The opening match of Group J sees world champions Argentina begin their campaign World Cup Defending the 2026 title against Algeria in Kansas City on Tuesday.
Lionel Scaloni’s side have arrived in North America among the favorites to lift the trophy again after an impressive qualifying campaign and a long unbeaten run in the lead-up to the tournament.
Argentina topped the CONMEBOL standings, highlighted by their historic 4-1 win over Brazil, and since then they have won seven consecutive matches while conceding just one goal.
The South American national team is aiming for a place in history, aiming to become only the third country after Brazil and Italy to retain the World Cup.
Meanwhile, Algeria is participating in its first World Cup finals since 2014 after an impressive qualifying campaign. Vladimir Petkovic’s team topped their group in the CAF qualifiers and showed encouraging form in recent months, achieving victories over the Netherlands and Bolivia while conceding only two goals in their last six matches.
The Foxes have plenty of attacking quality through Riyad Mahrez, Mohamed Ammoura and Amine Al-Jouiri, and they will look at this match as an opportunity to prove they can compete with one of the tournament favourites.
World Cup 2026: Argentina vs. Algeria news
Argentina captain Lionel Messi is expected to start after recovering from a hamstring injury, and the Inter Miami star is set to become the first player to feature in six different World Cups.
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has been cleared to play after recovering from a finger injury, while Leandro Paredes and Nico Gonzalez are also expected to be available after recent muscle concerns.
The main absentee for Scaloni’s side is left-back Nicola Tagliafico, who has been ruled out with a calf injury. Facundo Medina is expected to act on the left side of defence.
For Algeria, Ramy Bensebaini remains unavailable due to an ankle injury, meaning Samir Chergui could play alongside Issa Mandi at centre-back.
Amine Al-Jouiri is fit after previous shoulder problems, while captain Riyad Mahrez and CAF qualifiers top scorer Mohamed Ammoura are expected to start up front.
