Wild finish in Kansas City: 2 goals in final minute, both Algeria, Austria advance
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- The match between Austria and Algeria in Kansas City ended in a 3-3 draw.
- The 3-3 result at Arrowhead Stadium allowed both Austria and Algeria to advance.
- Riyad Mahrez scored first in stoppage time, then Sasa Kalajdzic equalized.
With a dramatic draw in Kansas City, both teams won.
The 3-3 outcome between Austria and Algeria before 69,045 at Kansas City (Arrowhead) Stadium on Saturday night meant each team advanced to the knockout round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
How it unfolded — in the very last game of the global soccer tournament’s group stage, with two goals in stoppage time — will surely become the stuff of World Cup lore.
“I still can’t believe that happened,” said Austrian manager Ralf Rangnick. “I think if anyone had predicted after 93 minutes that this would happen, then they would have been declared crazy.”
The teams seemed content to play to a 2-2 draw. Such an outcome would mean both sides continued into next week’s knockout rounds.
But then the “Desert Foxes” of Algeria scored with three of four extra-time minutes expired. Riyad Mahrez tucked a shot into the left corner and Algeria celebrated wildly.
And, it turned out, prematurely.
As the final seconds ticked down, Sasa Kalajdzic’s header for Austria found the net. This turned out to be the final action of the match.
Mere moments earlier, Kalajdzic had entered the game as a substitution.
When it ended, the teams went to their respective fan bases in the Arrowhead end zones and celebrated. There was plenty to feel festive about.
Austria advances out of the group stage for the first time since 1982 — but as the Group J runner-up gets the unenviable task of meeting powerful Spain in its next game.
“We’re glad we are actually in the playoffs for the first time in 44 years,” Rangnick said. “Austria is actually in the playoffs now.”
Algeria has reached the knockout round for the second time in its history, and gets Switzerland in its next game.
Some pre-game chatter suggested Algeria would be better off with a draw than a victory. That way, Algeria would be aligned with Switzerland instead of Spain in the knockout round.
That’s what happened — but not by design, said manager Vladimir Petković.
“This calculation does not exist for us,” Petković said. “In our culture we must approach each opponent the same way, with strong determination to do well and a great desire to win. That starts with seeking victory above all else.”
The unlucky team on Saturday evening became Iran, which because of the tied final score in KC fell off the list of third-place teams advancing to the Round of 32.
The knockout field is set. A tournament that started with 48 teams is now reduced to 32, and every game will eliminate the loser. Penalty kicks will determine the outcome of games that finish regulation and extra time in a draw.
Kansas City’s next matchup was known by the time Austria-Algeria began. One side of the knockout-round match essentially came down to Croatia vs. Ghana, with the loser dropping to third place in Group L and packing its bags for Arrowhead.
That team became Ghana, based on a 2-1 loss. The next opponent for Ghana is Colombia, which clinched first place in Group K with a 0-0 draw against Portugal. The Colombia-Ghana contest will be played on July 3 at 8:30 p.m.
The pool of teams that could play in the quarterfinal at Arrowhead on July 11 has also been established.
On one side of the bracket, Argentina will meet Cape Verde and Australia will meet Egypt. Those winners will play for a spot in the KC quarterfinal.
On the other side of the bracket, it’s Colombia-Ghana and Switzerland-Algeria.
All the pre-tournament favorites remain in the mix and look strong. Argentina and France, the 2022 World Cup finalists in Qatar, coasted through their groups and were two of the three teams that collected all nine points.
The third? Mexico.
The biggest surprise is easy. Cape Verde, a West African island nation with a population around the same size as Kansas City’s, is the smallest country to qualify for the knockout rounds. Last season, every player on Cape Verde’s 26-man roster competed for different club teams.
Another interesting fact about the final 32: It includes nine teams from Africa, just one short of the 10 African nations that qualified for this year’s World Cup.
This story was originally published June 27, 2026 at 11:29 PM.