World Cup 2026: Group J Preview
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
For nearly twenty years, even as they won the World Cup four years ago, Argentina has been about one man: Lionel Messi. If Los Albicelestes are going to repeat as World Cup champions, it will require an eased transition from the G.O.A.T. to his country's next generation of great players, such as Julián Alvarez.
Argentina 🇦🇷
FIFA Rank: 1st
Qualified as: 1st in CONMEBOL
The Skinny
I’ve talked numerous times in this preview series about the various nations that are synonymous with world football, but to me personally, no one nation epitomizes the World Cup more than Argentina. A huge part of that is because of the fans; their passion is unrivaled, that beautiful sky blue (can I be so audacious as to call it Carolina blue?) taking over every stadium, their roars after a goal like a fighter jet taking off... that will be no different in the coming weeks Stateside, for sure. You may imagine those fans will have calmed down after winning perhaps the greatest World Cup Final ever less than 4 years ago; and it’s true, whatever Argentina might accomplish this summer won't top the highs, the catharsis, of their first trophy in nearly 40 years, and Lionel Messi finally cementing himself as Argentina's-- and the game's --greatest player ever.
But that won’t mean Argentina won't have a pseudo home match everywhere they play, and it definitely won’t make Los Albicelestes any easier to beat this time around. Manager Lionel Scaloni got the band back together, essentially running with an identical squad to the one that won it all in 2022. This has elicited some skeptics and concerns over the age and the legs of this squad, perhaps best exemplified by Messi: the G.O.A.T. is still pulling strings and working wonders, but at the age of 38, is doing so at Inter Miami in the less-intensive MLS as opposed to Barcelona and PSG and the Champions League. And it’s true that some past champions have run into huge issues by trying to run it back with mostly the same crew; Spain in 2014 and Germany in 2018 are notorious examples of this. But if you're looking for a counterexample, look no further than the France team that almost denied Argentina in 2022; or, frankly, Argentina themselves, who waltzed to a 2nd consecutive Copa America title in this country just two years ago. Until this team loses a competitive tournament, something that hasn’t happened since before COVID, they deserve to be the de facto favorites.
The Best XI
"If it ain't broke," etc., etc. Chances are we're going to see pretty much the same XI that started most of Argentina's 2022 triumph, as well as their 2024 Copa America win. 2023 and 2024 Serie A player of the year Lautáro Martínez was in and out of the starting lineup in both those tournaments, but I think will be all the more crucial (along with young Atlético Madrid star and reigning Bronze Boot winner Julián Alvarez) in this era of Messi's slightly withdrawn involvement. It's of course very possible that Scaloni opts for the veteran Rodrigo De Paul or Leandro Paredes in midfield again, especially given the less-than-stellar Premier League seasons by Enzo Fernández and Alexis MacAllister with Chelsea and Liverpool, respectively. But I personally would opt for the young attacking midfielder Thiago Almada, who would slot in nicely next to his Atlético teammate Alvarez, and provide pace to cover some of Messi's right wing as well.
Algeria 🇩🇿
FIFA Rank: 28th
Qualified as: CAF Group G winners
The Skinny
Back in the 90s, when African football was announcing itself as a force, it was mostly a power struggle between Cameroon and Nigeria. Ghana and Ivory Coast arrived on the global scene in the 2000s, while Egypt was cleaning up domestically. Nowadays, it’s Senegal and Morocco locked in a battle for supremacy. But there’s a good argument to be made that Algeria was quietly the class of Africa for the better part of last decade. The Fennecs reached the knockout stages of 4 straight African Cups of Nations, until finally taking the trophy (their first away from home soil) in 2019. As for the World Cup, the last time this tournament was in the Americas, Algeria were one of the biggest surprises of Brazil 2014, taking 6 points from group stages, nearly upsetting Belgium, and only falling in the Round of 16 in extra time to eventual champions Germany.
Now, they mark their return to the tournament for the first time since that showing, ready to make a name for themselves again. They’ve quietly built up a nice little talent pool once again, and the ease with which they cruised through qualifying should put everyone on notice-- this team is coming with full intent to get back to the knockout stages, at the very least.
The Best XI
It's interesting that Algeria's last two World Cup appearances have kind of sandwiched the peak of the career of the greatest Algerian player ever, but Riyadh Mahrez will undoubtedly still play a big role in this side. He's got some good attackers alongside him, in Wolfsburg's Amoura, Marseille's Gouiri, and Leverkusen youngster Maza. The Ligue 1 pairing of veteran Nabil Bentaleb (Lille) and Hicham Boudaoui (Nice) are likely to helm the midfield, and the former's Lille teammate Aïssa Mandi is a captain in the back line. That back line, by the way, includes Manchester City breakout Rayan Aït-Nouri and Dortmund starter Ramy Bensebaini on the left side. Expect teams to desperately try attacking the right side instead.
Austria 🇦🇹
FIFA Rank: 24th
Qualified as: UEFA Group H winners
The Skinny
They’ve quickly become eclipsed and overshadowed by European peers Norway (previewed yesterday), but there were a good couple years there where Austria were the trendy new team on the scene. After not qualifying for a single major tournament in the 21st century, they broke that slump with three successive Euro Cup appearances, reaching the Round of 16 in the last two, and now are back in the World Cup after a 32-year absence. Das Team have also enjoyed a sneaky amount of talent at their disposal in the 2020s in particular, with a handful of players featuring for some of the best clubs in Europe, and they play an entertaining, no holds-barred brand of football that titillates Austrian faithful and football neutrals alike. With an esteemed manager in Ralf Rangnick (the “father of the gegenpressen,” Jürgen Klopp’s favored frenetic style of football), and more than one player that’s played in a Champions League Final in recent years, they’re not hurting for big game experience, and are poised to compete for a group that if Argentina rendered it hard to say "winnable," appears very “2nd-place”able, at least.
The Best XI
Austria named just three pure forwards in its squad, and all are veteran, old-school # 9s. Of them, Augsburg's Michael Gregoritsch could get the nod, but I think the default assumption is that it will be the talismanic Marko Arnautović, still going strong at age 37, now with Red Star Belgrade. Any concerns about the pace and legs up top could be offset by supplementing Arnautović with pacy Dortmund youngster Carney Chukwuemeka in attack, and his Dortmund teammate Marcel Sabitzer is the captain and will surely play a big part in any success Austria find this summer. In tandem with Sabitzer, RB Leipzig teammates Xavier Schlager and Nicolas Seiwald help form a formidable midfield, which itself will play in front of a formidable defense. Tottenham man Kevin Danso finds himself in between an all-time great David Alaba, and Bayern Munich's Konrad Laimer, perhaps the best Austrian player at the moment.
Jordan 🇯🇴
FIFA Rank: 63rd
Qualified as: AFC Group B runners-up
The Skinny
It almost feels like a prerequisite for every group at this expanded Cup to have at least one debutante in it, and Group J passes the test with newcomers Jordan. Jordan's nickname is The Chivalrous Ones, and perhaps that humility is why they didn’t even play in an international tournament until 2004. In the last 15 years or so, though, The Chivarlous Ones have become mainstays at the Asian Cup, and in fact, have built up a solid track record: quarterfinals at least in 4 of their last 5 appearances, and just 3 years ago in Qatar, they made it all the way to the Final for the first time, falling in a narrow decision to the hosts.This is their first World Cup, though, and a massive next step for them. Given the enormous step up in competition this represents, and for a mostly homegrown squad, I imagine being able to play on this stage is scarcely believable to them. It’s all up for grabs, though, and although Jordan will be the heavy underdogs in this group, just one surprise result is all it takes in this tournament to have a shot at progressing to the next round.
The Best XI
Like now the last two 'Arab World' countries we've previewed, Jordan named a roster that predominantly plies their trade in their domestic league. And as I am not a follower of the Jordanian Pro League, I can't speak to just about any of these players, so I'm mostly just going based on national team caps here. Still, this looks to be a cohesive bunch, with the majority from the same Jordanian club, Al-Hussein. Some of the few playing outside the country (and indeed, out of the continent) caught my eye: veteran defender Yazan Al-Arab, at Korean champions FC Seoul. Raja Casablance forward Mohammad Aby Zrayq. And captain Musa Al-Taamari on the other wing, where he plays for Rennes in Ligue 1.
Group Schedule (all times ET)
6/16, 9 PM: Argentina v Algeria (Kansas City)
6/16, Midnight: Austria v Jordan (San Francisco)
6/22, 1 PM: Argentina v Austria (Dallas)
6/22, 11 PM: Jordan v Algeria (San Francisco)
6/27, 10 PM: Jordan v Argentina (Dallas) / Algeria v Austria (Kansas City)
Group Prediction
People's concerns with Argentina are understandable and not unfair, but the reigning champions did catch a break by getting what should be a fairly simple group for them. I'm not quite as high on the Austria hype as everyone else: I think the heat and the age of their squad might make their favored high-pressing style difficult, which is why I wouldn't be surprised to see Algeria take 1 or 3 points off of them. That said, I do think Austria matches up better to Argentina, which is why, gun to my head, I think they will sneak into that 2nd spot on the basis of goal differemce.
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