Home / Schedule / Argentina vs Algeria Group Stage · Group J · Mundial 2026
Argentina 3 - 0
Algeria Argentina vs Algeria: time, TV channel and stadium Group Stage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 · Tuesday, June 16, 2026 · 21:00 ET · GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City.
Match preview The world champions begin the defence of their title. Argentina, winners of Qatar 2022, open against Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City carrying the heaviest tag of the tournament: the team to beat. La Albiceleste hold three stars (1978, 1986 and 2022) and face a Group J completed by Austria and Jordan, aiming for a solid start that avoids early scares.
Algeria return to a World Cup with memories of Brazil 2014, their best showing, when they reached the round of 16 and went toe to toe with the powers. The Fennecs are not regulars on this stage, so facing the defending champions on opening day is both a huge challenge and a showcase. Springing a surprise against Argentina would immediately boost their qualification hopes.
Goals and cards Argentina (3) Lionel Messi 17' Lionel Messi 60' Lionel Messi 76' Algeria (0) Goals Match center
Lineups, changes and statistics ESPN 22 starters Argentina 4-4-2 Starting XI 23 Emiliano Martínez G 6 Lisandro Martínez CD-L 13 Cristian Romero CD-R ↓ 25 Facundo Medina LB 4 Gonzalo Montiel RB ↓ 24 Enzo Fernández CM-L 20 Alexis Mac Allister CM-R 16 Thiago Almada LM ↓ 7 Rodrigo De Paul RM 22 Lautaro Martínez CF-L ↓ 10 Lionel Messi CF-R ↓ Substitutes 3 Nicolás Tagliafico SUB 11 Giovani Lo Celso SUB 1 Juan Musso SUB 17 Giuliano Simeone SUB 5 Leandro Paredes SUB 8 Valentín Barco SUB 9 Julián Álvarez SUB ↑ 15 Nico González SUB ↑ 26 Nahuel Molina SUB ↑ 18 Nico Paz SUB ↑ 21 José Manuel López SUB 2 Marcos Senesi SUB 12 Gerónimo Rulli SUB 19 Nicolás Otamendi SUB ↑ 14 Exequiel Palacios SUB Algeria 4-3-3 Starting XI 23 Luca Zidane G 21 Ramy Bensebaini CD-L 2 Aïssa Mandi CD-R 15 Rayan Aït-Nouri LB 17 Rafik Belghali RB 19 Nabil Bentaleb CM ↓ 22 Ibrahim Maza LM 14 Hicham Boudaoui RM ↓ 9 Amine Gouiri F ↓ 10 Farès Chaïbi LF 11 Anis Hadj Moussa RF ↓ Substitutes 7 Riyad Mahrez SUB ↑ 12 Nadhir Benbouali SUB 13 Jaouen Hadjam SUB 5 Zineddine Belaïd SUB 1 Melvin Mastil SUB 25 Farès Ghedjemis SUB 4 Mohamed Amine Tougai SUB 8 Houssem Aouar SUB ↑ 24 Yassine Titraoui SUB 20 Adil Boulbina SUB ↑ 26 Samir Chergui SUB 3 Achraf Abada SUB 18 Mohamed Amoura SUB ↑ 16 Oussama Benbot SUB 6 Ramiz Zerrouki SUB ↑ 10 45' 55' 55' 64' 64' 64' 80' 80' 81' 82' 28 Argentina Algeria
13 Fouls 8
0 Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0
3 Offsides 1
2 Corner Kicks 2
0 Saves 3
47.8 Possession 52.2
10 SHOTS 7
6 ON GOAL 1
0.6 On Target % 0.0
0 Penalty Goals 0
0 Penalty Kicks Taken 0
504 Accurate Passes 563
561 Passes 609
0.9 Pass Completion % 0.9
1 Accurate Crosses 1
6 Crosses 9
0.2 Cross % 0.1
32 Long Balls 25
17 Accurate Long Balls 15
0.5 Long Balls % 0.6
1 Blocked Shots 3
19 Effective Tackles 10
27 Tackles 17
0.7 Tackle % 0.6
10 Interceptions 8
17 Effective Clearances 12
17 Clearances 12
ET (US East) 21:00
Colombia / Peru 20:00
Mexico City 19:00
Argentina / Chile 22:00
Spain 03:00 (next day)
Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2026.
GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas City, Missouri · Capacity 67,513
TV channels and streaming vary by country (Telemundo and Fox in the US, RTVC in Colombia, TVA/Azteca in Mexico, RTVE in Spain, and more).
See channels by country → Other group-stage matches ← Full match schedule
Spain, 2026 world champions1-0 vs Argentina · after extra timeView bracket
Argentina
Algeria
