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Who: Argentina vs Austria
Content: 2026 FIFA World Cup Group J matches
Location: Dallas Stadium, Dallas, Texas
Date and time: Monday, 12pm local time (17:00 GMT)
How to follow: Get everything ready on Al Jazeera Sports from 14:00 GMT ahead of the live text commentary stream.
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Hat-trick hero Lionel Messi will return to action on Monday when defending World Cup champions Argentina take on Austria in the second Group J match in Dallas, USA.
Messi proved age is just a number as he stunned the world with more magic against Algeria in Kansas City. The 38-year-old, playing in his sixth World Cup, scored all three goals as Argentina easily defeated their North African opponents.
Austria should be a stronger opponent for the South American giants, with Ralf Rangnick’s side defeating Jordan in their first group game.
Both teams arrive in Kansas City knowing that a victory will almost guarantee them a spot in the final round.
Magical Messi shines again
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick in the opening game of the tournament, helping Argentina defend its title and joining Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.
His three goals marked his first hat-trick in a FIFA tournament, and the Argentine superstar had yet another goal ruled out for offside. He currently has 16 goals in the World Cup.
The iconic Argentine number 10, who spent most of his club career in Spain with Barcelona before joining French giants Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), is currently plying his trade with Inter Miami in US football’s Major League Soccer.
The appearance against Algeria was the 200th match of his international career, which began in 2005 at the age of 18.
Despite his hat-trick heroics against North Africa, Algeria complained that Messi should have been sent off for standing on captain Aissa Mandy’s calf. They then filed a formal complaint with FIFA’s Referees Committee.
Austria recognizes threats beyond Messi
In preparation for the encounter, Austrian captain David Alaba emphasized that Argentina’s quality goes far beyond the talismanic midfielder.
“We know what kind of opponents we will be playing against and what quality they have besides Messi, but we also know what they are capable of as a team,” he told reporters.
Austria will be hoping their organized pressing game will disrupt Argentina’s rhythm and strengthen their credentials as group favorites.
The European team ended up winning 3-1 against Jordan in the opening game of Group J, with veteran striker Marko Arnautovic converting a penalty in the 102nd minute to seal the victory.
Argentina assistant coach Pablo Aimar warned that Austria would pose another challenge for Algeria, saying Rangnick’s side were a physical team that could cause problems despite Argentina’s strong start.
“Austria is a very tough team, as you can see with the majority of teams participating in this World Cup,” he said in an interview with FIFA.
Argentina vs Austria prediction
Opta’s supercomputer, which provides statistics, ranks Argentina as the favorites for the match, giving them a 60.1% chance of beating Austria.
The draw rate is 22.4 percent, and Austria’s chance of beating the defending champions is just 17.6 percent.
Opta currently ranks Argentina as the fourth favorite to win the World Cup.
Argentina vs Austria: live stream, kick-off time
Argentina: Telefe, TV Publica and TyC Sports (2pm Argentina time) Austria: ORF and ServusTV (7pm CET) UK: BBC One and BBC iPlayer (6pm BST) USA: Fox Sports and Telemundo (1pm EDT)
What is Group J’s position?
Group J includes Argentina, Austria, Algeria and Jordan.
Argentina and Austria both have three points, with Argentina leading on goal difference.
Jordan and Algeria remain irrelevant, with Middle Eastern countries in third place and Algeria in last place.
The top two teams in each of the 12 groups and the top eight teams in third place advance to the next stage, the Round of 32, which was first introduced at the World Cup.
form guide
(From the past 5 games, latest results)
Argentina: WWWWW
Austria: WWWWD
Both teams are coming into this match in good form.
Argentina have won their last eight matches, keeping a clean sheet in all but one of them.
On the other hand, Austria is also in good form, having won all of their friendly matches before the World Cup.
Argentina vs Austria: Head to head
These two teams have never faced each other in a competitive match.
The two sides have only previously met twice, in a friendly in Vienna, with Argentina winning 5-1 in 1980 and drawing 1-1 ten years later.
team news
Argentina’s right-back Gonzalo Montiel is suffering from a hamstring problem and his availability is questionable. If he is absent, Nahuel Molina is likely to take his place.
Austria also have problems at right-back, with Stefan Posch unlikely to feature due to a broken jaw.
Marko Arnautovic is expected to start the attack after coming on as a substitute against Jordan.
Argentina’s projected lineup:
Emi Martinez (goalkeeper); Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Facundo Medina. Rodrigo de Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandes, Thiago Almada. Lionel Messi (captain), Lautaro Martinez.
Austria’s expected lineup:
Alexander Schlager (goalkeeper); Konrad Reimer, Philipp Lienhardt, David Alaba (captain), Philipp Mwen. Nicola Seiwald, Xaver Schlager. Romano Schmidt, Carney Chukwuemeka, Marcel Sabitzer. Sasa Karadzic.
