When Algeria defender Liassine Cadamuro launched the ball high into the stands as his country’s match against Russia entered added time, he attracted more quizzical glances from the statisticians than criticism from neutrals.

It is believed to be the first time a non-playing substitute has been booked at the World Cup finals, and it gave Cadamuro tournament starts of one yellow card with zero minutes on the pitch.

If he does it again today when Algeria play Germany, he could find himself with a one-match ban even before his World Cup has started, which even archetypal bad boy Luis Suárez was unable to achieve.

But while such time-wasting antics can never be condoned, many will have sympathy for Cadamuro and his team, remembering the shocking turn of events that prevented Algeria from reaching the second group stage at the 1982 World Cup.

Having beaten West Germany and Chile, Algeria would be denied a place in the next round only by a German win over Austria, who carried a 100 percent record into the final game in group two.

Horst Hrubesch gave the Germans the lead in the tenth minute and match reports from the time tell how the German and Austrian players appeared to be engaged in friendly discussion as they left the field at the interval, perhaps in appreciation of a 1–0 result being enough to take both sides through and send Algeria home.

So it was no surprise that the second half brought no goals, just global condemnation from fans and media, including supporters of both teams as supposed rival players colluded to secure safe passage.

Subsequent analysis of the match by Opta reveals that the second half produced only three shots, none of which were on target. West Germany made only eight tackles and both sides comfortably achieved a pass-completion rate of more than 90 per cent. Algeria’s fans demonstrated their contempt by waving money through the fences.

Fifa’s response was to change the schedules from the 1986 tournament onwards to ensure that the final games in a group would kick off at the same time. Tomorrow Algeria have the chance to take revenge as they meet Germany for the first time since winning the opening group game in 1982 to set up the match that became known as the “Non-aggression Pact of Gijón”.

The Association of Football Statisticians website at www.11v11.com shows that history gives the Algerians half a chance; in the only other meeting, Algeria beat West Germany 2–0 in a friendly in 1964.

Realistically, the North Africans are unlikely to emerge with that 100 percent record intact, but stranger things have happened. They will be under no pressure, they can count on the support of neutrals around the world and those memories of one of the World Cup’s biggest controversies and injustices will give them all the motivation they need.

World Cup six-pack

Biting ban: Fifa’s swift and severe reaction shows that it considers the actions of Suárez to be as serious as any disciplinary issue in World Cup history. The episode is the biggest scar on a tournament largely free of controversy.

Line call: The blunder by match officials in ruling that Frank Lampard’s shot for England against Germany had not crossed the line in 2010 prompted the introduction of technology for this tournament and also raised the question of what might have happened had the same kit been available in 1966!

French strikers: Reports of player unrest in the Nigeria and Ghana camps bring back memories of a strike by the France squad after Nicolas Anelka was expelled from the 2010 World Cup squad.

Vital vote: South Africa lost hosting rights for the 2006 World Cup to Germany after Charles Dempsey, the delegate from the Oceania confederation, abstained in a crucial vote. Dempsey later told of being threatened and intimidated, but he stood by his actions.

Hey ref!: English referee Graham Poll could only hold up his hands and apologise after losing count and showing three yellow cards to Croatia defender Josip Simunic in their 2006 World Cup clash with Australia.

Minute’s silence: The most serious World Cup controversy came after the 1994 tournament. Andrés Escobar, the Colombia captain, was shot dead, apparently as the ultimate punishment for scoring an own goal in his team’s tournament- ending defeat by the United States.

n Phil Ascough, the author of Never Mind The Penalties — The Ultimate World Cup Quiz Book (foreword by Kevin Kilbane) and Never Mind The Tigers, both published by The History Press, was a senior reporter and sub-editor at The Royal Gazette from 1989 to 1992