AFCON 2022: Algeria undefeated matches streak ends but FIFA records raise questions

As Algeria entered the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations, the team was under the impression that it was well within reach of setting a new international football record at the event.

That isn't going to happen after a shocking loss to Equatorial Guinea in group play. Even without that loss, the new world-record streak would not have been possible according to FIFA's official statistics.

The longest ever national team unbeaten streak currently sits at 37 games, set recently by an Italy team that went three years without a loss from 2018 to 2021. Prior to its loss to Equatorial Guinea, the Algerian federation claimed that its undefeated run stood at 35 matches, just three away from setting a new record.

MORE: Updated AFCON 2022 schedule & results

But when contacted by Sporting News prior to Algeria's AFCON 2022 opener, FIFA confirmed that its official stats had Algeria's streak at 24 matches (extended to 25 matches after the opening AFCON draw vs. Sierra Leone).

What was the discrepancy between FIFA's number and Algeria's number? It hinges on the 3-0 loss to Morocco on October 19, 2019 that the Algerian federation is not factoring into its streak calculations. However, FIFA is choosing not to overlook that result.

Algeria's undefeated streak ends: 25 or 35 matches?

Until the loss to Equatorial Guinea, the October 2019 defeat to Morocco was the only blemish attributed to Algeria in over three years of action since a distant 1-0 defeat to Benin in an October 2018 AFCON qualifier. But the Algerian federation did not count the Morocco loss as part of the senior first team's record.

That's because the defeat came in a competition called the African Nations Championship — popularly referred to as CHAN, not to be confused with the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) — and CHAN is a tournament that is restricted exclusively to players who ply their trade in the domestic leagues of each participating country (e.g. Algerian players who play in the Algerian league). In fact, the Fennec Foxes also discarded the 0-0 result from the first leg of that series against Morocco for the same reason: It did not feature the full Algerian team or any of its European-based stars.

Similarly, Algeria was not counting the six matches played in the recently concluded 2021 FIFA Arab Cup in December since it sent a secondary team to that tournament. (Top clubs around the world were not required to release players for the event.) Algeria nonetheless won the Arab Cup and didn't lose a single match (4W-0L-2D). And although those six matches would have theoretically helped extend its undefeated streak, Algeria did not include them since they didn't feature the first team. The Fennec Foxes didn't even send their regular head coach, Djamel Belmadi, to manage that team. 

هنيئا 🎊لمنتخبنا الوطني 🇩🇿 !
ببلوغه المباراة 35 دون هزيمة.
إلى الأمام يا أبطال 💪🏼 #TeamAlgeria #teamdz 🇩🇿 #LesFennecs #TotalEnergiesAFCON pic.twitter.com/jRosMc4txl

— FAF-Fédération Algérienne de Football (@LesVerts) January 11, 2022

But FIFA confirmed to Sporting News that its count was in fact different, pointing to the CHAN loss against Morocco. FIFA did not discard the results in CHAN or the FIFA Arab Cup, especially since the latter was a FIFA tournament.

The table below featuring Algeria's match list illustrates how the two organizations were not in full agreement on the count (Asterisks indicate the matches at the center of the discrepancy. Losses are noted in bold): 

The only match that FIFA and Algeria were in agreement about excluding was the June 2021 friendly against Liberia, which like the FIFA Arab Cup and the matches against Morocco, featured a secondary team of players and the assistant coach serving as the head coach.

That second team is what the Algerian federation calls its A' team, which is distinct from its A team (no apostrophe). The two teams have different sections on Algeria's official site, another sign that the federation treats them as two different squads.

Algeria was drawn in an AFCON 2022 group with Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and Equatorial Guinea, and based on Algeria's numbers, it was theoretically hoping to advance undefeated to the Round of 16 and then break Italy's record with a win or draw at that stage.

Argentina eyes record undefeated record next

Argentina is also on an unbeaten streak of its own that includes Lionel Messi's first major international trophy with the conquest at the 2021 Copa America. Lionel Scaloni's men are currently at 27 matches and counting without tasting defeat.

Barring the addition of any more fixtures, Argentina has four more South American World Cup qualifiers in front of it which could see it equal its own all-time national team record unbeaten streak (31) if it can maintain an unblemished record through the meeting against Ecuador on March 29. It will need several more matches after that to catch Italy.

Argentina has already secured 2022 World Cup qualification with four matches left to play. (The Brazil vs. Argentina qualifier was suspended after 10 minutes by local health authorities and has not been rescheduled.)

Longest unbeaten streaks in international football

So it's still Italy is atop the all-time longest undefeated streak list for now, but it's possible that Argentina could overtake it. It's remarkable to see three nations in three different regions achieve these extended stretches of success at virtually the same time. History has shown that this is not such a common occurrence.

MORE: When will Lionel Messi return from COVID-19?

The list of longest unbeaten streaks in global football includes some of the world's great footballing nations, featuring both European and South American powerhouses.

By its own estimation, defending AFCON 2019 champion Algeria was in this elite company though the world body didn't see it quite the same way.

The issue of which matches count and which don't has come up in the case of other teams.

Italy's record streak in the 1930s, which lasted for over 50 years, discarded a match that the Italians were losing to Austria 2-0 before it was abandoned due to crowd trouble.

What's controversial about Brazil's run (1993-96) is that many argue the streak-snapping loss to Mexico should not have counted since it came in the 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup final with what was practically a Brazil Under-23 team preparing to play in the Olympics.

Removing the three wins and one loss that Brazil suffered in that 1996 Gold Cup, Brazil would have reached 40 games unbeaten before its following full-strength loss. But since FIFA officially counted those Gold Cup matches, the loss to Mexico could not be discarded.

Brazil's case didn't hold water with FIFA. And Algeria's probably wouldn't have either.