England opponents Algeria last attened the World Cup in 1986.

England’s second opponents in Group C at this summer’s World Cup will be Algeria.

The North African nation last qualified for the World Cup finals 24 years ago, at Mexico ’86, and made their debut in the tournament four years earlier. And it was at Spain ’82 that the Desert Foxes found themselves the victims of one of the World Cup’s most controversial moments.

With two wins from three Group games, Algeria looked set to advance into the next round of the competition. However, a truly lacklustre deciding Group game between Austria and Germany saw the Germans secure the 1-0 victory required to ensure both European teams progress from the Group and Algeria eliminated on goal difference.

The match was decried as a ‘fix’, with both teams seemingly not trying once Germany had got their goal, but FIFA ruled that the result and outcome would still stand and Algeria were out.

One consequence of the controversy, however, was that in future tournaments concluding first-round games would all kick-off at the same time.