11 mins: Algeria with a free-kick on the left. They go short – and like London buses, Messi makes a second tackle of the game to dispossess Hadj Moussa. Even though their goal was ruled out, Algeria have gained confidence from the move. started to spray the ball around nicely in midfield.
Brilliant from Maza in midfield, recycling possession, keeping the ball moving, teasing between the lines. He spots Chaibi darting between fullback. centre-half, feeds him perfectly, and the finish is glorious, deceiving Martinez at his near post.
But with the crowd adjusting to the shock excitement is quelled by a VAR intervention. the goal is ruled out for a marginal offside against the goalscorer.
GOAL! With their first attack Algeria opening the scoring!
7 mins: This is a rare low tempo contest. Argentina are dominating possession but not looking to force anything.
5 mins: The ball goes out of play on the right as a pass slightly in front of Messi beats the veteran’s quickstep. He has definitely lost a yard or six of pace. You wouldn’t know it during the next phase of play though as he jumps in behind. clips a delightful finish over the onrushing Zidane. However, his delight is cut short as he notices the assistant’s flag raised for offside. It was marginal, but he took off a fraction too early.
3 mins: In possession, Argentina are happy to bide their time and draw Algeria out to them. They do just that, Romero attempts the long ball, Almada picks up the scraps. crosses to La Martinez who heads straight at Zidane. He was offside anyway so it wouldn’t have counted.
2 mins: Argentina are defending in a 4-3-3 shape out of possession with Messi on the right of the front three. And you’ll never believe this – he did some defending – winning the ball back in his own half. feeding back to his keeper.
1 min: An early question to ponder as the action gets under way at walking pace: are Argentina the most heavily tattooed team at the World Cup?
Lionel Messi’s World Cup campaign is under way…
Argentina’s anthem was sung with smiles and pride, the defending champions looking relaxed and confident. Algeria’s players belted out their own hymn with a steely determination on their faces.
The Fennecs’ kit improves on closer inspection, with some nice touches giving it a retro feel, imbuing the spirit of 1982, the Disgrace of Gijon,. all that.
Out walk the two sides into a stadium populated from near top to bottom in fans wearing Albiceleste colours.
Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane is wearing a protective face mask as he recovers from a severe jaw. chin fracture that he suffered playing for Granada in April.
Argentina will be in their glorious sky blue and white stripes today, complemented by black shorts and trim. Algeria are wearing their change strip of green with white shorts.
A selection of Messi stats for you to digest at as the veteran begins his valedictory World Cup.
26 – record number of World Cup matches played
6 – record World Cups appeared in (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
13 – World Cup goals (joint fifth all-time)
38 – age at kick-off (12th oldest at the 2026 World Cup)
2 – record number of World Cup golden balls
Today’s officials are from Poland, led by referee Szymon Marciniak, who took charge of the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina. France, and the 2023 Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan.
He is a celebrity in Poland, appearing as a contestant on the Polish version of Hell’s Kitchen,. featuring in the documentary series Sędziowie, a behind the scenes look at the life of a referee.
Conditions are glorious in Kansas City. It is around 26C and dropping as golden hour drifts towards sundown.
The venue today is Arrowhead Stadium. This classically American open bowl can hold 76,000 spectators and is known commercially as GEHA Field. During the World Cup it is neutralised to Kansas City Stadium.
The primary tenants are NFL franchise the Kansas City Chiefs, winners of four Super Bowls, including three since 2019.
The venue has twice earned the Guinness World Record for the loudest stadium. first in 2013, then in 2014, during matches featuring the Chiefs.
Lionel Messi has already stamped his authority on the turf.
Daniel Sperry brings us one of those necessary World Cup stories. reminds us the hostile politics of the leaders of a nation does not reflect the hospitality of most its residents.
Jonathan Wilson has spoken to Luciana Alvarengue, the former maths teacher of both Enzo Fernández. Julián Álvarez, who provides a neat character study of the two World Cup winners.
double quotation mark “You either love maths or you hate it,” Alvarengue says. “There are no grey areas. Julián was very good at maths. He had a very good way of working in the classroom in general. Enzo was a little more difficult to deal with. There are days when you would say he was more focused on a game. on whether he was going to be selected or not.
“When he came into the classroom, Enzo liked to make sounds, banging his pencil case on the table. I remember entering the classroom,. on the left side was Enzo’s place, and he was with his back against the wall, his feet on the other bench, and there were days when he was like: ‘Today I’m going to stay like this.’ Julián was calmer, much more respectful.
22 players will walk out into the Kansas City evening with an equal chance of influencing this contest but the eyes of the world will be trained squarely on the oldest. shortest of them.
Your eyes are not deceiving you. that is a Zidane in goal for the Fennecs, Luca Zidane, son of the French World Cup legend.
Vladimir Petkovic has opted for a 5-2-3 formation in a bid to stiffen his side’s defence. Star man Riyad Mahrez starts on the bench.
23 Zidane; 17 Belghali. 2 Mandi, 21 Bensebaini, 5 Belaid 15 Ait-Nouri; 19 Bentaleb, 14 Boudaoui; 22 Maza, 11 Hadj Moussa, 9 Gouiri.
Lionel Scaloni has left in-demand Julian Alvarez on the bench for Argentina’s opening match. Cristian Romero is fit to start after fleeing Tottenham’s relegation battle.
23 E Martinez; 4 Montiel. 13 Romero, 6 Li Martinez, 25 Medina; 7 De Paul, 24 Fernandez, 20 Mac Allister; 10 Messi, 16 Almada, 22 La Martinez.
What about Algeria? Even Maher Mezahi isn’t sure what to expect.
double quotation mark Algeria are one of this World Cup’s great unknowns. On paper, this team has an impressive recent record: a friendly victory over the Netherlands made it 21 wins, four draws. three defeats from 28 matches under Vladimir Petkovic, with 67 goals scored. The problem is that it has been achieved against generally poor-quality opposition. Algeria’s qualifying campaign was a breeze, with Guinea. Mozambique – both considered Pot C sides on the continent – being their sternest tests.
We can be pretty sure Petkovic will lean on his players’ technical quality, play attractive football,. leave gaps in behind the defence. What we don’t know is which players will be called upon for half the starting positions.
Ok. turning our attention now to Argentina v Algeria, let’s get a view on the defending champions from the experts at Olé.
double quotation mark The holders arrive at the World Cup with a squad that knows each other almost by heart. perhaps not with its players in peak physical condition – several had injury set-backs at the end of a very demanding season with their clubs. If everyone is fit. the coach will field many of the same players who were crowned champions in Qatar, with the exception of Ángel Di María, who no longer plays for the national team.
Lionel Scaloni’s plan is to keep the 4-3-3 formation, with a solid defence featuring two centre-backs. two attacking full-backs, plus dynamic midfielders with excellent passing. Lionel Messi leads the charge once more, supported by the formidable Julián Alvarez. Thiago Almada, who could be the breakout star. Almost two thirds of the 2022 squad remains,. it now also includes some promising young players such as Nico Paz, who has been in excellent form at Como. They will also have established stars like Lautaro Martínez. who aims to be in top condition for this World Cup: something he couldn’t achieve in Qatar.
Norway have delivered on their pre-tournament dark horse status with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Iraq to join France at the top of Group I. There was a brace for Erling Haaland. putting the Manchester City goal machine alongside Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot.
In the latest who-cares-the-rapture-is-coming-soon-anyway news Johnny Child continues to turn left for global warming.
double quotation mark As a result of the huge distances the New Weather Institute has described this World Cup as “the most polluting event ever”. estimating that it will generate about 9 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Air travel is responsible for about 7.7 million tons of that carbon estimate. more than four times that of the average for World Cups held from 2010 to 2022.
In today’s opening match France overcame a disjointed first half to run out comfortable 3-1 winners over Senegal. Les Bleus didn’t look at their best for big chunks but the class of Olise, Mbappé, Doue,. Barcola proved irresistible.
Mbappé now has 14 goals in 15 World Cup matches, drawing him alongside Gerd Muller on the all-time standings, behind only Ronaldo. Miroslav Klose. He will surely leave North America as the most prolific goalscorer in finals history.
Max and the gang celebrate Cape Verde on the latest World Cup Daily pod.
In case you missed it, international manager par excellence Hervé Renard will go to the ball after all. He of the fitted white dress shirt qualified with Saudi Arabia. only to lose his job on the eve of the tournament. The Frenchman has answered Tunisia’s SOS. will replace Sabri Lamouchi in the dugout for the remaineder of the tournament after the former Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City boss was sacked following a grisly opening defeat to Sweden.
Michael Butler compiled the latest Football Daily roundup, featuring Pico Lopes, Marcelo Bielsa, and the late Roy Hattersley.
Let’s ease into the third fixture of matchday six by peering into the mind of David Squires.
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of match 19 of the 2026 World Cup between Argentina and Algeria. Kick-off in this Group J clash at Kansas City Stadium is 8pm local time (9pm EDT/2am BST/11am AEST).
The arrival of the defending champions into a tournament always adds a frisson of excitement to proceedings. that is the case today as Argentina get their campaign underway. Of course the presence of la Albiceleste also means that of captain. Lionel Messi, who alone has the heft of a participating nation in these parts since his move to MLS.
2022 was Messi’s crowing glory, the triumph that cemented his status among the very greatest in football history. He is not without a chance of adding a second winner’s medal to his collection in North America, but he faces a tougher task this time around as he. his team battle the unvanquishable opponent: time.
Algeria offer a stiff early test of an ageing team’s title defence. Ranked 28th in the world they are coached by the canny Vladimir Petkovic and captained by serial winner Riyad Mahrez. They warmed up for the World Cup by beating the Netherlands in Rotterdam and thrashing Argentina’s northern neighbours Bolivia 4-0.
I’ll be back shortly with team news and a round-up of all the matchday action so far. In the meantime you can keep an eye on Iraq v Norway. email any thoughts about the tournament so far to jonathan.howcroft.freelance@theguardian.com.
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