FIFA World Cup 2026 Group J Preview: Messi's Argentina Prime For GOAT's WC Defence

Last Updated:June 10, 2026, 08:00 IST

Defending World Champions Argentina begin their title defence Algeria, Austria and Jordan in Group J as Lionel Messi and co. look to defend the glittery trophy.

FIFA World Cup holders Argentina begin their title defence in the USA, Mexico and Canada in Group J against Algeria, Austria and Jordan as Lionel Messi looks to play out a Swanson farewell to his beloved Albiceleste.

The sheer eyeballs glued to the fortunes of the Group J could arguably leave every other groups’ engagement rates in the dust as Lionel Scaloni’s Argentine unit, who conquered the world in 2022, go in search of a special feat.

Argentina

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi enjoyed his crowning moment at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar by leading the Albiceleste to a decisive victory over France, securing their third world title. The dramatic final finished 3-3 after extra time, forcing a penalty shoot-out to decide the champion.

The eight-time Ballo d’Or winner will look to defend his title in the USA, Canada and Mexico, slated to begin in June. The South American heavyweights would face resistance from quality European giants including the likes of the star-studded France and the synchronous Spain.

Messi scored twice and Angel Di Maria added another for Argentina, while Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick for France turned the final into a breathtaking spectacle.

Argentina’s campaign started with a shock 1-2 defeat to Saudi Arabia, but they recovered with 2-0 wins over both Mexico and Poland to reach the knockout stages. They then beat Australia 2-1 in the Round of 16, edged the Netherlands 4-3 in a thrilling quarterfinal, and overpowered Croatia 3-0 in the semifinal before finally lifting the trophy after the exhilarating final.

France, the defending champions, fought valiantly against the Albiceleste, but Messi ultimately carried Argentina over the line, cementing his place in World Cup history.

Full squad:

Emiliano Martínez, Gerónimo Rulli, Juan Musso, Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, Lisandro Martínez, Nicolás Otamendi, Leonardo Balerdi, Cristian Romero, Facundo Medina, Nicolás Tagliafico, Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, Giovani Lo Celso, Valentín Barco, Lionel Messi, Nico Paz, Thiago Almada, Nicolás González, Giuliano Simeone, Lautaro Martínez, Jose Manuel López, Julián Álvarez

Manager: Lionel Scaloni

Algeria

The African giants, who boast some familiar names including Riyadh Mahrez, Rayan Ait Nouri, and of course, the legendary Zinedine Zidane’s son Luca, will be present between the sticks for Les Fennecs at the quadrennial showpiece.

The Desert Warriors made it to the Round of 16, during the 2014 edition of the tournament in Brazil and will look to go one better, if not more, at the upcoming iteration of the showpiece.

Full squad:

Oussama Benbot, Melvin Masstil, Luca Zidane, Achraf Abada, Rayan Ait Nouri, Zinedine Belaid, Rafik Belghali, Ramy Bensebaini, Samir Chergui, Jaouen Hadjam, Aissa Mandi, Mohamed Amine Tougai, Houssem Aouar, Nabil Bentaleb, Hicham Boudaoui, Fares Chaibi, Ibrahim Maza, Yassine Titraoui, Ramiz Zerrouki, Mohamed Amine Amoura, Nadir Benbouali, Adil Boulbina, Fares Ghedjemis, Amine Gouiri, Riyad Mahrez, Anis Hadj Moussa

Manager: Vladimir Petkovic

Austria:

Austria, who have a storied legacy in the sport, with a third-place finish at the 1954 World Cup, seemed to have attrition for a while at the international tournament and have been ousted from the group stages in their past three outings.

Ralf Rangnick would look to overturn the fortunes of the European nation, and would look to qualify for the knockout rounds of the showpiece. If all goes to plan, Austria might finish in the top-two in the group, or would look to finish third with a strong showing and make it through to the knockouts as one of the best third-placed teams.

Full squad:

Alexander Schlager, Florian Wiegele, Patrick Pentz, David Affengruber, Kevin Danso, Stefan Posch, David Alaba, Philipp Lienhart, Philipp Mwene, Alexander Prass, Marco Friedl, Michael Svoboda, Xaver Schlager, Nicolas Seiwald, Marcel Sabitzer, Florian Grillitsch, Carney Chukwuemeka, Romano Schmid, Christoph Baumgartner, Konrad Laimer, Patrick Wimmer, Paul Wanner, Alessandro Schopf, Marko Arnautovic, Michael Gregoritsch, Sasa Kalajdzic

Manager: Ralf Rangnick

Jordan

Probably the most unfancied side in the group, Jordan, is making its FIFA World Cup debut. While punters would bet on to finish  bottom of the group, the proud middle-eastern nation would look to disappoint betters in their first-ever taste of World Cup.

Head coach Jamal Sellami’s men would look to give a solid account of themselves at the showpiece and look to fly the Jordanian flag high on the international stage.

Full Squad:

Yazid Abulaila, Abdallah Al-Fakhouri, Nour Bani Attiah, Ihsan Haddad, Saed Al-Rosan, Mohammad Abualnadi, Husam Abu Dahab, Mohammed Abu Hashish, Yazan Al-Arab, Anas Badawi, Abdallah Nasib, Saleem Obaid, Mohammed Al-Dawoud, Nizar Al-Rashdan, Noor Al-Rawabdeh, Rajaei Ayed, Amer Jamous, Ibrahim Sadeh, Mohannad Abu Taha, Mohammed Abu Zrayq, Mousa Al-Tamari, Ali Azaizeh, Odeh Al-Fakhouri, Ali Olwan, Ibrahim Sabra, Mahmoud Al-Mardi

Manager: Jamal Sellami

Fixtures

16 June: Argentina vs Algeria, Group J, Kansas City Stadium

16 June: Austria vs Jordan, Group J, San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

22 June: Argentina vs Austria, Group J, Dallas Stadium

22 June: Jordan vs Algeria, Group J, San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

27 June: Algeria vs Austria, Group J, Kansas City Stadium

27 June: Jordan vs Argentina, Group J, Dallas Stadium

Home Bases

California- Austria (Santa Barbara)

Missouri/Kansas: Algeria (Lawrence), Argentina (Kansas City)

Washington: Jordan (Portland, OR)

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