The group stage of the 2026 World Cup has ended. After four intense days of decisions, Group J concluded the first stage of the tournament with a straightforward victory for the Argentine National Team by 3-1 against the eliminated Jordan and a frenzied 3-3 draw that allowed Austria to finish as second and left Algeria as one of the best thirds.
Jordan 1-3 Argentina
The match started as expected, with a dominant Argentina that would leave Jordan with no chances. This trend would quickly be reflected in the 6 minute, when Giovani Lo Celso scored to make it 1-0, but his goal was ruled out for offside,
Minutes later, the No. 11 would have his revenge. In the 17th minute, Lo Celso would be fouled by Mohannad Abutahha at the edge of the area and would take the resulting free kick magnificently to leave goalkeeper Yazeed Abu laila motionless and score the 1-0.
And the National Team would not take their foot off the gas, and shortly after, the 2-0 would arrive. Although Lautaro Martínez would inexplicably miss a goal from close range, the rebound off the crossbar would fall to Marcos Senesi, who in his attempt to score with a diving header would receive a kick to the face from Odeh Fakhoury and the referee would award a penalty. The one in charge from the 12 yards would be the Toro, who would not disappoint.
Although they would continue to dominate their rival, the Albiceleste would slow down for the remainder of the first half, although there would be a few chances to get the third.
At the start of the second half, Lautaro would receive a great assist from Leandro Paredes and, after getting past the Jordanian goalkeeper, would center back for Lo Celso, but again it would not be validated due to a previous offside.
Surprisingly, Jordan would pull one back. In the 54 minute, after a great sequence of passes, Ehsan Haddad would cross for the recently entered Musa Al-Taamari, who would only have to push it in to make it 2-1.
After this wake-up call, Lionel Scaloni would make several changes: Alexis Mac Allister and Thiago Almada for Nico Paz and Lo Celso, and the most anticipated of the night: Lionel Messifor Lautaro Martínez.
And when the number 10 enters, magic happens. After several imprecise minutes, the Rosario star would rub the lamp with a precise low free kick that left Abu laila with no response for the final 3-1.
The first minutes of the match would show parity from both sides, which would abruptly be cut by Austria in the 27th minute, when Marko Arnautović would beat goalkeeper Oussama Benbo to make it 1-0 in slow motion.
Algeria would wake up after this goal, first with a long-distance shot from Fares Chaibi in the 39th that would hit the post and then with their own goal in the 45th, scored by Rafik Belghali.
In the second half, the Europeans would take the lead again in the 54 minute thanks to Marcel Sabitzer, however 5 minutes later the Africans would equalize once again through the left foot of Riyad Mahrez.
Although most of the remaining time would pass without many incidents, the last minutes of the match would be back and forth. First, in the 93rd minute, Algeria would turn the story around with a conversion from Mahrez and would enter as second in the group, however, in the last gasp of the match, Austria, through Saša Kalajdžić, would score the final 3-3.
With these results, the Argentine National Team finished first with a perfect score and will face Cape Verde next Friday, July 3 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. Meanwhile, Austria finished second with 4 points and will face Spain next Thursday, July 2 at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Further down, although they obtained the same points as the Austrians (4), Algeria finished third on goal difference (0 to -2), but also advanced to the round of 16, where they will play against Switzerland on the same day at the BC Place in Vancouver. Finally, Jordan closed their first World Cup appearance at the bottom of the group with 0 points.
