Group J features the World Cup holders Argentina alongside Algeria , Austria and first time qualifiers Jordan.
ARGENTINA –
Argentina qualified as winners of the South American Qualifying Group and were clearly the best team in their confederation.
In March 2026 friendlies at home they beat Mauritania 2-1 and Zambia 5-0.
Argentina are still managed by their 2022 World Cup Winning coach Lionel Scaloni
In goal they have the hero of their penalty shoot-out victory over France in the 2022 World Cup Final , Emiliano Martínez of Aston Villa.
The defence includes Benfica’s former Manchester City player Nicolás Otamendi alongside Tottenham’s Cristian Romero and Nicolás Tagliafico from Lyon.
In Midfield Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister is partnered by Enzo Fernández of Chelsea who became a huge star at the last World Cup.
In attack Argentina for the final time at a major tournament will be the superstar Lionel Messi alongside Inter Milan talisman Lautaro Martínez and Julián Alvarez the former Manchester City striker now at Atlético Madrid, and Nico Paz from Como.
ALGERIA –
Algeria qualified in impressive style winning African qualifying Group G with 24pts from 10 games , 10pts head of second placed Uganda.
In African Cup of Nations they won all three group games to top Group E and after beating DR Kongo 1-0 , they lost in the Quarter Finals 2-0 to Nigeria.
In March 2026 friendlies they beat Guatemala 7-0 before a 0-0 draw with Uruguay in Turin.
Algeria manager is highly experienced Bosnian coach Vladimir Petković
Algeria goalkeeper is Luca Zidane son of former French captain Zinedine Zidane with back up from Anthony Mandrea of Caen.
In defence they have Manchester City’s Rayan Aït-Nouri alongside Lillie’s Aïssa Mandi and Ramy Bensebaini of Borussia Dortmund.
The midfield features Ramiz Zerrouki of Twente with Ismaël Bennacer of Dinamo Zagreb and Hicham Boudaoui of Nice, as well as Ibrahim Maza of Bayer Leverkusen.
In attack they have captain Riyad Mahrez who won the Premiership with Leicester City and Manchester City.
They also have Mohamed Amoura from Wolfsburg and Marseille’s Amine Gouiri.
AUSTRIA –
Austria qualified winning European Group H , 2 points ahead of Bosnia who they drew with 1-1 at home on the final matchday.
In March 2026 friendlies they beat Ghana 5-1 and South Korea 1-0 both at home in Vienna.
Austria are managed by former Manchester Utd Head Coach Ralf Rangnick
In goal they have Alexander Schlager
The defence includes Real Madrid’s David Alaba, Stefan Posch of Mainz and Tottenham’s Kevin Danso
In midfield Austria have Borussia Dortmund’s Marcel Sabitzer with Christoph Baumgartner of Leipzig , Konrad Laimer of Bayern Munich and Braga’s Florian Grillitsch.
In attack they have the formidable and experienced Marko Arnautović alongside the tall former Wolves striker Saša Kalajdžić.
JORDAN –
Jordan won the Asian Qualifying Second Round Group G on goal difference from Saudi Arabia as they both progressed to Round Three.
Jordan qualified automatically as Runners Up to South Korea in Round Three Group B finishing 1 point ahead of Iraq.
In March 2026 friendlies they drew 2-2 with both Costa Rica and Nigeria.
Jordan are managed by former Morocco player Jamal Sellami
In goal they have Yazeed Abulaila
In defence they have the experienced Yazan Al-Arab and Abdallah Nasib alongside Ihsan Haddad.
The midfield includes Noor Al-Rawabdeh and Nizar Al-Rashdan
In attack captain Musa Al-Taamari plays for Rennes with Baha’ Faisal who plays in Qatar. They are without two of their main strikers through injury Ali Olwan and Yazan al-Naima.
Group J Fixtures
17/6/26 2am Argentina v Algeria
17/6/26 5am Austria v Jordan
22/6/26 6pm Argentina v Austria
23/6/26 4am Algeria v Jordan
28/6/26 3am Argentina v Jordan
28/6/26 3am Austria v Algeria
PREDICTIONS
I would expect Argentina to win all three games , with Austria and Algeria beating Jordan to set up a final day decider between then for second place and likely knowing a draw will take them both through.
Austria would seem likely to claim second place with a better goal difference than Algeria.
1st Place prediction – Argentina 9pts
2nd Place prediction – Austria 4pts GD +2
3rd Place prediction – Algeria 4pts GD 0
Football is Academical 