England face Algeria in a crucial World Cup group game tonight. Here is the lowdown on the north African country

1. The national dish is couscous

2. It has a population of around 35 million people

3. A quarter of the country’s population live on less than £1 a day

4. The highest temperature ever recorded the is 60.5C

5. The National holiday, called Revolution Day, is on November 1

6. Algerian singer Cheb Mami sang with Sting on 1999 hit Desert Rose

7. Arabic is the official language, although French is widely spoken

8. Algerian philosopher Albert Camus played as a goalkeeper for his university team

9. Algeria has the biggest oat market in Africa

10. The Sahara Desert covers 80 per cent of the country. As Sahara is the Arabic for desert, it is technically called the Desert Desert