World Cup Group J preview: Argentina defenders prepare for Messi’s farewell

ByTech Word News

The stage was set for the perfect farewell in 2022 when 35-year-old Lionel Messi began his quest to finish football. The legendary Argentine ran the show, weaving his magic on the pitch and helping Argentina to their first FIFA World Cup trophy since 1986. For Messi, football was complete.

The Argentina captain has been trying to get out of the limelight after a failed spell at PSG, where the incredible attacking trio of him, Neymar and Mbappe failed to win the Champions League. Messi moved to Inter Miami, surrounded himself with friends and family on and off the pitch and prepared for the game to drift away from him.

Sometimes goodbyes drag on. Many times it is the player who refuses to leave the game even though the game is leaving him. And it’s rarely a country that can’t move away from their shadow.

In Messi’s case, it’s the latter. Despite publicly declaring after his release in 2022 that it would be his last, Messi returned to play in the 2026 World Cup. The reasons are unclear, but an educated guess suggests that Argentina and possibly FIFA managed to convince him to play for the last time, in the first 48-team tournament in the competition’s history.

Argentina has a fairly similar squad from their World Cup winning year. Apart from talisman Angel Di Maria, the squad is pretty much the same.

Lionel Messi still leads the attack, p Julian Alvarez in front. In midfield is the trio of Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez and Rodrigo de Paul. And between the sticks is the controversial yet feared Emi Martinez.

The Argentines were drawn into a relatively easier group with Austria, Jordan and Algeria. They are expected to top the group with the quality they have and progress to the next round of the tournament.

Austria and Algeria are closely tied in the FIFA rankings and their match against each other is likely to decide the second place in the group.

Jordan, on the other hand, were runners-up in the 2023 Asian Cup, but it remains to be seen if they can match the tenacity of the remaining teams.

GROUP J: SCHEDULE

  • June 17: Argentina vs. Algeria (6:30 a.m.), Austria vs. Jordan (9:30 a.m.)
  • June 22: Argentina vs. Austria (22:30)
  • June 23: Jordan vs. Algeria (8.30am)
  • June 28: Jordan vs. Argentina (7:30 a.m.), Algeria vs. Austria (7:30 a.m.)

GROUP J: WHOLE TEAMS

Argentina

Goalkeepers: Juan Musso, Geronimo Rulli, Emiliano Martinez.

Defenders: Leonardo Balerdi, Nicolas Tagliafico, Gonzalo Montiel, Lisandro Martinez, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Facundo Medina, Nahuel Molina.

Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo de Paul, Valentin Barco, Giovani Lo Celso, Ezequiel Palacios, Alexis MacAllister, Enzo Fernandez.

Forwards: Julian Alvarez, Lionel Messi, Nicolas Gonzalez, Thiago Almada, Giuliano Simeone, Nico Paz, José Manuel Lopez, Lautaro Martinez.

Algeria

Goalkeepers: Oussama Benbot, Melvin Masstil, Luca Zidane.

Defenders: Achraf Abada, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Zinedine Belaid, Rafik Belghali, Ramy Bensebaini, Samir Chergui, Jaouen Hadjam, Aissa Mandi, Mohamed Amine Tougai.

Midfielders: Houssem Aouar, Nabil Bentaleb, Hicham Boudaoui, Fares Chaibi, Ibrahim Maza, Yassine Titraoui, Ramiz Zerrouki.

Forwards: Mohamed Amine Amoura, Nadir Benbouali, Adil Boulbina, Fares Ghedjemis, Amine Gouiri, Riyad Mahrez, Anis Hadj Moussa.

Austria

Goalkeepers: Niklas Hedl, Patrick Pentz, Alexander Schlager.

Defenders: David Alaba, Flavius ​​Daniliuc, Kevin Danso, Philipp Lienhart, Phillipp Mwene, Stefan Posch, Leopold Querfeld, Gernot Trauner, Maximilian Wber.

Midfielders: Thierno Ballo, Christoph Baumgartner, Florian Grillitsch, Konrad Laimer, Alexander Prass, Marcel Sabitzer, Romano Schmid, Matthias Seidl, Nicolas Seiwald, Patrick Wimmer.

Forwards: Marko Arnautovic, Maximilian Entrup, Michael Gregoritsch, Andreas Weimann.

Jordan

Goalkeepers: Noureddin Bani Ateyah, Ahmad Al-Juaidi, Yazeed Abulaila.

Defenders: Yazan Al-Arab, Abdallah Nasib, Hijazi Maher, Saad Al-Rousan, Ihsan Haddad, Feras Shelbaieh, Mohammad Abu Hachiche, Salem Al-Ajalin.

Midfielders: Nizar Al-Rashdan, Noor Al-Rawabdeh, Rajaei Ayed, Ibrahim Sadeh, Mahmoud Al-Mardi, Mohannad Abu Taha, Saleh Rateb, Yousef Abu Jalbosh, Arif Al-Haj.

Forwards: Musa Al-Taamari, Yazan Al-Naimat, Ali Olwan, Anas Al-Awandat, Reziq Bani Hani, Abdallah Al-Attar.

GROUP J: GROUP GAME

Argentina vs Austria: Ralf Rangnick has been in charge of the Austrian team since 2022. Four years is enough for a coach to implement his style of play in a team, and it showed in the Austrian side during the World Cup qualifiers, where they lost only one match.

They will be heavy favorites to finish second behind Argentina, or even top if they can get past the defending champions.

Match date: June 22, 10:30 p.m

GROUP J: PLAYERS TO WATCH OUT FOR

Marcel Sabitzer (Austria): Marcel Sabitzer may not be the biggest name at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but he could be one of the tournament’s most influential midfielders. Austria’s return to the World Cup after a 28-year absence has brought renewed attention to Ralf Rangnick’s energetic side, and Sabitzer is right at the center of it.

What makes Sabitzer exciting is his versatility. He can play as a central midfielder, an attacking midfielder, a winger or even a second striker, allowing Austria to change shapes fluidly during matches.

The 32-year-old remains Austria’s main creative force. He led the team in assists during World Cup qualifying and continues to play a more advanced role with the national team than at club level.

Anis Hadj Moussa (Algeria): If Algeria are looking for a spark from the bench at the 2026 World Cup, few players fit the bill better than Anis Hadj Moussa. The winger has become one of the most exciting dribblers in Dutch football since joining Feyenoord in 2024, combining quick feet with a growing ability to influence games in the final third.

The Paris-born striker enjoyed a breakthrough spell in Rotterdam where he developed into one of Feyenoord’s key players under Robin van Persie. While his ability to beat defenders was never in doubt, his decision-making and end product have greatly improved over the last two seasons.

Julian Alvarez (Argentina): The Atlético Madrid star is the hot new arrival of this transfer window as he has played some great football this season. Alvarez is pacey, has a good shot and can easily pick apart the top corner with his furious straight kicks from his right foot.

If Argentina want to move out of Lionel Messi’s shadow at this World Cup, Alvarez is their man.

Lionel Messi (Argentina): Lionel Messi needed a single touch to open the game in Argentina’s World Cup warm-up match on June 10. Messi walked most of the game and converted a penalty in Argentina’s dominant performance against Iceland.

At 38, fitness and productivity are major concerns and Argentina will likely need to manage him carefully if they want him to last in the tournament.

GROUP J: PREDICTION

  • Argentina leads the group with two wins and a draw.
  • Austria finished second, Algeria third and Jordan fourth.

– The end

Issued by:

Kingshuk Kusari

Published on:

10 Jun 2026 17:47 IST