Group J of the 2026 FIFA World Cup took place from June 16 to 27, 2026. The group consisted of defending champions Argentina, Algeria, Austria, and Jordan.
Argentina topped the group with three wins out of three, and Austria finished as runners-up, gaining the edge over Algeria on goal difference. Both teams thus advanced to the round of 32. In the knockout stage, Argentina defeated multiple teams but lost to Spain in the final.
Algeria's four points were nonetheless enough to also qualify for the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams. World Cup debutants Jordan finished last with no points and were eliminated.
On June 22, Lionel Messi scored his 17th World Cup goal in Argentina's win against Austria, surpassing Miroslav Klose (16) as the FIFA World Cup's all-time top goalscorer. Messi's six goals across the three group matches brought his overall tally to 19 across the six World Cups he had participated in.
Teams Draw position Team Pot Confederation Method ofqualification Date ofqualification Finalsappearance Lastappearance Previous bestperformance FIFA Rankings November 2025 June 2026 J1 1 CONMEBOL CONMEBOL round robin winner March 25, 2025 19th 2022 Winner (1978, 1986, 2022) 2 1 J2 3 CAF CAF Group G winner October 9, 2025 5th 2014 Round of 16 (2014) 35 28 J3 2 UEFA UEFA Group H winner November 18, 2025 8th 1998 Third place (1954) 24 24 J4 4 AFC AFC third round Group B runner-up June 5, 2025 1st — — 66 63 Notes
Standings
In the round of 32: The winner of Group J, Argentina, advanced to play the runner-up of Group H, Cape Verde. The runner-up of Group J, Austria, advanced to play the winner of Group H, Spain. The third-place team of Group J, Algeria, advanced to play the winner of Group B, Switzerland, as one of the eight best third-place teams from the group stage.
Matches All times listed are local.
Argentina vs Algeria Argentina had faced Algeria previously only once, a 4–3 friendly win in 2007. This fixture marked Algeria's first return to the FIFA World Cup since 2014, when they reached the round of 16.
With his hat-trick, Lionel Messi equalled Miroslav Klose as the all-time top-scorer of the FIFA World Cup, with 16 goals.
Messi also became the first male player to play in six World Cups and the second player to score in five World Cups. At 38 years and 357 days old, he also became the oldest player to score a World Cup hat-trick.
GK 23Emiliano MartínezRB 4 Gonzalo Montiel CB 13Cristian Romero CB 6 Lisandro MartínezLB 25Facundo MedinaCM 7 Rodrigo De PaulCM 20Alexis Mac AllisterCM 24Enzo FernándezRF 10Lionel Messi (c) CF 22Lautaro Martínez LF 16Thiago Almada Substitutions:DF 26Nahuel Molina FW 9 Julián Alvarez MF 15Nicolás González MF 19Nicolás Otamendi FW 18Nico Paz Manager:Lionel Scaloni GK 23Luca ZidaneRB 17Rafik BelghaliCB 2 Aïssa Mandi (c)CB 21Ramy BensebainiLB 15Rayan Aït-NouriCM 14Hicham Boudaoui CM 19Nabil Bentaleb CM 22Ibrahim Maza RF 11Anis Hadj Moussa CF 9 Amine Gouiri LF 10Farès ChaïbiSubstitutions:MF 8 Houssem Aouar FW 7 Riyad Mahrez FW 18Mohamed Amoura MF 6 Ramiz Zerrouki FW 20Adil Boulbina Manager: Vladimir Petković
Man of the Match: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Assistant referees: Tomasz Listkiewicz (Poland) Adam Kupsik (Poland) Fourth official: Campbell-Kirk Kawana-Waugh (New Zealand) Reserve assistant referee: Isaac Trevis (New Zealand) Video assistant referee: (Poland) Assistant video assistant referee: Dennis Higler (Netherlands) Support video assistant referee: Mohammed Khadim (United Arab Emirates)
Austria vs Jordan The two teams had never met before. The fixture marked Jordan's debut at the FIFA World Cup. This also marked Jordan's very first loss after Austria's formidable form in securing three goals altogether, the second goal caused by a costly own goal from Yazan Al-Arab.
Despite Jordan receiving their very first defeat, Ali Olwan was named Man of the Match for his consistent performance.
GK 1 Alexander SchlagerRB 5 Stefan PoschCB 15Philipp LienhartCB 8 David Alaba (c) LB 16Phillipp Mwene CM 6 Nicolas SeiwaldCM 4 Xaver Schlager RW 18Romano Schmid AM 20Konrad LaimerLW 9 Marcel Sabitzer CF 14Saša Kalajdžić Substitutions:FW 7 Marko Arnautović MF 17Carney Chukwuemeka DF 3 Kevin Danso MF 24Paul Wanner FW 21Patrick Wimmer Manager: Ralf Rangnick GK 1 Yazeed AbulailaCB 3 Abdallah Nasib CB 16Mo Abualnadi CB 5 Yazan Al-ArabRM 23Ihsan Haddad (c) CM 8 Noor Al-RawabdehCM 21Nizar Al-RashdanLM 20Mohannad Abu TahaRF 10Musa Al-Taamari CF 9 Ali OlwanLF 11Odeh Al-Fakhouri Substitutions:DF 17Salim Obaid DF 19Saed Al-Rosan FW 13Mahmoud Al-Mardi MF 25Mohammad Al-Dawoud FW 24Ali Azaizeh Manager: Jamal Sellami
Man of the Match: Ali Olwan (Jordan)
Assistant referees: Jerson Emiliano dos Santos (Angola) Elvis Noupue (Cameroon) Fourth official: Oshane Nation (Jamaica) Reserve assistant referee: Caleb Wales (Trinidad and Tobago) Video assistant referee: Mahmoud Ashour (Egypt) Assistant video assistant referee: Nicolás Gallo (Colombia) Support video assistant referee: Rodolpho Toski (Brazil)
Argentina vs Austria The teams had met on two occasions, both friendlies, with the most recent being a 1–1 draw in 1990.
In the 8th minute, Argentina were awarded a penalty after Stefan Posch fouled Lautaro Martinez in the box, Lionel Messi took the penalty but fired wide low to the right of the post. In the 38th minute, Messi scored with a first-time left-foot finish from just inside the penalty area to the left corner after a low cross from the left by Facundo Medina. In the 95th minute, Messi scored again to make it 2–0 when his initial shot was blocked he followed up to hit low to the net from a tight angle on the left past two Austrian defenders.
In scoring both of Argentina's goals, Messi surpassed Miroslav Klose to become the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer with 18 goals. He was named Man of the Match and became the third player to score in six consecutive World Cup matches.
GK 23Emiliano MartínezRB 26Nahuel Molina CB 13Cristian Romero CB 6 Lisandro MartínezLB 25Facundo Medina DM 20Alexis Mac AllisterCM 7 Rodrigo De Paul CM 24Enzo FernándezCM 16Thiago Almada CF 10Lionel Messi (c) CF 22Lautaro Martínez Substitutions:DF 19 Nicolás Otamendi FW 9 Julián Alvarez FW 15 Nicolás González MF 5 Leandro Paredes DF 3 Nicolás Tagliafico Manager:Lionel Scaloni GK 1 Alexander SchlagerRB 5 Stefan Posch CB 3 Kevin DansoCB 8 David Alaba (c) LB 20Konrad Laimer CM 6 Nicolas SeiwaldCM 4 Xaver SchlagerRW 18Romano Schmid AM 24Paul Wanner LW 9 Marcel SabitzerCF 11Michael Gregoritsch Substitutions:FW 7 Marko Arnautović DF 22 Alexander Prass DF 23 Marco Friedl MF 21 Patrick Wimmer MF 17 Carney Chukwuemeka Manager: Ralf Rangnick
Man of the Match: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Assistant referees: Mahmoud Abouregal (Egypt) Ahmed Hossam Taha (Egypt) Fourth official: Alejandro Hernández Hernández (Spain) Reserve assistant referee: (Spain) Video assistant referee: Khamis Al-Marri (Qatar) Assistant video assistant referee: Mahmoud Ashour (Egypt) Support video assistant referee: Tatiana Guzmán (Nicaragua)
Jordan vs Algeria The teams had previously faced each other three times, most recently in 2004, a 1–1 draw in a friendly.
In the 36th minute, Nizar Al-Rashdan scored for Jordan with a shot with the outside of his right foot low to the right corner from the right of the penalty area. Nadhir Benbouali made it 1–1 in the 69th minute with a header to the left corner of the net after corner from on the right Riyad Mahrez. Amine Gouiri got the winning goal for Algeria in the 82nd minute when he hooked the ball into the net from close range after another corner from the right broke to him. With this defeat, Jordan were eliminated from the tournament.
GK 1 Yazeed AbulailaCB 3 Abdallah NasibCB 5 Yazan Al-ArabCB 4 Husam Abu Dahab RM 23Ihsan Haddad (c)CM 21Nizar Al-RashdanCM 8 Noor Al-RawabdehLM 20Mohannad Abu Taha RF 9 Ali Olwan CF 10Musa Al-Taamari LF 13Mahmoud Al-Mardi Substitutions:FW 11Odeh Al-Fakhouri FW 24Ali Azaizeh MF 2Mohammad Abu Hashish DF 17Salim Obaid FW 7Mohammad Abu Zrayq Manager: Jamal Sellami GK 23Luca ZidaneRB 17Rafik BelghaliCB 2 Aïssa MandiCB 21Ramy BensebainiLB 15Rayan Aït-Nouri CM 14Hicham Boudaoui CM 6 Ramiz Zerrouki AM 22Ibrahim MazaRF 7 Riyad Mahrez (c) CF 9 Amine Gouiri LF 10Farès ChaïbiSubstitutions:FW 12Nadhir Benbouali MF 19Nabil Bentaleb FW 11Anis Hadj Moussa DF 13Jaouen Hadjam DF 5Zineddine Belaïd Manager: Vladimir Petković
Man of the Match: Ibrahim Maza (Algeria)
Assistant referees: Tomaž Klančnik (Slovenia) Andraž Kovačič (Slovenia) Fourth official: Oshane Nation (Jamaica) Reserve assistant referee: Caleb Wales (Trinidad and Tobago) Video assistant referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia) Assistant video assistant referee: Jarred Gillett (England) Support video assistant referee: (Belgium)
Algeria vs Austria
The teams had met once before, in Austria's 2–0 group stage victory at the 1982 FIFA World Cup.
A win for either team would guarantee second-place in group J, while the loser would be eliminated. A draw would let both teams advance to the knockout round (with Austria in second-place due to greater goal difference after matchday 2) and eliminate Iran from the third-place rankings following Senegal's 5–0 victory over Iraq. This had raised fears of the Disgrace of Gijón from the 1982 World Cup repeating. In the end, both teams gave full effort. The game had a "frenetic pace", with each team having a lead at some point in the second half and each scoring in stoppage time.
GK 16Oussama BenbotRB 17Rafik Belghali CB 2 Aïssa MandiCB 21Ramy BensebainiLB 13Jaouen Hadjam CM 10Farès ChaïbiCM 19Nabil BentalebRW 7 Riyad Mahrez (c)AM 22Ibrahim MazaLW 8 Houssem Aouar CF 9 Amine Gouiri Substitutions:DF 5 Zineddine Belaïd DF 15Rayan Aït-Nouri DF 26Samir Chergui FW 25Farès Ghedjemis Manager: Vladimir Petković GK 1 Alexander SchlagerRB 5 Stefan PoschCB 15Philipp LienhartCB 8 David Alaba (c) LB 16Phillipp Mwene CM 6 Nicolas SeiwaldCM 4 Xaver Schlager RW 20Konrad LaimerAM 18Romano Schmid LW 9 Marcel SabitzerCF 7 Marko Arnautović Substitutions:FW 11Michael Gregoritsch MF 10Florian Grillitsch MF 24Paul Wanner DF 3 Kevin Danso FW 14Saša Kalajdžić Manager: Ralf Rangnick
Man of the Match: Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)
Assistant referees: Andrey Tsapenko (Uzbekistan) Timur Gaynullin (Uzbekistan) Fourth official: Katia Itzel García (Mexico) Reserve assistant referee: Sandra Ramírez (Mexico) Video assistant referee: Leodán González (Uruguay) Assistant video assistant referee: Shaun Evans (Australia) Support video assistant referee: Armando Villarreal (United States)
Jordan vs Argentina The two teams had never met before. The fixture featured two teams that had both reached finals in FIFA-organized tournaments at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar. This was the same venue where Argentina won their last World Cup on penalties against France, and Jordan competed in the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup final, losing 3–2 to Morocco.
Argentina came out strong despite having already secured first place, with two goals scored Giovani Lo Celso and Lautaro Martínez in the first half. Musa Al-Taamari then made it 1–2 in the 55th minute. However, with Lionel Messi subbed in, he scored from a free kick, marking his sixth goal overall at this World Cup.
With this result, defending champions Argentina completed Group J with a perfect 3–0–0 record. In contrast, tournament debutants Jordan suffered three straight defeats, making them, along with Uzbekistan in group K, the only debutant teams to finish without a single point.