Jordan vs. Algeria: Head-to-head record and past meetings ahead of World Cup clash

Jordan and Algeria both head into Tuesday's Group J clash at Levi's Stadium knowing that defeat would leave their World Cup 2026 hopes hanging by a thread.

Both sides were beaten in their opening matches last week, as Jordan went down 3-1 to Austria and Algeria fell 3-0 to Argentina, leaving the pair bottom of the group with zero points apiece heading into matchday two.

A win for either side would keep their qualification hopes very much alive, while defeat would put a first-ever World Cup knockout berth beyond reach with one game still to play, but previous clashes between the two nations offer little in the way of useful form guide.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 3

Jordan wins: 1

Draws: 1

Algeria wins: 1

When Jordan and Algeria meet at the 2026 World Cup, the two nations will be doing battle for only the fourth time in their history, and for the first time in the modern era of senior international football beyond a pair of largely forgotten fixtures.

The two sides' first and most recent previous meetings came more than two decades apart. The first dates back to September 1974, when Algeria thrashed Jordan 6-0 in the Kuneitra Cup, a regional tournament held in the Middle East during that period.

The result remains comfortably the heaviest defeat suffered by either side in this fixture and offers little relevance to the meeting in Santa Clara, given the gulf in eras and circumstances surrounding it.

The pair met again in 1988, and this time Jordan secured victory, picking up a 2-1 win in what was a FIFA Arab Cup meeting.

The most recent encounter between them came in a friendly on 30 May 2004, when Algeria hosted Jordan and the match finished 1-1.

Now meeting in the World Cup for the first time, Jordan and Algeria arrive at this clash having not faced each other in over two decades.

The Chivalrous Ones are appearing in their first World Cup as debutants, while this is Algeria’s fifth appearance in the competition.