World Cup Group J includes Argentina, Algeria, Austria and Jordan; Lionel Messi playing in sixth World Cup with Argentina; Jordan taking part in first tournament; matches take place in US states Texas, Kansas and California World Cup Group J features holders Argentina, Algeria, Austria and Jordan
Group J Draw: England, Scotland, Switzerland, and Bosnia
Wednesday June 17: Argentina vs Algeria, kick-off 2am - Kansas City, USA Monday June 22: Argentina vs Austria, kick-off 6pm - Texas, USA Sunday June 28: Jordan vs Argentina, kick-off 3am - Texas, USA
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Juan Musso (Atletico Madrid), Geronimo Rulli (Marseille). Defenders: Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Lisandro Martínez (Man Utd), Facundo Medina (Marseille), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Gonzalo Montiel (River Plate), Nicolas Otamendi (Benfica), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Nicolas Tagliafico (Lyon). Midfielders: Valentín Barco (Strasbourg), Rodrigo De Paul (Inter Miami), Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea), Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Leandro Paredes (Boca Juniors).
Forwards: Thiago Almada (Atletico Madrid), Julian Alvarez (Atletico Madrid), Nicolas Gonzalez (Atletico Madrid), Jose Manuel Lopez (Palmeiras), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Nicolas Paz (Como), Giuliano Simeone (Atletico Madrid). Tuesday June 23: Jordan vs Algeria, kick-off 4am - Santa Clara, USA
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Sunday June 28: Algeria vs Austria, kick-off 3am - Kansas City, USA Goalkeepers: Luca Zidane (Granada), Oussama Benbot (USM Alger), Melvin Mastil (Stade Nyonnais). Defenders: Aissa Mandi (Lille), Ramy Bensebaini (Borussia Dortmund), Mohamed Amine Tougai (Esperance de Tunis), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Man City), Jaouen Hadjam (Young Boys), Rafik Belghali (Hellas Verona), Zineddine Belaid (JS Kabylie), Achref Abada (USM Alger), Samir Chergui (Paris FC).
Midfielders: Nabil Bentaleb (Lille), Ramiz Zerrouki (Twente), Hicham Boudaoui (Nice), Fares Chaibi (Eintracht Frankfurt), Houssem Aouar (Al Ittihad), Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen), Yacine Titraoui (Charleroi). Forwards: Riyad Mahrez (Al Ahli), Mohamed Amoura (VfL Wolfsburg), Amine Gouiri (Marseille), Anis Hadj Moussa (Feyenoord), Adil Boulbina (Al Duhail), Nadhir Benbouali (Gyor), Fares Ghedjemis (Frosinone). Wednesday June 17: Austria vs Jordan, kick-off 5am - Santa Clara, USA
Goalkeepers: Alexander Schlager (Red Bull Salzburg), Florian Wiegele (Viktoria Plzen), Patrick Pentz (Brondby). Defenders: David Affengruber (Elche), Kevin Danso (Tottenham), Stefan Posch (Como), David Alaba (Real Madrid), Philipp Lienhart (Freiburg), Phillipp Mwene (Mainz), Alexander Prass (Hoffenheim), Marco Friedl (Werder Bremen), Michael Svoboda (Venezia).
Group J Qualification Odds and Round of 32 Matchups
Midfielders: Xaver Schlager (RB Leipzig), Nicolas Seiwald (RB Leipzig), Marcel Sabitzer (Borussia Dortmund), Florian Grillitsch (Braga), Carney Chukwuemeka (Borussia Dortmund), Romano Schmid (Werder Bremen), Christoph Baumgartner (Hoffenheim), Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich), Patrick Wimmer (VfL Wolfsburg), Paul Wanner (PSV), Alessandro Schopf (Wolfsberger). Forwards: Marko Arnautovic (Red Star Belgrade), Michael Gregoritsch (Brondby), Sasa Kalajdzic (Wolves). Goalkeepers: Yazeed Abulaila (Al Hussein), Abdallah Al-Fakhouri (Al Wehdat), Nour Bani Attiah (Al Faisaly).
Defenders: Ihsan Haddad (Al Hussein), Yazan Al-Arab (FC Seoul), Abdallah Nasib (Al Zawraa), Mohammad Abu Hashish (Al Karma), Saed Al-Rosan (Al Hussein), Husam Abu Dahab (Al Faisaly), Mo Abualnadi (Selangor), Salim Obaid (Al Hussein), Anas Badawi (Al Faisaly). Midfielders: Rajaei Ayed (Al Hussein), Noor Al-Rawabdeh (Selangor), Ibrahim Sadeh (Al-Karma), Nizar Al-Rashdan (Qatar SC), Mohannad Abu Taha (Al Quwa Al Jawiya), Amer Jamous (Al Zawraa), Mohammad Al-Dawoud (Al Wehdat).
Forwards: Musa Al-Taamari (Rennes), Mahmoud Al-Mardi (Al Hussein), Ali Olwan (Al Sailiya), Mohammad Abu Zrayq (Raja Casablanca), Odeh Al-Fakhouri (Pyramids), Ibrahim Sabra (Lokomotiva Zagreb), Ali Azaizeh (Al-Shabab).
Group J Prediction and Qualification Outlook
Argentina look like the safest group-winner pick because of squad depth, tournament experience, and the ability to control the strongest spells of a match. Jordan are the clearest threat if they protect the middle of the pitch and take points from the direct matchup.
| Position | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina |
| 2 | Algeria |
| 3 | Austria |
| 4 | Jordan |
The dark horse is Austria, especially if their transition play creates early goals. The key match is Argentina vs Jordan, because it should decide first place and the cleaner knockout route.