u/GagnDeep

At the 1982 FIFA World Cup, Algeria shocked everyone by beating West Germany 2-1 in their opening group match. But because of the way the schedule worked, West Germany and Austria played the final group game after Algeria had already finished their matches.

Both teams knew that if West Germany beat Austria by exactly 1 or 2 goals, both West Germany and Austria would qualify, and Algeria would be eliminated.

West Germany scored early to make it 1-0. After that, the match basically became lifeless. Both teams slowed down, barely attacked, and seemed completely happy with the score.

Algerian fans were furious, neutral fans booed, and even commentators reportedly criticized what they were watching. The match became known as the Disgrace of Gijón.

FIFA did not overturn the result, but the controversy was so embarrassing that future World Cup final group matches were scheduled to be played at the same time to stop teams from knowing exactly what result they needed.

So Algeria’s 1982 World Cup run ended not because they failed on the pitch, but because two other teams played a result that worked perfectly for both of them.