Algeria's objectives going into Brazil 2014 are simple - first score a goal and second hope a new generation of talent can get them to the knock-out stage for the first time in their fourth appearance. Les Fennecs (Desert Warriors) did not score a single goal at South Africa 2010 in finishing bottom of their group.

But coach Vahid Halilhodzic has his team believing advancement from Group H is possible despiote tough opponents Belgium, Russia and South Korea. "The people of Algeria want us to show how far our football has come and that we can play the game in the right spirit," captain Madjid Bougherra said.

"For some of the players it's their first major competition, and it's up to the older members of the team to tell them to give it all they have." After losing the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Karim Benzema in the past to the French national team, Algeria are working hard to attract young French players with Algerian connections.

Two such high level players lining up for Algeria this summer will be 23-year-old midfielder Sofiane Feghouli from Valencia and 19-year-old Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Nabil Bentaleb, who played for the French U19 national team.

The focus for Algeria is getting past the first round. Algeria famously beat reigning European champions West Germany in their first ever World Cup match in 1982. But the Germans then defeated Austria 1-0 in a controversial match which sent both Europeans to the next stage at the expense of the north Africans.

In 1986, Algeria scored just one goal in collecting one point before heading back home. In South Africa, Algeria held England to a scoreless draw and then almost eliminated the United States until a stoppage time goal by Landon Donovan clinched a 1-0 win - and another early exit for Algeria.