Argentina’s men’s national football team has taken to the field for its World Cup 2026 debut against Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The team coached by Lionel Scaloni aims to become the first South American team to secure three points.
After a recovery against the clock, the team features most of the usual starters, with only left back Nicolás Tagliafico discarded by injury.
Argentina’s lineup is Emiliano Martínez; Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, and Facundo Medina; Rodrigo de Paul, Alexis MacAllister, Enzo Fernández, and Thiago Almada; captain Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez.
Algeria goes out with Luca Zidane; Rafik Belghali, Aissa Mandi, Ramy Bensebaini, and Rayan Ait-Nouri; Hicham Boudauni and Nabil Bentaleb; Anis Hadj Moussa, Ibrahim Maza and Fares Chaibi; and Amine Gouiri.
In the buildup, head coach Lionel Scaloni insisted that Algeria is a rival similar to Morocco, which posed a serious challenge to Brazil.
