“Football has won.” Petkovic comments on the excitement of the Algeria-Austria match and praises Switzerland sports

Algerian national team coach Vladimir Petkovic described the exciting 3-3 draw that his team achieved with Austria in the last match of the tenth group in the FIFA World Cup on Sunday as “a little crazy,” after the two teams advanced to the round of 32.

Austria advanced twice, but Algeria responded both times. It seemed that Algeria had sealed the victory after scoring the third goal in the 93rd minute, making the score 3-2, but Austria equalized three minutes later in stoppage time.

Petkovic was satisfied with the draw

“It was kind of beyond everyone’s tolerance limit,” Petkovic said.

Algeria will meet Switzerland in the round of 32, where Petkovic will face the team he led between 2014 and 2021.

Petkovic said: “Switzerland is a great team. I know them well, even if there are new faces. Some of them played with me, so I know these players.”

He added, however, that his immediate focus is on recovery rather than Algeria’s next opponent.

“Let’s rest, then we’ll start again to prepare for the next round,” he said, noting that Algeria is still developing as a team and improving from one match to the next.

Commenting on the tie, he welcomed the result, as memories of the “Gijon Scandal” in 1982, when West Germany tied with its neighbor Austria, which led to Algeria’s exit from the World Cup at that time, were still fresh in mind before the match.

“I’m very happy that football won and prevailed in the end,” Petkovic said. “The 3-3 score sums it all up.”