Argentina
Argentina will aim to become only the third nation in world cup history to win back-to-back world cups following in the steps of Italy 1934 & 1938 and Brazil 1958 & 1962.
2026 will be the 14th Consecutive world cup appearance for La Albiceleste and they qualified with ease in the CONMEBOL section finishing top some 9 points ahead of Ecuador in 2nd place. They won twelve of eighteen matches and conceded just 10 goals in 18 fixtures.
Since sealing qualification the Argentines have taken on some less competitive friendly matches against the likes of Iceland, Pueto Rico and Mauritania and unsurprisingly they are on a seven match winning run scoring 21 times and conceding just the once.
Argentina will be hoping to avoid another shock like they did in the group stages of the 2022 world cup when they were shocked by Saudi Arabia despite taking the lead in that game.
They should be confident of picking up three points from this opening fixture having won the last six fixtures against African Opponents
Injuries & Team News
Lionel Messi will make a record extending 200th International Appearance for Argentina when he captains them in Kansas City on Wednesday.
He will also become the first man to play at Six World Cup Torunaments
Emi Martinez broke a finger playing for Aston Villa in the Europa League final victory over Freiburg so will start in Goal, whilst there will be plenty of experience in a defence set to feature 38 year old Nicolas Otamendi.
The midfield trio is likely to be Rodrigo de Paul, Enzo Fernandez and Alexis MacAllister.
In attack Messi is likely to be joined by Inter Milan captain Lautauro Martinez and Atletico Madrid’s Thiago Almada.
Form
| Last Match | Last 6 Matches |
|---|---|
| 3-0 vs Iceland | W W W W W W |
Predicted Line-Up
Argentina (4-3-3)
E. Martinez; Molina, Otamendi, Li. Martinez, Medina; De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister, Almada; Messi, La. Martinez
Algeria
They will be confident of progressing through the group this time around with 32 teams making it that far, however they will have to improve of the record of just 3 wins in 13 games and only once keeping a clean sheet.
Algeria comfortably topped CAF Group G in Qualifying finishing with 25 points from a possible 30. That included eight wins, one draw and a solitary defeat at home to Guinea.
They head to North America on the back of a 1-0 win over Netherlands and a resounding 4-0 win over Bolivia.
Injuries & Team News
Algeria have suffered a blow on the eve of the match with news that Dortmund’s Ramy Bensebaini is struggling with an ankle injury and is a major doubt to face the world champions, Samir Chergui is on standby to replace him.
Amine Gouiri has enjoyed a very good season in France with Marseille and although he missed the AFCON in 2026 he will return to the starting team at this world cup
Wolfsburg’s Mohammed Amoura enjoyed a brilliant CAF Qualifying campaign with 10 goals and he will join captain Riyad Mahrez in attack.
In addition to laying on four assists, the latter top-scored in the CAF qualifiers with 10 goals from as many games; veteran winger Riyad Mahrez has been less productive of late but will still captain the side.
Form
| Last Match | Last 6 Matches |
|---|---|
| 4-0 vs Bolivia | W W L D L W |
Predicted Line-Up
Algeria (4-3-3)
Betting Odds
| Team | Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina Win | 4/9 (1.44) | Grand Ivy |
| Draw | 7/2 (4.50) | Dream Vegas |
| Algeria Win | 7/1 (8.00) | 247Bet |
Prediction
Argentina 2-0 Algeria
On paper this might look like a straight forward win for Argentina but Algeria are a strong defensive unit and it might take them time to break them down but they should have enough quality to win it late.