Petkovic set the ceiling for Algeria’s ambitions in the World Cup. “We will not return after 3 games.”

The coach of the Algerian national team, Vladimir Petkovic, has set a clear goal for the “Desert Warriors” in the 2026 World Cup, stressing that getting to the round of 16 is the minimum of the team’s ambitions in the tournament that starts in the USA, Canada and Mexico in a few days.

Algeria, who were drawn in Group 10 alongside Argentina, Jordan and Austria, enter the World Cup in high spirits after a strong comeback in qualifying, and Petkovic is betting on his players’ willingness to present a competitive side.

The Swiss coach said in the statements reported by the Algerian “An-Nahar” newspaper. “We will try to be better than all the opponents we will face in the World Cup, and of course we have our goals.”

He added: “We want to go into our first match as well prepared as possible and then we’ll take it game by game and see what happens.”

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Petkovic concluded his statements with a direct message. “We will give everything not to return home after 3 games. Our goal is to reach the 1/8 finals.”

The 2026 World Cup kicks off on June 11 and runs until July 19, with 48 teams for the first time in history, as Algeria hope to repeat their 2014 feat of reaching the last eight for the first time in their history.