Argentina to kick off FIFA World Cup campaign against Algeria on June 16

Washington [US], December 6 (ANI): Argentina will begin their FIFA World Cup title defence against Algeria on June 16. Six days later, they will face Austria, and will conclude their group stage matches against Jordan on June 27.

Argentina has been drawn in Group J. The Group J matches will be played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Levi's Stadium in San Francisco, and AT&T Stadium in Dallas. The FIFA World Cup is set to kick off on June 11, with Mexico taking on South Africa in Group A in the opening game at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The USA, Mexico and Canada will co-host the tournament.

The only previous encounter between Argentina and Algeria was in 2007, when Argentina won 4-3 at Camp Nou. Argentina has played Austria twice: first, a resounding 5-1 victory in Vienna, and second, a 1-1 draw in 1990, before the World Cup in Italy. Next year's World Cup will be the first ever meeting with Jordan.

"Holding the cup in my hand again was wonderful. Being able to touch it again is so moving. It's hard to explain. I'm so happy to have been able to do that. Yesterday I said I wasn't nervous, but today when the balls were drawn, I was," Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni said as quoted from Argentina's official website. 

"There are no easy opponents; we have to play the matches. We always say and believe that. We don't take anything for granted. I know Algeria's coach, Vladimir Petković; I had him at Lazio, and he's a great coach. Algeria is a good team with great players and a large youth academy that feeds other countries. Austria had a great qualifying campaign, and perhaps Jordan is the team we know the least, but we can't take anything for granted; if they got this far, it's for a reason. We have to play the matches. It's a group where we must give our all," Lionel added. 

"If we qualify, it will be a difficult group, but first we have to get through, then we'll see. To the Argentinians, I say that we are going to give our all, to try to do what we did in the last World Cup, which is to never give up on a single ball," Lionel concluded. 

The FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage was finally mapped out after a glittering Final Draw ceremony in Washington, DC's John F Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts on Friday. The 2026 World Cup will feature a new format, with 48 participating teams for the first time, divided into 12 groups of four. 

The 12 groups were drawn during the event, which was attended by several legends across various sports, such as England and Manchester United Football icon Rio Ferdinand, who was conducting the draw event, with Basketball icon Shaquille O'Neal, NFL legend Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, an ice hockey great, and Major League Baseball (MLB) star Aaron Judge acting as assistants.

The top two teams from each section and the eight best third-place teams from each group will advance to the round of 32. (ANI)