Led by star Lionel Messi, the Argentina team begins the World Cup, which will be played between June 11th and July 19th, with the dream of maintaining the competition title. And the brothers' campaign will begin in Group J, alongside Algeria, Jordan and Austria. After an exciting trajectory that culminated with the title at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022, the team led by coach Lionel Scaloni had a good cycle (winning the titles of the South American Qualifiers and the 2024 Copa América) and is seen as one of the great candidates to win the title (alongside France and Spain) in the competition that will be hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico. Related news: Argentina wins its third world championship and crowns Lionel Messi. Messi isolates himself as the player with the most appearances in World Cups. Ancelotti says Brazil can compete with the best teams in the world. 🎯 Another piece of Lionel Messi magic!#WeAre26 | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/2NrcHljpf3 September 8, 2023 Already at 38 years old, Messi continues to be the big name of his country's national team, but now he depends even more on a team that can put him in a good position to upset the balance in games. For this, names such as midfielders Enzo Fernández, from Chelsea (England), and Alexis Mac Allister, from Liverpool (England), play a fundamental role. Other important members of the team are the experienced goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, from Aston Villa (England), and the talented striker Julián Alvarez, trained at River Plate (Argentine) and who, after a spell at Manchester City (England), now plays for Atlético de Madrid (Spain). Argentina's moment. 🏆#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/rAWuwPC88W December 18, 2025 The second force in Group J is Algeria. The African team is competing in the World Cup for the fifth time in its history (after appearances in 1982, 1986, 2010 and 2014). And the World Cup played in Brazil was the stage for the Desert Foxes' best campaign, the round of 16. Bosnian coach Vladimir Petkovic has interesting players in his squad. The first is goalkeeper Luca Zidane, son of French star Zinédine Zidane. The experienced Riyad Mahrez, a winger from Al-Ahli (Saudi Arabia) with a remarkable spell at Manchester City (England), and the left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri, from Manchester City, can also unbalance. 🇩🇿 Algeria. pic.twitter.com/kmOrhRVIwS April 15, 2024 Austria is also a candidate to secure a place in the second phase. The confidence in a good campaign comes from the game proposal adopted by German coach Ralf Rangnick, based on pressure in defense and fast transitions in attack. Austria have qualified for their first #FIFAWorldCup since 1998! 🇦🇹#WeAre26 pic.twitter.com/vExxJni3GG November 18, 2025 In its return to the World Cup after a gap of 28 years, Austria is betting on midfielder Konrad Laimer, from Bayern Munich (Germany), midfielder Marcel Sabitzer, from Borussia Dortmund (Germany), and on experienced full-back David Alaba, from Real Madrid (Spain). The ugly duckling of the bracket is Jordan, which is defending a men's World Cup for the first time in history. Without any notable names on the international scene, the team led by Moroccan coach Jamal Sellami has tactical discipline and collective organization as its greatest virtues. 🇯🇴 Jordan have qualified for their first-ever #FIFAWorldCup!@aramco | #WeAre26 pic.twitter.com/uJZkrOPnZI June 5, 2025