Algeria striker Islam Slimani has revealed that his team's belief in their own ability helped them reach the knockout stages of the World Cup finals in Brazil.

Slimani's goal earned Algeria a 1-1 draw with Russia to secure the Desert Foxes a place in the last 16 for the first time in their history, and the Sporting Lisbon forward has admitted that qualifying from their group is a "dream come true".

The 26-year-old told FIFA.com: "Things went really well for us in our previous game and we knew that we were in with a good chance.

"We got it into our heads that we could do it and we did. It was a really important goal, because we started the game badly.

"They scored very early and that changed everything. We kept believing in ourselves and fought for every ball. I'd said that reaching the next round was more than just a mission, it was a dream, so to achieve it is a dream come true."

Algeria will now face Germany in Porto Alegre on Monday night.

Written by
Darren Plant