Argentina vs Algeria LIVE: Confirmed lineups for Lionel Messi’s 2026 World Cup debut

Dibu Martinez, Argentina’s goalkeeper, has a fractured finger on his right hand, but he will still start in the opening match.

Ahead of this World Cup, Messi has scored 13 times in the tournament.

Miroslav Klose is the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history with 16 goals, meaning the Argentine No. 10 could equal his record.

Fans of both teams are slowly making their way toward the stadium.

In addition to Argentina’s opener against Algeria, Austria will face Jordan in the next match, the other two teams in Group J.

Riyad Mahrez is not playing in this important match due to a tactical decision by his coach.

Algeria will take the field with these eleven players.

Luca Zidane; Aissa Mandi, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Rafik Belghali, Ramy Bensebaini; Fares Chaibi, Hicham Boudaoui, Nabil Bentaleb, Ibrahim Maza; Amine Gouiri, Anis Hadj Moussa.

This is the confirmed lineup for Argentina for this crucial game:

Emiliano Martinez; Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Facundo Medina; Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernandez; Lionel Messi, Thiago Almada, Lautaro Martinez.

Argentina will wear their home kit, while Algeria will be dressed in green.

The Argentina national team, led by Lionel Scaloni, is aiming to win its fourth World Cup title. It previously lifted the trophy at Argentina 1978, Mexico 1986, and Qatar 2022.

Both teams will make their tournament debut at Kansas City Stadium, better known as Arrowhead Stadium, where a crowd of around 76,000 spectators is expected.

The referee for this match will be Szymon Marciniak of Poland, while Tomasz Listkiewicz and Adam Kupsik will serve as the assistant referees. New Zealand’s Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh will be the fourth official.

The VAR official for the match will be Tomasz Kwiatkowski, also from Poland.

The match between Argentina and Algeria is scheduled to kick off at 9:00 PM ET.

Fans in the United States can watch the game on FOX and Telemundo through traditional television broadcasts.

The match can also be streamed on Fubo, DirecTV Stream, Sling Blue, Hulu + Live TV, and Peacock Premium.

Welcome to a new live blog here at Bolavip! Argentina and Algeria begin their journey in the 2026 World Cup with an exciting match in Group J.

Don’t miss a moment of what could happen in this minute-by-minute coverage of the match!