The most valuable Vietnamese overseas star in history officially qualifies for the World Cup final tournament

Ibrahim Maza has officially secured a spot with the Algerian national team for the 2026 World Cup before the final qualifying match.

In the 9th round of Group G in the African qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, Algeria impressively defeated Somalia 3-0. This victory brought Algeria to 22 points after 9 matches, 4 points ahead of second-placed Uganda, with only one qualifying match remaining.

With this result, Algeria has successfully qualified for the 2026 World Cup as the top team in Group G, securing their place one match early. Notably, among the African squad is a talented young player with Vietnamese heritage, Ibrahim Maza.

Born in 2005, Ibrahim Maza has an Algerian father and a Vietnamese mother. Having spent most of his life in Germany, he is eligible to play for all three national teams. Although he previously played for Germany’s youth teams, Ibrahim Maza chose to commit to Algeria at the senior international level.

Ibrahim Maza is the highest-valued Vietnamese overseas player in history, with a market price of 12 million euros. He recently joined Germany’s top club Bayer Leverkusen in the summer transfer window for 14 million euros. Playing as an attacking midfielder, he is expected to fill the gap left by star Florian Wirtz, who moved from Leverkusen to Liverpool.

Ibrahim Maza began playing for Algeria during the FIFA international window in October 2024, making his debut against Togo in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. He has appeared five times for the national team so far. In the recent 3-0 victory over Somalia, the Vietnamese-descended player was brought on in the 60th minute after the match was effectively decided.

Explaining his choice to play for Algeria, Ibrahim Maza shared: "I chose the Algerian national team for sporting reasons; I am still young and immediately have the chance to play at the senior international level. This decision was advised by my family but was not easy, as I had spent a lot of time developing and gaining experience with Germany’s youth national teams."