Group J

Argentina arrive as defending champions and, even with question marks over their captain's fitness, remain one of the most complete squads at this tournament. Seventeen players from the side that lifted the trophy in Qatar return for one more run — a remarkable continuity that few nations can match. Julián Álvarez (fully recovered from an ankle sprain) and Cristian Romero (back from a knee ligament issue) returning to full training is arguably as important to Argentina's chances as Messi's own recovery — it means Scaloni does not have to lean on a managed captain to make this team functional.

The emotional gravity of this campaign cannot be overstated. This may be the last time the world sees Messi at a World Cup, and Scaloni's entire approach to the group stage may be shaped by a single goal: get his captain to the knockout rounds in one piece, sharp, and ready to write one final chapter. Algeria, Austria and Jordan are, frankly, a backdrop to that story — a more-than-survivable group standing between Messi and a stage worthy of a farewell.

Riyad Mahrez, 35, has called this his last World Cup — and remains, by a distance, Algeria's creative soul. The former Manchester City and Leicester winger's ability to turn a half-chance into a moment of magic is exactly the kind of individual quality that can drag a side through a tight group. Around him, Mohamed Amoura arrives in red-hot form, having top-scored in qualifying with ten goals in eight matches for VfL Wolfsburg, while Aïssa Mandi — the country's most-capped player on 116 appearances — anchors a defence that will need to be at its most composed against Messi.

Rayan Aït-Nouri (Manchester City) and Ramy Bensebaini (Borussia Dortmund) give Algeria genuine top-flight class in the full-back areas, while teenage Bayer Leverkusen talent Ibrahim Maza represents the next generation pushing through. This is, on paper, a squad good enough to make life uncomfortable for Argentina and to comfortably see off Austria and Jordan — the question is whether the goalkeeping uncertainty around Zidane undermines that platform before a ball is even kicked.

Austria return to the World Cup stage for the first time in 28 years, and they do so with one of the most respected coaches in modern football, Ralf Rangnick, having drilled a clear identity into this squad during their dominant qualifying campaign — they topped their group to seal an eighth World Cup appearance, a tournament in which they famously finished third all the way back in 1954. Captain David Alaba, the four-time Champions League winner, returns to international duty fully recovered from the knee injury that ruled him out of Euro 2024 — a genuinely significant boost for a defence that will lean heavily on his composure and big-game experience.

Up front, record goalscorer Marko Arnautović — now at Red Star Belgrade and still Austria's most-capped player with 47 international goals — provides experience and know-how, while Bundesliga standouts Marcel Sabitzer (Borussia Dortmund) and reigning Austrian Footballer of the Year Konrad Laimer (Bayern Munich) give Rangnick a genuinely elite midfield platform. RB Leipzig's Christoph Baumgartner arrives in the form of his career, with 13 Bundesliga goals in his best domestic campaign yet — fourteen of Austria's 26 players ply their trade in Germany's top flight, giving this squad a cohesion that comes from shared footballing culture as much as shared nationality.

Rangnick's Austria are organised, fit, aggressive without the ball, and — crucially — not remotely overawed by sharing a group with the world champions. The Galáctico expects this to be the most uncomfortable opponent Argentina face in the group stage, even if the result ultimately goes the way most neutrals expect.

After more than ten failed qualification attempts across multiple decades, Jordan have finally done it — and they arrive at their first-ever World Cup just two and a half years removed from a runners-up finish at the AFC Asian Cup, a sign that this achievement is no fluke. Captain Musa Al-Taamari, the Stade Rennais playmaker and the only Jordanian plying his trade in one of Europe's top five leagues, is the face of this golden generation — seven goals and eleven assists in Ligue 1 this season have made him one of the form players heading into the tournament.

Alongside him, Ali Olwan gives Jordan a proven goal threat — the third-highest scorer in Asian World Cup qualifying with nine goals, including a hat-trick in the decisive final qualifier — while Nizar Al Rashdan anchors midfield and Yazan Al Arab marshals the defence. Coach Jamal Sellami has openly invoked Morocco's stunning 2022 semi-final run as the standard he wants this squad to chase — an audacious target for a debutant nation, but one that speaks to the genuine ambition inside this camp.

Jordan's draw could not be tougher for a first appearance — Austria, Algeria, and a Messi-led Argentina in the group stage, with the Argentina match potentially the single biggest fixture in the country's football history. But there is something refreshing about a debutant nation that talks openly about wanting to shock people rather than simply being happy to be there. The Galáctico suspects Jordan go home without a point — and with an entire nation already planning the celebrations for getting this far.