benbot. Algeria levelled before the interval when Rafik Belghali converted a rebound after a goalmouth scramble.
Sabitzer restored Austria’s advantage ten minutes after the break, finishing Laimer’s cutback at the far post. The lead changed hands again on the hour mark when Houssem Aouar assisted Mahrez to make it 2-2. After a subdued final half-hour, the closing minutes erupted when Mahrez struck in the 93rd minute, only for Kalajdzic to head home the decisive equaliser three minutes later.
Knockout fixtures confirmed
The result marks Austria’s first appearance in the World Cup second round since the 1982 tournament in Spain. Algeria return to the knockout phase for the first time since 2014.
Austria will face Spain in the Round of 32, while Algeria meet Switzerland. The latter fixture carries particular significance for Algeria’s coach Vladimír Petković, who spent seven years in charge of Switzerland including their 2018 World Cup campaign.
Iran’s elimination was confirmed as the final whistle blew, ending their hopes of advancing from the group stage.