Who: Argentina vs Algeria
Content: 2026 FIFA World Cup Group J matches
Location: Kansas City Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
When: Tuesday, 8pm (Wednesday, 1am GMT)
How to follow: Get all the latest updates on Al Jazeera Sports
There are six days left until the start of the 2026 World Cup, but many purists feel the tournament won’t really begin until defending champions Argentina and their iconic star Lionel Messi take to the stage.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
After winning the 2022 Qatar World Cup in one of the most dramatic matches in history, Argentina will begin its quest for a fourth title on Tuesday night when they face Algeria in their Group J opener in Kansas City.
Will an aging Argentina be able to win consecutive World Cups?
Lionel Scaloni’s side are aiming to become only the third country in history to defend their World Cup title, after Italy (who won in 1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962).
This was a golden era of Argentine football, with success in the 2022 edition of the Copa America in Qatar with either team winning, but who knows what we will get from La Albiceleste this time around. Are the major players in decline? Will there still be hunger after the era of dominance?
Argentina are used to starting late, having lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia four years ago en route to their third World Cup title. However, the group that includes Algeria, Austria and Jordan should give them a good chance of comfortably entering the tournament.
Messi is looking to make history on Tuesday as the first player to appear in six World Cups, but the star forward, who turns 39 on June 24, has been plagued by a few injuries. Elsewhere in the team, centre-back Cristian Romero is likely to be rusty after missing the final half of the Premier League season against Tottenham Hotspur with a knee injury.
There is plenty of continuity in the team as 17 players from the winning Qatar 2022 national team will return to defend their crown. Argentina’s average player age is 29, one of the oldest in the competition, and it remains to be seen whether 2026 will be the perfect opportunity to add to the South American nation’s storied World Cup history, or whether the team is already on the back foot.
Algeria attracts attention at the World Cup
Gone are the days when teams from North Africa were dismissed as just three points, a common practice among the world’s best teams.
The Phenex have no intention of competing in the 2026 World Cup, nor are they secretly aiming for a third-place finish like they did in 2014, when they took eventual champions Germany to overtime in their last World Cup appearance. This time, Algeria, the 2019 AFCON champion, won eight games to qualify for the tournament and aim to advance directly to the finals.
Inspirational captain Riyad Mahrez will continue to be a key player for the North African nation as he leads his side into the 2026 campaign. Algerian fans are excited about the attacking potential of 20-year-old Leverkusen forward Ibrahim Maza, known as ‘Masadna’ in his homeland and looking to make his mark on the biggest stage.
Wolfsburg striker Mohamed Amoula led the scoring in the African qualifiers with 10 goals and four assists, Man City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri is a central player on the left flank and Algeria are well-trained by Bosnian coach Vladimir Petkovic, who had success with the Swiss national team.
How will the group stage be played?
Group J includes Argentina, Algeria, Austria and Jordan.
They will compete once in the early stages of the tournament. The top two teams in each of the 12 groups and the top eight teams in third place will advance to the next stage, the Round of 32, which was introduced for the first time at the World Cup.
The winner of Group J will face the runner-up of Group H. Spain drew with Cape Verde in the opening match, so there is no possibility of Argentina facing Spain in the Round of 32.
Facing the defending champions in the opening game is a promising start, but Algerian fans are now setting their sights on the final group game against Austria in Kansas City on June 27th.
The match was the first chance to settle the score in 44 years, since Austria’s modest 1-0 victory over West Germany in the final group game in Spain in 1982. As a result, both teams advanced at the expense of Algeria, who had played the previous day.
This match became known as “The Disgrace of Gijon,” and the final group match was to be held at the same time.
direct confrontation
This is the second meeting between the two sides. The last match was a friendly 19 years ago, with Argentina winning 4-3 and Messi scoring his first international double at Barcelona’s familiar Camp Nou.
Form guide:
(Last 5 games, newest first)
Argentina: WWWWW
Algeria: WWDWL
Argentina had a smooth run through qualifying, taking the lead for the first time since 2014 with a nine-point lead over second-placed Ecuador, but with wins over Mauritania, Zambia, Honduras and Iceland in warm-up matches, they were hardly tested.
Algeria, who passed the qualification round in style, defeated Guatemala in March and played a goalless draw with Uruguay, before defeating the Netherlands and Bolivia in their final warm-up games, and are heading into the tournament with confidence. They have conceded just two goals in their last six games.
team news
Messi overcame a hamstring problem to captain the team in his 200th international appearance and 27th World Cup appearance. He becomes the first player to appear in six World Cups, a record that could be matched by arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo within 24 hours.
Emi Martinez, the hero of the 2022 final, will wear No. 1 after recovering from a broken finger (although he usually wears No. 23), but with left-back Nicolas Tagliafico absent (calf injury), Scaloni will have to decide whether to start the returning Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi or Lisandro Martinez in central defence.
Algeria will be without defender Ramy Bensebaini (ankle), but goalkeeper Luca Zidane (son of famous French international Zinedine) is back in time for the start of the season after recovering from a broken jaw.
Argentina’s predicted eleven: E. Martinez (goalkeeper). Molina, Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Medina. De Paul, Fernandes, Mac Allister, Armada. Messi, Lautaro Martinez
Algeria’s predicted eleven: Zidane (goalkeeper). Bergari, Mandi, Chergui, Ait Nouri; Bentaleb, Budaoui. Mahrez, Maza, Amoura. Goiri
Who is the favorite to win the match?
History favors South Americans. Argentina have won each of their last six World Cup matches against African opponents, recovering from the shock of a 1-0 defeat to Cameroon in 1990, which also happens to be the year they last played the tournament as reigning champions.
Algeria, on the other hand, suffered a mixed fortune against South American teams in the tournament, defeating Chile in 1982 but losing to Brazil four years later.
Opta’s supercomputer predicted Argentina to get off to a winning start in Group J. After 25,000 simulations, Scaloni’s team won 68.2% of the time. Algeria had a 13.2% chance of causing an upset, while 18.6% predicted a draw.
Al Jazeera’s dedicated FIFA World Cup 2026 page keeps you up to date with all the latest news, match developments and live text commentary, as well as group standings, real-time results and schedules.
