WC 2026 Group J Guide: Squads and Fixtures

The 2026 World Cup Group J hosts the biggest star of the tournament: Lionel Messi goes to his record sixth World Cup adventure. The 2022 World Cup champion Argentina comes to defend its title under Lionel Scaloni; the 38-year-old Messi will turn 39 in mid-June. Algeria returned to the World Cup after a 12-year gap with Vladimir Petković; Riyad Mahrez goes to his last international adventure. Austria returns to the World Cup under Ralf Rangnick after a 28-year gap while captain David Alaba will play his first World Cup at 33; all-time top scorer Marko Arnautović will appear at the tournament for the first time at 37. Jordan makes its first World Cup participation in history under Moroccan manager Jamal Sellami; the team that played in the 2024 Asian Cup final comes to the cup first time ever. The group's matches will be played in the US cities of Kansas City (Arrowhead Stadium), Arlington/Dallas (AT&T Stadium) and Santa Clara/San Francisco (Levi's Stadium).

Team Profiles and Announced Squads

🇦🇷 Argentina (Manager: Lionel Scaloni) Scaloni, in office since 2018, carried Argentina to the 2021 and 2024 Copa America titles and 2022 World Cup title. The reigning champion completed the CONMEBOL qualifiers in first place by securing its ticket early on March 25, 2025. Lionel Messi goes to his record sixth World Cup participation; with 116 international goals in 198 international matches, he holds the country's all-time scoring and caps record. The captain playing at Inter Miami had a hamstring problem during Inter Miami's Champions Cup campaign at the end of May but Scaloni described the issue as muscle fatigue and took him to the squad. Lautaro Martínez (Inter) is the team's reliable goal man with 32 international goals, 2024 Copa America top scorer. Julián Álvarez (Atlético Madrid) had a championship season at Atlético after leaving Manchester City. Cristian Romero (Tottenham) was taken into the squad despite a partial tear in his medial collateral ligament. The squad includes 6 Atlético Madrid, 5 Premier League players.

• Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martínez (Aston Villa), Gerónimo Rulli (Marseille), Juan Musso (Atlético Madrid)
• Defenders: Nahuel Molina (Atlético Madrid), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Facundo Medina (Lens), Nicolás Tagliafico (Lyon)
• Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (Boca Juniors), Rodrigo De Paul (Atlético Madrid), Enzo Fernández (Chelsea), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis), Valentín Barco (Strasbourg)
• Forwards: Julián Álvarez (Atlético Madrid), Lautaro Martínez (Inter), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami — captain, 38, sixth World Cup), Nico Paz (Como), Matías Soulé (Roma), Thiago Almada (Atlético Madrid), Nico González (Juventus), Giuliano Simeone (Atlético Madrid), José Manuel López (Palmeiras)

🇩🇿 Algeria (Manager: Vladimir Petković) Swiss manager Petković — who previously carried Switzerland to EURO 2016, EURO 2020 and the 2018 World Cup — has been at the head of the Desert Foxes since February 2024. Algeria returned to the World Cup after a 12-year gap; goes to its fifth participation in history (1982, 1986, 2010, 2014, 2026). Its best performance had been losing 2-1 to Germany in extra time in the round of 16 in Brazil 2014. Petković announced the squad on May 31 at the Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers, the capital of Algeria. Captain Riyad Mahrez (Al Ahli) reached 38 international goals in 113 international matches at 35; he announced that the 2026 World Cup will be the last tournament of his national team career. Aïssa Mandi (Villarreal) holds the country record with 116 international matches. Mohamed Amoura (Wolfsburg) became Algeria's qualifying top scorer with 10 goals in 8 qualifying matches. Granada goalkeeper Luca Zidane — son of Zinedine Zidane — was taken to the squad despite breaking his jaw in April. Surprise omission: AC Milan midfielder Ismaël Bennacer was not in the squad.

• Goalkeepers: Luca Zidane (Granada), Oussama Benbot (USM Alger), Melvin Mastil (Le Havre), Abdelatif Ramdane (CR Belouizdad)
• Defenders: Rafik Belghali (Hatayspor), Samir Chergui, Rayan Aït-Nouri (Manchester City), Jaouen Hadjam (Young Boys), Aïssa Mandi (Villarreal — 116 caps, country record), Ramy Bensebaini (Borussia Dortmund), Zinedine Belaid, Mohamed Amine Tougai
• Midfielders: Nabil Bentaleb (Lille), Hicham Boudaoui (Nice), Houssem Aouar (Al Ittihad), Farès Chaïbi (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen — young talent), Yacine Titraoui, Ramiz Zerrouki (Feyenoord)
• Forwards: Riyad Mahrez (Al Ahli — captain, 35, 113 caps/38 international goals), Mohamed Amoura (Wolfsburg — qualifying top scorer with 10 goals), Amine Gouiri (Marseille), Anis Hadj-Moussa (Feyenoord), Adil Boulbina, Nadhir Benbouali, Fares Ghedjemis

🇦🇹 Austria (Manager: Ralf Rangnick) German manager Rangnick — who had managed Stuttgart, Hannover, Schalke, Hoffenheim, RB Leipzig and had taken a temporary role at Manchester United — took over Austria in 2022 replacing Franco Foda. Austria returned to the World Cup after a 28-year gap (since 1998); goes to its seventh participation in history. Its best performance remained as third place in Switzerland 1954. Rangnick announced the 26-man squad on May 18. Captain David Alaba (Real Madrid) goes to his first World Cup at 33; had missed EURO 2024 due to a knee injury. Marko Arnautović (Red Star Belgrade) at 37 is the country's all-time top scorer with 47 international goals in 132 international matches and the team's vice-captain. Arnautović, who scored 8 goals in qualifying, is among the names who carried Austria to the World Cup. Marcel Sabitzer (Dortmund) is on track to reach his 100th international match at the World Cup. RB Leipzig midfielder Christoph Baumgartner completed his career-best Bundesliga season with 13 goals. Carney Chukwuemeka (Dortmund) chose Austria after playing in England youth national teams. 14 players of the squad play in the Bundesliga.

• Goalkeepers: Alexander Schlager (RB Salzburg), Florian Wiegele (Viktoria Plzeň), Patrick Pentz (Brøndby)
• Defenders: David Affengruber (Elche), David Alaba (Real Madrid — captain, 33, first World Cup), Kevin Danso (Tottenham), Marco Friedl (Werder Bremen), Philipp Lienhart (Freiburg), Phillipp Mwene (Mainz), Stefan Posch (Mainz), Alexander Prass (Hoffenheim), Michael Svoboda (Venezia)
• Midfielders: Christoph Baumgartner (RB Leipzig — 13 Bundesliga goals season), Carney Chukwuemeka (Borussia Dortmund), Florian Grillitsch (Braga), Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich), Marcel Sabitzer (Borussia Dortmund), Xaver Schlager (RB Leipzig), Romano Schmid (Werder Bremen), Alessandro Schöpf (Wolfsberger AC), Nicolas Seiwald (RB Leipzig), Paul Wanner (PSV Eindhoven), Patrick Wimmer (Wolfsburg)
• Forwards: Marko Arnautović (Red Star Belgrade — vice-captain, 37, 47 international goals — country record), Michael Gregoritsch (Augsburg), Sasa Kalajdzic (LASK)

🇯🇴 Jordan (Manager: Jamal Sellami) 55-year-old Sellami, who played for Morocco at the 1998 World Cup, took over Jordan in June 2024 replacing Hussein Ammouta. Jordan is participating in the World Cup for the first time in history; the team that advanced to the final at the 2024 Asian Cup had lost to Qatar. Jordan, which completed the AFC third round group second behind South Korea in qualifiers, joined the cup directly. Captain Musa Al-Taamari (Rennes) is the player nicknamed "Jordanian Messi"; recorded 7 goals and 11 assists in 36 league matches, scored 7 goals in the qualifying process. He is the first Jordanian player to play in the top 5 European leagues. Ali Olwan (Al-Sailiya) became the third top scorer in the regional ranking in AFC qualifiers with 9 goals; returned to the squad after an Achilles injury. Yazan Al-Naimat could not take place in the squad because of an ACL injury he suffered at last December's Arab Cup. Friendly matches were played against Switzerland (end of May) and Colombia (early June).

• Goalkeepers: Yazeed Abulaila (Al-Hussein), Abdullah Al-Fakhouri (Al-Wehdat), Noor Bani Attiah (Al-Faisaly)
• Defenders: Abdallah Nasib (Al-Zawraa), Ehsan Haddad (Al-Hussein — 32, experienced), Saed Al-Rosan, Saleim Obaid (Al-Hussein), Yazan Al-Arab (FC Seoul), Rajaei Ayed (Al-Hussein), Salem Al-Ajalin, Bara'a Marei
• Midfielders: Nour Al-Rawabdeh, Mohammad Abu Hashish, Mahmoud Al-Sayel, Hamzeh Al-Dardour, Anas Al-Awadat
• Forwards: Mahmoud Al-Mardi (Al-Hussein), Musa Al-Taamari (Rennes — captain, "Jordanian Messi", 7 qualifying goals), Ali Olwan (Al-Sailiya — 9 AFC qualifying goals, 3rd regional top scorer), Ibrahim Sabra (Lokomotiva Zagreb), Odeh Al-Fakhouri (Pyramids), Mohammad Abu Zraiq (Al-Hussein), Ali Azaizeh (Al-Shabab)

Group J Fixtures (Local Time)

Matchday 1 — Tuesday, June 16, 2026 (Austria-Jordan early June 17)

• Argentina vs Algeria | Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City (Missouri) | 20:00 (local CT)
• Austria vs Jordan | Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara (California) | 21:00 (local PT)

Matchday 2 — Monday, June 22, 2026

• Argentina vs Austria | AT&T Stadium, Arlington (Texas) | 12:00 (local CT)
• Jordan vs Algeria | Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara (California) | 20:00 (local PT)

Matchday 3 — Saturday, June 27, 2026

• Algeria vs Austria | Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City (Missouri) | 21:00 (local CT)
• Jordan vs Argentina | AT&T Stadium, Arlington (Texas) | 21:00 (local CT)

The group winner and runner-up will advance directly to the round of 32, while the third-placed team will be evaluated based on the performance of the third-place teams of other groups. The 8 best third-place teams will also join the round of 32.

Europe and Turkey Times

Tuesday, June 16, 2026

• Argentina - Algeria: 03:00 CEST (June 17) | 04:00 TST (June 17)
• Austria - Jordan: 06:00 CEST (June 17) | 07:00 TST (June 17)

Monday, June 22, 2026

• Argentina - Austria: 19:00 CEST | 20:00 TST
• Jordan - Algeria: 05:00 CEST (June 23) | 06:00 TST (June 23)

Saturday, June 27, 2026

• Algeria - Austria: 04:00 CEST (June 28) | 05:00 TST (June 28)
• Jordan - Argentina: 04:00 CEST (June 28) | 05:00 TST (June 28)

Image: www.mlssoccer.com