With the competition already underway, the 2026 World Cup has a new group kicking off its action as Group J brings Argentina against Algeria.
It is going to be interesting to see how fit Argentina are for this competition, as they arrived with many doubts in that regard. The main thing is that Lionel Messi seems ready to play in the tournament for the sixth time.
For Algeria, this looks like a great chance to show their talent on the biggest stage. They certainly have the tools to trouble many teams with the dangerous pace their players bring in attack, which can cause problems for a lot of rivals.
Possession nearly even
20' Possession is almost evenly split, with the Argentinians holding 53% of the ball compared to 47% for the Algerians.
GOAAAAAAAAAAAL! Messi puts Argentina ahead
16' Lionel Messi receives a pass between the lines and curls a shot from outside the box into the goalkeeper's top-left corner to give the Argentinians a 1-0 lead.
Teams sit back defensively
14' Neither team is pressing high up the field, with both the Argentinians and Algerians dropping into their own half and waiting when the opposition has possession.
Algerians earn a free kick
11' The Algerians take the free kick short on the left side, but the move breaks down before creating any danger.
Disallowed goal for Algeria
8' Farès Chaïbi received a through ball and finished into the near corner to give the Algerians a 1-0 lead, but VAR reviewed the play and ruled him offside, disallowing the goal.
Messi goal ruled out for offside
4' Lautaro Martínez brought the ball down for Lionel Messi, who entered the box and finished into the near corner for what looked like the opening goal, but the flag was up for offside.
Emiliano Martínez starts despite injury
3' Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez starts the match despite suffering a fractured finger during the warm-up before the Europa League final with Aston Villa.
Kickoff
The match Argentina vs Algeria begins.
The referees
The referees for this match are Szymon Marciniak (Main Referee - Poland), Tomasz Listkiewicz (Assistant Referee 1 - Poland), Adam Kupsik (Assistant Referee 2 - Poland), Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (Fourth Official - New Zealand), Isaac Trevis (Reserve Assistant Referee - New Zealand), Tomasz Kwiatkowski (Video Assistant Referee - Poland), Guillermo Pacheco (Assistant Video Assistant Referee - Mexico), and Armando Villarreal (Support Video Assistant Referee - USA).
Their group
Argentina and Algeria are in Group J, where they are competing against Austria and Jordan. Argentina must play Austria (June 22) and Jordan (June 27), while Algeria face Jordan first (June 22) before Austria (June 27).
The antecedent
These teams have only played each other once, on June 5, 2007, when Argentina won 4-3 at Camp Nou. Argentina's goals were scored by Lionel Messi (two), Carlos Tevez, and Esteban Cambiasso, while Algeria's goals came from Nadir Belhadj (two) and Antar Yahia.
Confirmed lineups
Argentina: E. Martinez; Montiel, Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Medina; Fernandez, De Paul, Mac Allister; Messi, Lautaro Martinez, Almada.
Algeria: Zidane; Belghali, Mandi, Bensebaini, Ait-Nouri; Bentaleb, Boudaoui; Hadj Moussa, Chaibi, Gouiri; Maza.
Algeria's list
Argentina's list
The stadium
The venue for this match is Kansas City Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It has a capacity of 76,416.
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