Algeria booked its ticket to the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after a wild 3-3 draw against Austria at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The result sent both teams through from Group J, but it’s the crypto angle surrounding this tournament that deserves attention.
FIFA named Kraken as its official crypto exchange supporter for the 2026 World Cup on June 9, 2026. Meanwhile, prediction markets like Polymarket saw heavy trading activity around the Algeria-Austria match. And here’s the irony: Algeria itself has banned crypto ownership, trading, and mining outright. The country advancing in a tournament increasingly intertwined with digital assets is the kind of contradiction that makes this World Cup fascinating for the crypto world.
The match and what the prediction markets said
Going into the June 27/28 fixture, Polymarket’s pre-match implied probabilities gave Algeria a 28% chance of winning, a 34% chance of a draw, and a 38% chance of an Austria victory. The draw outcome, which is ultimately what happened, sat right in the middle of the probability distribution.
Algeria finished third in Group J, slotting in behind Argentina but ahead of Jordan. Under the expanded 48-team format for 2026, third-place finishers can still advance to the knockout rounds. Algeria’s Round of 32 opponent will be determined by how all third-placed teams across the tournament’s groups are ranked against one another.
