There was renewed talk about the “Gijon scandal” before the confrontation between Algeria and Austria

The anticipated confrontation between the Algerian and Austrian national teams in the final round of the World Cup Group

The incident goes back to the match between West Germany and Austria in Spain, which ended with the Germans winning 1-0, a result that ensured the qualification of both teams to the second round, while the Algerian team exited the tournament despite its distinguished results, amid widespread accusations of collusion between the two teams.

The Algerian team needs to win over Austria to ensure qualification as runner-up in the group, while a draw is enough to qualify among the best third-placed teams, which is the same result that also qualifies Austria, after the Argentine team took the lead in the group.

This scenario raised fears of a repeat of the “Gijon” scene, as speculation mounted about the possibility of the match ending in a draw that would serve the interests of both teams, despite the absence of any indications of this happening.

A newspaper noted The Guardian The British newspaper said that the memory of the “Gijon scandal” reappeared before the match, considering that a draw would be the ideal result for both sides, but it raises great sensitivity among the Algerian fans who still remember the events of the 1982 World Cup.

For his part, Algerian national team coach Vladimir Petkovic stressed that his team is not preoccupied with accounts or memories of the past, stressing that the only goal is to achieve victory and secure the qualification ticket on the field.

In turn, Algerian national team player Nabil Bentaleb commented on the common comparisons, saying that the current generation had not even been born when the events of the Gijón match took place, indicating that the players’ focus is on the current match only.