So much of World Cup 2026 Group J will be about Messi, and he should lead them through a cruise of Group J. They topped South American qualifying, and beat Brazil in both games, but did lose four games of the 18 so didn’t have everything their own way. They won the World Cup last time it was played in Mexico although only made Round of 16 last time in the USA. The rest of Group J aren’t World Cup regular with Algeria missing the last two World Cups, but did make the Round of 16 at that tournament. Austria are at their first World Cup since 1998 and qualified by topping their Group in qualifying. Jordan are at their first World Cup after qualifying second behind South Korea. Their overall and recent international form hints that they will struggle to win a game.
FIXTURES
| Match |
AEST Day |
Date |
AEST Time |
Team1 |
Team2 |
Ground |
Location |
Result |
| 19 |
Wednesday |
Jun-16 |
11:00 |
Argentina |
Algeria |
Arrowhead Stadium |
Kansas City |
|
| 20 |
Wednesday |
Jun-16 |
14:00 |
Austria |
Jordan |
Levi’s Stadium |
Santa Clara |
|
| 43 |
Tuesday |
Jun-22 |
3:00 |
Argentina |
Austria |
AT&T Stadium |
Arlington |
|
| 44 |
Tuesday |
Jun-22 |
13:00 |
Jordan |
Algeria |
Levi’s Stadium |
Santa Clara |
|
| 69 |
Sunday |
Jun-27 |
12:00 |
Algeria |
Austria |
Arrowhead Stadium |
Kansas City |
|
| 70 |
Sunday |
Jun-27 |
12:00 |
Jordan |
Argentina |
AT&T Stadium |
Arlington |
|
GROUP STATS
| Team |
Method of qualification |
Date of qualification |
Total WC Appearances |
Previous World Cup |
Previous best effort |
| Argentina |
CONMEBOL winners |
25/03/2025 |
19 |
2022 |
Winners (1978, 1986, 2022) |
| Jordan |
AFC third round Group B runners-up |
5/06/2025 |
0 |
0 |
Debut |
| Algeria |
CAF Group G winners |
9/10/2025 |
5 |
2014 |
Round of 16 (2014) |
| Austria |
UEFA Group H winners |
18/11/2025 |
9 |
1998 |
Third place (1954) |
PREDICTIONS
Here’s where we put our money where our mouth is. Using all of the stats below and more, we have developed a H2H win rating for both teams for all Group Stage games. If the rating is within 5% of each other we’re calling a draw, otherwise the higher the rating the more likely to win. From there we come up with our prediction on the final table. All of that is available below for following, arguing or ignoring. We welcome any.
H2H MATCH RATINGS
| Match |
Team1 |
Ratings |
Team2 |
Ratings |
Match Prediction |
| 19 |
Argentina |
63.3% |
Algeria |
36.7% |
Argentina |
| 20 |
Austria |
67.3% |
Jordan |
32.7% |
Austria |
| 43 |
Argentina |
62.3% |
Austria |
37.7% |
Argentina |
| 44 |
Jordan |
32.3% |
Algeria |
67.7% |
Algeria |
| 69 |
Algeria |
45.5% |
Austria |
54.5% |
Austria |
| 70 |
Jordan |
21.6% |
Argentina |
78.4% |
Argentina |
FINAL TABLE PREDICTION
| Team |
Pts |
| Argentina |
9 |
| Austria |
6 |
| Algeria |
3 |
| Jordan |
0 |
GENERAL STATS
