Argentina vs. Algeria Betting Tips (World Cup 2026)

World Champions Argentina will kick off their 2026 World Cup campaign with a tricky Group J encounter against Algeria in the early hours of Wednesday morning. 

Captained by the evergreen Lionel Messi, the South Americans are seeking their fifth major trophy in recent years after winning the 2022 World Cup, the 2021 and 2024 Copa Americas and the 2022 Finalissima.

Lionel Scaloni’s team haven’t been handed the easiest of starts. They will face a confident Algeria team who come into the tournament in good form, having won their two pre-tournament friendlies. 

The first was an impressive 1-0 win over the Netherlands, which was followed by a 4-0 win over Bolivia.

Despite Algeria’s impressive form, the bookmakers have Argentina as the 21/50 (1.42) favourites to get their World Cup defence off to a winning start. The draw is 7/2 (4.50) and a win for Algeria is 13/2 (7.50). 

The Algerians should prove to be a tough nut to crack, but Argentina will find a way, and we expect the defending champions to win a low scoring encounter 1-0 or 2-0. 

Why you should tail the bet:

• Argentina are a vastly more experienced team with extensive tournament experience.

• La Albiceleste cruised through their qualifying campaign, topping the CONMEBOL table with 38 points, nine more than second-placed Ecuador and ten ahead of Brazil. 

• Lionel Scaloni’s team are on a seven-match winning streak and have won ten of their last 12 fixtures.

• Algeria are unbeaten in their last four, winning three and drawing one without conceding a goal.

• They can struggle to score goals against higher-quality teams, having only found the net once in 180 minutes against Uruguay and the Netherlands in recent months.

• This should make it difficult for Algeria to break down Argentina, who have conceded just one goal in their last seven matches.

Argentina vs Algeria: Team News

Qatar World Cup hero Emi Martinez is fit to play in goal for the defending champions after he broke a finger playing for Aston Villa in the Europa League final last month. Elsewhere, Facundo Medina is set to play at left-back after Nicolas Tagliafico was ruled out.

Algeria have fitness concerns of their own. They are likely to be without Ramy Bensebaini, with Samir Chergui set to take his place in the starting line-up. 

Argentina vs Algeria: Predicted Lineups

We expect Argentina to line up like this:

• Emiliano Martinez, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martínez, Facundo Medina, Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez.

And Algeria should line up as follows: 

• Luca Zidane, Aissa Mandi, Rayan Ait Nouri, Samir Chergui, Rafik Belghali, Nabil Bentaleb, Houssem Aouar, Ibrahim Maza, Amine Gouiri, Riyad Mahrez, Mohamed Amoura.

Back Argentina to win at 21/50 (1.42) with bet365