The media officer of the Algerian Football Federation, Salah Bay Aboud, put an end to the debate that has occupied the minds of Algerian fans for two weeks regarding Algeria's ranking in the FIFA undefeated streak following the victory in the Arab Cup. Recently, there was controversy over whether the "Desert Warriors" broke the record for the most consecutive matches unbeaten, reaching 39 games without a loss, surpassing Italy's record of 37 matches.
However, it was later discovered that the recent Arab Cup matches were not counted within the record streak, as Algeria played with a local players’ team and under a different coach than the national team’s primary coach. On Monday, Aboud confirmed that the officially recognized number of matches is 33, not 39, as many social media pages supporting the Algerian team had promoted.
Belmadi Counts Only 33 Matches
Salah Bay stated, "The Algerian team has played so far 33 matches without defeat, which is the streak led by national coach Djamel Belmadi, and it should be counted without including the matches played by the second team under coach Madjid Bougherra."
Aboud's statement came just hours before traveling with the Algerian team to the Qatari capital Doha to enter a training camp in preparation for the Africa Cup matches. He expressed Algeria's ability to achieve a new record of reaching 35 matches if they win or draw during the two friendly matches against Gambia and Ghana as part of the Africa Cup rounds in Cameroon from January 9 to February 6.
According to FIFA's rankings of undefeated streaks, Algeria currently ranks fourth and has four matches ahead to break the global record held by Italy, which boasts the longest unbeaten streak in football history since 2018, with 37 matches without a loss. The Desert Foxes are the first Arab team to enjoy the longest unbeaten streak of 33 matches since their last loss in 2018.
Former international player Bou Taleb Said indicated that Algeria is close to achieving the world record and surpassing the 37-match threshold, or at least reaching the second place globally, considering the nature of the upcoming matches against them in the weeks to come. Bou Taleb stated to Sky News Arabia: "Algeria will face Sierra Leone on January 11 in the official matches of the Africa Cup, which is a relatively easy match against the continental champion."
End of Two Weeks of Controversy
The debate began when the director of the Algeria national team, Amin Al-Abdi, stated that the matches played by the Greens during the 2021 Arab Cup were counted by FIFA. This was interpreted by fans of the Greens as Algeria having played 39 consecutive matches unbeaten since 2018, placing them at the top of the undefeated streak record, breaking the global record previously held by Italy.
The Algerian public on social media divided into two camps, with the majority expressing their joy at this statement, while others called for caution and not rushing, considering that the Arab Cup matches were outside the official classification of the undefeated streak. Algerian sports analyst Youssef Azri said, "Algeria played in the Arab Cup matches with the second national team, just like when they play in the qualifiers for the African Nations Cup for locals, so it's natural that the Arab Cup matches are not counted."
