Goals: Algeria—Slimani 60’; Russia—Kokorin 6’
Recap: History was made in Curitiba on Thursday, seeing Algeria advance to the Round of 16 after a 1-1 draw with Russia.
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It all of six minutes to put Algeria’s advancement in jeopardy. A towering header from Alexander Kokorin gave Russia the early 1-0 lead. Islam Slimani would eventually respond with one of his own, polishing off a Yacine Brahimi cross in the 60th minute. Algeria would hold on from there and secure its first ever qualification to the knockout round.
Key Moment: It wasn’t just the key moment of the match, it was the key moment in the history of Algerian football. But Slimani's match-winner wouldn’t have been created if not for Aleksei Kozlov’s yellow-card foul just a moment before. Never gift a dangerous set-piece.
Man of the Match: Algeria’s Yacine Brahimi did more than provide the assist on Thursday. The 24-year-old was nuisance, finishing the match with three key passes and was fouled more than any other player on the pitch (four).
Lesson Learned: Paying coach’s high salaries doesn’t guarantee results. With Russia’s elimination, head coach Fabio Capello ($11.2 million) suffered the same fate as England’s Roy Hodgson ($5.8 million) and Italy’s Cesare Prandelli ($4.3 million). The three highest-paid coaches are on a plane ride home from Brazil. Money not well spent.
Up Next: Algeria faces Germany on June 30 in the Round of 16, while Russia returns home to prepare for the 2016 European cup.
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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