Riyad Mahrez will play for Algeria for the second time at the World Cup at the age of 35. In the fourth instalment of a series on players at their final World Cup, RFI looks at the career of a striker who has risen from modest clubs to international stardom.
Issued on: 01/06/2026 - 11:16
2 min Reading time
Born in France to an Algerian father and a mother with Algerian and Moroccan roots, Mahrez was not on a straightforward path to professional football. He turned professional in 2009 with Quimper in Brittany, north-western France, before moving to Le Havre in 2010. It was during Mahrez's time at the then English second division side Leicester City that he began representing Algeria. He was named in the provisional Algeria squad for the World Cup in Brazil and performed well enough in his international debut in a friendly against Armenia to convince then head coach Vahid Halilhodžić to include him in the squad for the tournament. World Cup debut Mahrez played in the opening group game against Belgium but did not feature again as Algeria reached the last 16, where they lost to the eventual champions Germany. It was not until after the 2014 tournament that Mahrez scored his first goal for his country. It came on 15 October during a 3-0 win over Malawi in qualifying for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. Over the years at the Cup of Nations, Mahrez has scored nine times to become his country's record scorer at the tournament. Mahrez magic propels Algeria into Cup of Nations final On the world stage, he is yet to score. As captain of Vladimir Petkovic's side, he will be central to a squad making its fifth appearance at the tournament and aiming to build on their run to the last 16 in 2014. That World Cup was a 32-team tournament with the top two from each of the eight groups progressing to the knockout stages. In 2026, 48 sides will compete for the trophy, with a last-32 knockout round featuring the top two from 12 groups and the eight best third-placed teams. Veteran and leader Mahrez, who has won 113 caps, said after Algeria qualified that the 2026 tournament would be his last. "Will I play in another World Cup after 2026? I'm not Ronaldo, brother," he told journalists. "2026 will be my last one. I'll give everything I have to represent Algeria in the best possible way." In April 2016, on becoming the first African to be voted English football's Player of the Year, he credited his manager and teammates, who were close to winning the Premier League title. "All the credit is for them, seriously," said Mahrez, who had joined Leicester City in 2014. "And for my manager and the staff. "Without them I wouldn't receive this award and I wouldn't score. It's the team spirit and I want to dedicate the award to them." Further domestic trophies followed at Manchester City, along with a Cup of Nations title with Algeria in Egypt in 2019. Algeria begin their Group J campaign against defending champions Argentina in Kansas City on 16 June, face Jordan six days later in San Francisco, and close the group stage against Austria in Kansas City on 27 June. Three matches, at least, for Riyad Karim Mahrez to make his mark on the right wing.
