Argentina faces Algeria in Group J at the 2026 FIFA World Cup™, live from Kansas City Stadium on June 16, 2026. Here’s how to watch live on TV.
- Time: 9:00 PM ET
- Location: Kansas City Stadium, Kansas City, MO
- TV Channels: FOX, Telemundo
- Streaming: FOX One
How to Watch Argentina vs. Algeria on June 16, 2026
You can watch Algeria take on Argentina live on DIRECTV on FOX, FOX One and Telemundo on June 16, 2026 at 9:00 PM ET.
Argentina vs. Algeria — Group J Match Preview
These two teams walk into Kansas City Stadium with very different stories: Argentina open Group J as 3-time winners and the defending champions from 2022, with the rare chance to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1962. That weight sits beside Lionel Messi, who plays here in a record sixth World Cup, just three goals short of Miroslav Klose’s all-time tournament record. Every touch he takes now reads as a countdown.
Algeria, meanwhile, has made it back to the World Cup for the first time since 2014, and they earned the trip the hard way: Winning their CAF qualifying group. Captain Riyad Mahrez sets the tone in only his second World Cup, with Amine Gouiri leading the line.
Form points in opposite directions on paper: Argentina won three straight heading in, including a 5-0 dismantling of Zambia in March 2026. Algeria buried Guatemala 7-0 the same month before grinding out a draw against Uruguay. The two have met only once, a wild 4-3 match back in 2007, which tells you almost nothing about what happens on a night when Group J position is at stake nearly 20 years later.
National TV
FOX, Telemundo
Streamng
FOX One
What Time is the Algeria vs. Argentina Match Today?
The Argentina vs. Algeria match starts at 9:00 PM ET.
Where Can I Watch Argentina vs. Algeria?
You can watch Argentina vs. Algeria on FOX, Telemundo and stream the match on FOX One.
Players to Watch: Argentina vs. Algeria
Argentina
Lionel Messi — FW. No man has ever played a sixth World Cu, but Messi does it here. The milestone comes with a record still in reach, as the captain sits three goals shy of Miroslav Klose’s all-time tournament mark of 16. Argentina lean on him for the same reasons they always have, the disguised pass and the late drift into space, and at this stage of his career every appearance carries its own gravity.
Lautaro Martinez — ST. If Messi conducts, Martinez finishes. The Inter Milan striker is Scaloni’s central No. 9, the runner who gives all that midfield craft something to aim at. He thrives on the half-chance and the early ball in behind, and Argentina need that ruthlessness if they intend to start Group J with three points rather than a scare.
Enzo Fernandez — MF. The Chelsea midfielder is the metronome between the lines, the player who decides whether Argentina build patiently or strike fast. His range of passing knits defense to attack, and the tempo he sets explains a lot about why the team rolled through three straight friendly wins on the way to Kansas City.
Algeria
Riyad Mahrez — W. For a player of his standing, this is a strangely short World Cup story, as Mahrez features in only his second tournament and at this point it may well be his last. That makes the stakes personal. Cutting in from the right onto his left foot, the captain is the pressure release valve for everything Petkovic wants to do in the final third.
Amine Gouiri — FW. The Marseille forward carries the line on a night that means more than most, Algeria’s first World Cup match since 2014. Mobile and willing to stretch defenders with his movement, Gouiri is the outlet that turns Mahrez’s supply into shots, and how often he gets in behind Argentina will shape whether this stays a contest.
Ramy Bensebaini — LB. Defending against Argentina is one job. Bensebaini has another. The Borussia Dortmund left-back is built to push forward, and his overlapping runs are where Algeria find width when Mahrez tucks inside. That balance between covering ground back and providing it going forward was a feature of the eight wins that carried Algeria through qualifying.
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