How the Disgrace of Gijon changed football
Channel: What If Football
Date: 2020-01-02

Algeria had finally come to prominence in the footballing world. They made the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations final, in a defeat to Nigeria and made subsequent World Cup tournaments in 1982 and 1986. They'd beaten European Champions and former two-time World Champions West Germany in the opener. But then, heartbreak. Austria and West Germany signed a non-aggression pact ahead of the final game. With Algeria having lost to Chile the previous day, West Germany needed a win with Austria could qualify with a one-goal loss. Guess what happened.

The Disgrace of Gijon happened. Algeria wouldn't qualify for the knockout stage of a World Cup until 2014 where they were beaten by (yes, of course) Germany.

Check out more content on our social channels here:
Twitter: twitter.com/Whatif_YouTube

Narrated, Written and Edited by Jake Doyle (@jakedoyle93)

All Images Courtesy of Getty Images.