The current world champions and runners-up, Argentina and France, will debut this Tuesday (16), playing in groups J and I, respectively. France will be the first to take the field, at 4pm, against Senegal, in New Jersey. The Argentine team will play at 10 pm, against Algeria, in Kansas City. Related news: With a lively final stage, Japan and the Netherlands draw in Group F of the World Cup. Ancelotti guarantees that a draw in the World Cup opener will not shake confidence. Raphinha, Vini Jr. and Douglas Santos stand out in the debut numbers. Earlier, at 7pm, also in Group I, Iraq faces Norway, in Boston. The round will end in the early hours of Wednesday (17), with the second match in Group J, played between Austria and Jordan. The game will be at 1 am in San Francisco. Games this Tuesday (Brasília time) 4pm — France x Senegal 7pm — Iraq x Norway 10pm — Argentina x Algeria 1am (Wednesday) — Austria x Jordan Group I One of the favorite teams to win the World Cup is France, the top seed in Group I. It will be led by one of the main forces in African football: Senegal, with a team organized defensively, with a lot of physical strength and transition speed. With a history of winning two World Cups (1998 and 2018), France has a very qualified and experienced squad. The team's highlights are two of the best players today: Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembelé, which guarantees great offensive potential. Iraq and Norway complete the group. While Iraq is seen as the group's underdog, Norway appears as a candidate, alongside Senegal, for second place in the group. During the qualifiers, the Nordics played competitive football and were highly efficient in attack, particularly goalscorer Erling Haaland. Iraq is now back at a World Cup after 40 years. The last one was in 1986, played in Mexico, where they were eliminated in the group stage after three defeats.   Kylian Mbappe, from France, celebrating a goal November 13, 2025 REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/ Reproduction prohibited Group J In Group J, the current world champion, Argentina, is considered the absolute favorite to finish the group stage in first place. With a team experienced in decisive games and tactically organized, it maintained the base of the team that won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The expectation is that the second place in the group will be between Austria and Algeria, today's opponents of the Argentines in the first round of the group. The Algerians enter the field in the hope of, in the event of a draw, obtaining a point against an opponent considered to be superior. Or, at least, avoid a rout from Argentina and, in this way, try to qualify based on goal difference. Closing the group, Jordan, Austria's opponent in this round, is on the outside, without high expectations. The tendency for today's match is for Austria to put pressure on their technically weaker opponent, also in search of a goal difference that favors them in the fight to qualify for the second phase.