A rising name in European club football, Algeria's Islam Slimani could be a stand-out figure up front for his national team at the 2014 FIFA World Cup™, and the Sporting Lisbon star says that he and his teammates are looking to leave a mark in Brazil.

“Algeria has never got past the first round, so that's our goal,” he told FIFA.com. “We are flying to Brazil with ambitions. It will be our fourth appearance at the finals. We all know about the victory against [West] Germany in 1982 with the likes of [Rabah] Madjer, [Salah] Assad or [Lakhdar] Belloumi. We all want to leave a trace in the history of Algerian football and follow in their footsteps.”

Slimani, who will turn 26 during the finals, can look back at his first season in European football with some pride. Having signed for Sporting Lisbon in August last year from Algerian club CR Belouizdad, Slimani took a few weeks to break into the Sporting line-up, but once he managed to do that, there was no stopping him.

After being used mainly as a substitute and scoring a number of goals from the bench, Slimani made the most of an opportunity that presented itself earlier this year as he was given a starting role in the team. He scored in four consecutive games in March, including a winner against Porto that helped Lisbon finish above the reigning champions. Slimani ended the season tied for the second most goals on the team, finding the net eight times in 26 appearances - 16 of which were from the bench.

Sporting ended the season in second place behind Benfica, and the club's success has meant that many eyes have been focused on the talented attacking player. “This season, I discovered European football. I am happy with my first season during which I scored decisive goals. Sporting is a great team, and we managed to qualify for the next [UEFA] Champions League.”

But Slimani has put any thought of participating in that tournament aside for the moment as he is concentrating solely on his contribution to the show-piece event of world football: the FIFA World Cup.

The north Africans have been paired into Group H with Russia, Korea Republic and Belgium, whom many have earmarked as a dark horse in the competition. The 25-year-old said that Les Fennecs would not be scared of their opponents.