Messi, Argentina begin World Cup title defence against Algeria: All to know

The Fennecs are not heading to World Cup 2026 and trying to sneak a third-place finish as they did in their last World Cup appearance in 2014 when they took eventual winners Germany to extra time. This time, Algeria – the 2019 AFCON winners – qualified for the tournament with a record eight wins and are aiming for direct entry into the knockout stage.

Inspirational captain Riyad Mahrez will lead his team into the 2026 campaign and remains a key player for the North African nation. Algeria fans are excited by the attacking potential of 20-year-old Leverkusen forward Ibrahim Maza, who is looking to make a name for himself on the biggest stage and is known as “Mazadona” in his country.

Wolfsburg striker Mohamed Amoura led the scoring in African qualifying with 10 goals and four assists while Man City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri is a key player on the left flank, and Algeria have been well drilled by Bosnian coach Vladimir Petkovic, who enjoyed success with Switzerland.

Algeria fans are hoping young forward Ibrahim Maza has a breakout tournament at World Cup 2026 [Mosa’ab Elshamy/AP]

How does the group stage work?

Argentina, Algeria, Austria and Jordan are in Group J.

They will play each other once in the initial stage of the tournament. The top two teams from each of the 12 groups – along with the eight best third-placed teams – will proceed to the next phase, the round of 32, which has been introduced at the World Cup for the first time.

The winners of Group J will face the runners-up in Group H. After Spain’s opening game draw against Cape Verde, that means an Argentina vs Spain clash in the round of 32 is not out of the equation.

While facing the defending champions in their opening game is a high-profile start, Algerian fans have their sights set on their final group game against Austria in Kansas City on June 27.

It offers the chance to settle a score 44 years in the making after Austria played out a low-key 1-0 defeat against West Germany in the final group game in Spain in 1982, a result that ensured both sides went through at the expense of Algeria, who had played the previous day.

The game became known as “the Disgrace of Gijon” and led to final group matches being played simultaneously.

Head-to-head

This will be just the second meeting of these sides. The previous one came in a friendly 19 years ago when Messi scored his first international double in a 4-3 win for Argentina played in his familiar confines of the Camp Nou in Barcelona.

Form guide:

(Last five games, latest first)

Argentina: W-W-W-W-W

Algeria: W-W-D-W-L

Argentina cruised through qualifying, finishing nine points clear of second-placed Ecuador to top the table for the first time since 2014, but their warm-up games have hardly offered a stern test with wins against Mauritania, Zambia, Honduras and Iceland.

After qualifying in style, Algeria are coming into the tournament with confidence, overcoming the Netherlands and Bolivia in their final warm-up matches after having thrashed Guatemala and played out a goalless draw with Uruguay in March. They have conceded only twice in their past six matches.

Argentina midfielder Rodrigo De Paul, front left; forward Lionel Messi, front right; and midfielder Leandro Paredes, right, take part in a training session at the Sporting KC Training Center in Kansas City on June 15, 2026 [Juan Mabromate/AFP]

Team news

Messi has overcome hamstring issues and will captain the side during his 200th international appearance and record 27th at the World Cup. He becomes the first man to play at six World Cups although old rival Cristiano Ronaldo could match that mark less than 24 hours later.

Emi Martinez, hero of the 2022 final, has recovered from a broken finger and will be in jersey #1 (although he usually wears #23), but left back Nicolas Tagliafico will miss the game (calf injury), and Scaloni will have a decision to make about whether to start fit-again Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi or Lisandro Martinez in central defence.

Algeria are set to miss defender Ramy Bensebaini (ankle), but goalkeeper Luca Zidane – the son of famous France player Zinedine – has recovered from a broken jaw in time to start.

Argentina’s predicted XI: E Martinez (goalkeeper); Molina, Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Medina; De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister, Almada; Messi, Lautaro Martinez

Algeria’s predicted XI: Zidane (goalkeeper); Belghali, Mandi, Chergui, Ait-Nouri; Bentaleb, Boudaoui; Mahrez, Maza, Amoura; Gouiri

Who is the favourite to win the match?

History favours the South Americans. Argentina have won each of their last six World Cup matches against African opponents, rebounding from their shock 1-0 defeat to Cameroon in 1990, which happens to coincide with the last time they entered the tournament as reigning champions.

Algeria, meanwhile, have enjoyed mixed fortunes against South American sides at the tournament, beating Chile in 1982 before losing to Brazil four years later.

Opta’s supercomputer predicted Argentina would make a winning start in Group J. After 25,000 simulations, Scaloni’s side emerged victorious 68.2 percent of the time. Algeria were given a 13.2 percent chance of causing an upset while a draw was the outcome in 18.6 percent of the projections.

You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated FIFA World Cup 2026 page with all the latest news, match build-up and live text commentary and keep up to date with group standings, real-time match results and schedules.