Algiers, June 27 (ANI): Algerians lit off fireworks and cheered wildly as the country's national team made it to the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time with the equaliser in a 1-1 draw against Russia. On a momentous night for the North Africans, who were the last team through to the knockout round, Islam Slimani rose to the occasion and nodded home in the 60th minute to cancel out Alexander Kokorin's sixth-minute header. Thousands of fans who watched the game on a giant screen in the centre of Algiers clapped and waved national flags. There was controversy surrounding the Algerian goal, however, with Russian's Italian coach Fabio Capello complaining that goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev had been distracted by a laser beam shone from the crowd. Television images seemed to back up his assertion, with what appeared to be green beams flashing across the keeper's body as he tried to reach the cross.