Riyad Mahrez declared the match against Switzerland in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup to be his last with the Algerian national team after his team lost 0-2 at BC Place, Vancouver, Friday WIB.
Algeria were forced to halt their progress after conceding goals from Breel Embolo in the 10th minute and Dan Ndoye in the 46th minute. The defeat also ended Mahrez's time with the team nicknamed The Desert Foxes.
"Our target was to qualify, and I think this was a game we could have won. But we conceded twice due to mistakes, and at this level, you can't get away with that," Mahrez said, as reported by FIFA's official website.
Mahrez said Algeria were actually still capable of competing in the match. However, two mistakes that led to Switzerland's goals prevented Vladimir Petkovic's team from securing a chance to progress further.
The 35-year-old still sees positives in Algeria's progress at the 2026 World Cup, particularly their success in reaching the knockout stage. However, Mahrez acknowledged that their conceding record is a problem that makes it difficult for Algeria to advance to the next round.
"There are always positives to take from a match. We managed to get out of the group stage, but we conceded too many goals to aspire to anything more. This is my last match for Algeria," said Mahrez.
