Tuesday October 7, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) — One side is ninety minutes from a World Cup return; the other is fighting for respect. On Thursday evening at Oran’s Miloud Hadefi Stadium, Algeria will look to seal their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while Somalia’s Ocean Stars, already eliminated, chase something less tangible but no less important, belief, cohesion, and the slow rebuilding of a national team long exiled from home.
Somalia, by contrast, enter this match with little to lose but everything to prove. Rooted to the bottom of Group G with just one point from eight matches, The Ocean Stars' focus has shifted from qualification to continuity and building a side capable of competing more consistently on the continental stage. Their only draw came against Guinea in March, but each fixture since has provided lessons for a squad still finding rhythm and resilience.
Head coach Yusuf Ali Nur has turned the qualifiers into a proving ground for Somalia’s football revival. Drawing heavily from the country’s global diaspora, he has blended youth and experience to form a group unified more by ambition than infrastructure.
For Algeria, who top Group G with 19 points, a win would confirm their first World Cup appearance since 2014 and cap a decade-long quest for redemption.
Head coach Vladimir Petkovic has framed the fixture as non-negotiable, telling his squad during training at the Sidi Moussa Technical Center that the “job must be finished here.” A win over the Ocean Stars would guarantee qualification with a match to spare, sparing Algeria a tense finale against Uganda next week in Tizi Ouzou.
For the North Africans, the game carries emotional resonance as well as sporting consequence. Luca Zidane, the Granada goalkeeper and son of French legend Zinedine Zidane, is expected to make his senior debut after switching allegiance to Algeria, a decision celebrated across the country. His father is reportedly set to attend, lending symbolic weight to a team chasing redemption after missing the 2022 World Cup.
Officially,
the match is a home game for Somalia, but in truth it will unfold in Algeria. Somalia’s inability to host at home stems from deeper structural and political challenges that extend far beyond the pitch. Their refurbished Mogadishu Stadium, which was returned to Somali control in 2023 after decades of conflict, Al-Shabab occupation, and use as an African Union base, was reopened in 2024 to optimism and ceremony. It received a FIFA certification for its playing surface but is still believed to fall short of full stadium standards required for hosting competitive international fixtures.”
In May 2025, Somalia sought to alter that perception by staging the FIFA- and CAF-backed “Legends Peace Tour,” a symbolic showcase featuring Samuel Eto’o, Jay-Jay Okocha, and Emmanuel Adebayor. The event, endorsed by both FIFA and the Somali government, was designed to project safety and signal Mogadishu’s readiness for competitive football. Yet, despite the success of that exhibition, security advisories have left FIFA unwilling to approve the city for qualification-level matches.
The venue’s unavailability has forced the Ocean Stars to adopt a nomadic existence, hosting “home” fixtures in Uganda, Djibouti, and Morocco throughout this qualifying campaign. Each relocation has come with financial strain and the loss of home-field advantage, leaving Somalia’s young, diaspora-driven squad without a stable base or the galvanizing presence of local fans.
Tactically, Algeria will look to maintain pressure through wing play and high possession, while Somalia must rely on structure, compactness, and counterplay to stay competitive. If the Ocean Stars can test Algeria’s defense or force moments of imbalance, that may be their clearest path to leaving Oran with more than just experience.
Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. local time (5 p.m. GMT)