43 Days to the World Cup: The laser that helped Algeria advance

The countdown to the 2026 World Cup is on! Each day ahead of the tournament’s return to North America, Yahoo Sports will highlight an insight or moment that showcases just how grand the world’s biggest sporting spectacle has become — even beyond the expanded field of this year’s global event.

In 2014, Algeria made it to the knockout stage of the World Cup, advancing out of the group stage for the first time in the nation’s history on the back of a 1-1 draw with Russia. But the result came with significant controversy, tied to Algeria’s equalizing goal and, of all things, a laser pointer.

Russia and Algeria entered the third and final group stage match with similar points, making the game a must-win for Russia, while Algeria could settle for a draw to advance. Russia scored very early in the match, with Aleksandr Kokorin finding the back of the net in the sixth minute.

Russia held that lead for a while, but in the 60th minute, Algeria’s Islam Slimani found the equalizer — possibly with the help of a laser. As Algeria set up to take a dangerous free kick outside the box, a green light danced across the face of Russian keeper Igor Akinfeev.

It’s unclear whether the laser was enough to distract Akinfeev, who did not appear totally fazed by the light. But moments later, Slimani’s head was able to connect with the ball just before Akinfeev’s hands, slamming home the tying goal.

That goal, and the resulting draw, ended up being enough for Algeria, which advanced out of Group H with four points. The Algerians went on to lose to Germany in extra time in the Round of 16.

The laser was later attributed to fans of the Algerian team, leading FIFA to fine Algeria for the incident. FIFA cited that Algerian fans had used flares and smoke bombs as well as the laser pointer — all illegal items for members of the crowd. Algeria was fined 50,000 Swiss francs, or around $56,400 at the time, for its fans’ conduct, and its football association was issued an official reprimand.