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JUMP TO:
- Argentina projected starting 11
- Algeria projected starting 11
- Argentina and Algeria World Cup rosters
- Argentina vs. Algeria odds, prediction
- How to watch Argentina vs. Algeria
Defending champions Argentina begin their 2026 FIFA World Cup slate with a Group J matchup against Algeria in Kansas City on Tuesday.
Led by the legendary Lionel Messi in what is certainly his final World Cup, the Albiceleste are gunning to be the first nation to repeat as World Cup champions in over 60 years. The last team to accomplish such a feat was Brazil in 1962, having won their first title four years prior.
The 38-year-old Messi is chasing the all-time World Cup goal-scoring record in the process, as he sits on 13 career goals at the FIFA tournament, five behind leader Miroslav Klose. Kylian Mbappe, who is 11 years younger than Messi, is also on 14 and looking to reach such a mark.
Algeria were ranked 28th in the world by FIFA coming into the 2026 tournament, having enjoyed a strong warm-up slate where they surprised the Netherlands in a 1-0 victory before blanking Bolivia by a 4-0 score.
The Sporting News brings you a look at the projected starting lineups for both teams, as well as an overview of their World Cup squads, plus odds, predictions, and how to watch the game.
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Argentina projected starting 11
4-3-3, right to left: 23. E. Martinez (GK) — 4. Montiel, 13. Romero, 19. Otamendi, 25. Medina — 7. De Paul, 20. Mac Allister, 24. E. Fernandez — 10. Messi, 22. L. Martinez, 16. Almada
- Injured: Balerdi (calf), Acuna (muscle), Tagliafico (knock)
- Suspended: None
Lionel Messi will be supported by his usual cast of buddies, as this Argentina roster is very similar to the one that triumphed four years ago in Qatar.
The biggest absence is that of Marcos Acuna, as the left-back was felled by a muscle injury while playing for his club River Plate. Leonardo Balerdi was also forced to withdraw from the World Cup roster in the lead-up to the tournament after sustaining a calf problem in training.
Franco Mastantuono was left off the roster after a tough season at Real Madrid, as was Alejandro Garnacho, who was involved in 2022 but did not make the squad this time around after Chelsea struggled in the Premier League this past campaign.
Algeria projected starting 11
4-2-3-1, right to left: 23. Zidane (GK) — 3. Abada, 2. Mandi, 21. Bensebaini, 15. Ait Nouri — 6. Zerrouki, 19. Bentaleb — 7. Mahrez, 8. Aouar, 18. Amoura — 9. Gouiri
- Injured: Ghezala (shoulder)
- Suspended: None
Algeria were forced to replace defender Ayoub Ghezala on their World Cup roster after he sustained a shoulder injury in mid-May that required surgery. They are also without AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer who struggled with muscle injuries this past season on loan at Dinamo Zagreb and was not selected.
Head coach Vladimir Petkovic actually made a number of big calls to leave veterans off the roster this summer. Other recognizable names not included were 37-year-old Islam Slimani, 34-year-old Baghdad Bounedjah, and 36-year-old Yacine Brahimi, all of whom sport 70 or more international caps but have not been called in since 2025.
They do have one big name in the squad in Riyad Mahrez, who will captain the side. There's a famous last name as well, as goalkeeper Luca Zidane is the son of France legend Zinedine Zidane.
Argentina and Algeria World Cup rosters
Here are the names on the Argentina and Algeria World Cup rosters. All caps and stats are correct as of the date of their announcement in May 2026.
MORE: Every World Cup squad for all 48 participants
Argentina World Cup squad
MORE: A complete breakdown of Argentina's 2026 World Cup squad
Head coach: Lionel Scaloni
| Pos | No. | Name | Club | Age | Caps |
| GK | 23 | Emiliano Martinez | Aston Villa (Premier League, England) | 33 | 59 |
| GK | 1 | Juan Musso | Atletico Madrid (La Liga, Spain) | 32 | 3 |
| GK | 12 | Geronimo Rulli | Marseille (Ligue 1, France) | 34 | 7 |
| DEF | 6 | Lisandro Martinez | Manchester United (Premier League, England) | 28 | 26 |
| DEF | 25 | Facundo Medina | Lens (Ligue 1, France) | 27 | 7 |
| DEF | 26 | Nahuel Molina | Atletico Madrid (La Liga, Spain) | 28 | 58 |
| DEF | 4 | Gonzalo Montiel | River Plate (Primera Liga, Argentina) | 29 | 38 |
| DEF | 19 | Nicolas Otamendi | Benfica (Primeira Liga, Portugal) | 38 | 130 |
| DEF | 13 | Cristian Romero | Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League, England) | 28 | 49 |
| DEF | 2 | Marcos Senesi | Tottenham (Premier League, England) | 29 | 3 |
| DEF | 3 | Nicolas Tagliafico | Lyon (Ligue 1, France) | 33 | 75 |
| MID | 8 | Valentin Barco | Strasbourg (Ligue 1, France) | 21 | 2 |
| MID | 7 | Rodrigo De Paul | Inter Miami (MLS, United States) | 32 | 85 |
| MID | 24 | Enzo Fernandez | Chelsea (Premier League, England) | 25 | 40 |
| MID | 11 | Giovani Lo Celso | Real Betis (La Liga, Spain) | 30 | 65 |
| MID | 20 | Alexis Mac Allister | Liverpool (Premier League, England) | 27 | 44 |
| MID | 14 | Exequiel Palacios | Bayer Leverkusen (Bundesliga, Germany) | 27 | 38 |
| MID | 5 | Leandro Paredes | Boca Juniors (Primera Liga, Argentina) | 31 | 77 |
| MID | 18 | Nico Paz | Como (Serie A, Italy) | 21 | 8 |
| FWD | 16 | Thiago Almada | Atletico Madrid (La Liga, Spain) | 25 | 14 |
| FWD | 9 | Julian Alvarez | Atletico Madrid (La Liga, Spain) | 26 | 51 |
| FWD | 15 | Nicolas Gonzalez | Juventus (Serie A, Italy) | 28 | 50 |
| FWD | 21 | Jose Lopez | Palmeiras (Brasileirao, Brazil) | 25 | 3 |
| FWD | 22 | Lautaro Martinez | Inter Milan (Serie A, Italy) | 28 | 75 |
| FWD | 10 | Lionel Messi | Inter Miami (MLS, United States) | 38 | 198 |
| FWD | 17 | Giuliano Simeone | Atletico Madrid (La Liga, Spain) | 23 | 11 |
Algeria World Cup squad
Head coach: Vladimir Petkovic
| Pos | No. | Name | Club | Age | Caps |
| GK | 16 | Oussama Benbot | USM Alger (Ligue 1, Algeria) | 31 | 2 |
| GK | 1 | Melvin Mastil | Stade Nyonnais (Challenge League, Switzerland) | 26 | 1 |
| GK | 23 | Luca Zidane | Granada (La Liga, Spain) | 28 | 6 |
| DEF | 3 | Achref Abada | USM Alger (Ligue 1, Algeria) | 26 | 6 |
| DEF | 15 | Rayan Ait-Nouri | Man City (Premier League, England) | 24 | 27 |
| DEF | 5 | Zineddine Belaid | JS Kabylie (Ligue 1, Algeria) | 27 | 9 |
| DEF | 17 | Rafik Belghali | Hellas Veronia (Serie A, Italy) | 23 | 11 |
| DEF | 21 | Ramy Bensebaini | Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga, Germany) | 31 | 81 |
| DEF | 26 | Samir Chergui | Paris FC (Ligue 1, France) | 27 | 4 |
| DEF | 13 | Jaouen Hadjam | BSC Young Boys (Super League, Switzerland) | 23 | 16 |
| DEF | 2 | Aissa Mandi | Lille (Ligue 1, France) | 34 | 116 |
| DEF | 4 | Mohammed Amine Tougai | Esperance de Tunis (Ligue 1, Tunisia) | 26 | 28 |
| MID | 8 | Houssem Aouar | Al Ittihad (Pro League, Saudi Arabia) | 27 | 19 |
| MID | 19 | Nabil Bentaleb | Lille (Ligue 1, France) | 31 | 58 |
| MID | 14 | Hicham Boudaoui | Nice (Ligue 1, France) | 26 | 32 |
| MID | 10 | Fares Chaibi | Eintracht Frankfurt (Bundesliga, Germany) | 23 | 28 |
| MID | 22 | Ibrahim Maza | Bayern Leverkusen (Bundesliga, Germany) | 20 | 15 |
| MID | 24 | Yacine Titraoui | Charleroi (Pro League, Belgium) | 22 | 5 |
| MID | 6 | Ramiz Zerrouki | FC Twente (Eredivisie, Netherlands) | 28 | 51 |
| FWD | 18 | Mohamed Amoura | VfL Wolfsburg (Bundesliga, Germany) | 26 | 44 |
| FWD | 12 | Nadhir Benbouali | Gyor (NB 1, Hungary) | 26 | 2 |
| FWD | 20 | Adil Boulbina | Al Duhail (Stars League, Qatar) | 23 | 10 |
| FWD | 25 | Fares Ghedjemis | Frosinone (Serie A, Italy) | 23 | 1 |
| FWD | 9 | Amine Gouiri | Marseille (Ligue 1, France) | 26 | 21 |
| FWD | 7 | Riyad Mahrez | Al Ahli (Pro League, Saudi Arabia) | 35 | 113 |
| FWD | 11 | Anis Moussa | Feyenoord (Eredivisie, Netherlands) | 24 | 13 |
Argentina vs. Algeria prediction, betting odds
| DraftKings (USA) | |
| Argentina win | -245 |
| Draw | +360 |
| Algeria win | +800 |
| Both teams to score | Y: +130 N: +165 |
| Over / Under 2.5 goals | O: -105 U: -120 |
| Argentina -1.5 goals | +115 |
| Algeria +1.5 goals | -150 |
- Prediction: Argentina 2-0 Algeria
Argentina do not pummel opponents, as it is not in their DNA. Instead, they are the best in the world at slowly strangling the life out of the opposition, and Algeria are the next team on their list.
While Algeria are a quality side that enjoyed a positive pre-tournament showing, they will find life exceedingly difficult against Argentina, who are methodical and ruthless in their approach. Messi is the man pulling the strings, of course,
Where to watch Argentina vs. Algeria
- TV channel: FOX
- Live stream: fubo, Fox One, Fox Sports app/website
This match will be broadcast nationally on Fox in the United States with streaming options available on its dedicated platforms.
The best place to catch the match is on streaming service fubo, with new customers able to sign up a for a FREE trial.
Fubo offers a free trial for new subscribers, so you can try the service before you buy. Stream ESPN, ABC, CBS, Fox and 100+ top channels of live TV and sports without cable. (Participating plans only. Taxes and fees may apply.)
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