It is impossible to discuss this fixture without focusing on Lionel Messi - the 38-year-old is expected to start against Algeria, which would be his sixth World Cup.

With 13 goals and seven assists from his 16 appearances for Inter Miami this season, Messi is still operating at the highest level, and he contributed a further eight goals and three assists during Argentina’s 12 World Cup qualifying matches. 

It was Kylian Mbappe who earned the Golden Boot at the 2022 World Cup, but Messi was just one goal behind the Frenchman, with seven goals from seven appearances. Messi also contributed three assists, and he is expected to play a significant role in the final third again this summer.

Ibrahim Maza is another Algerian player who is one to keep an eye on, and the 20-year-old had a breakthrough 25/26 campaign with Bayer Leverkusen, contributing five goals and six assists in 44 appearances across all competitions.

Operating in an advanced midfield position, Maza is one of the most exciting young players at this tournament, and he had an average of 2.62 shots per 90 in the Bundesliga this season, with a decent chunk of those efforts coming from outside the box. 

Maza is not short of confidence, and he chipped in with two goals in five appearances at AFCON, demonstrating his quality at the international level. If Algeria are to cause problems on the break against Argentina, Maza is likely to be involved.

Messi averaged 2.96 fouls drawn per 90 for Argentina in the qualifying games, which shows how he remains the primary creative force for his national side, and it’s going to be a tough job for Algeria to contain him. Rayan Ait-Nouri looks set for a big role at left back. 

The Man City fullback had a limited role under Pep Guardiola this season, but still averaged 1.51 fouls per 90 across all competitions. That figure rose significantly on the international stage, where he is trusted with a much greater role, and Ait-Nouri had an average of 3.28 fouls per 90 at AFCON.

He likes to be aggressive in his challenges, but this promises to be one of the tougher matchups of his career.

Algeria’s quality in the final third shouldn’t be discounted here, with the likes of Mohamed Amoura, Amine Gouiri and, of course, the experienced veteran Riyad Mahrez. They have enough firepower to cause problems going forward, and contribute to the scorecard. 

However, keeping this Argentina side at bay will be their biggest challenge. With 31 goals scored across their 18 qualifying matches, no South American side was anywhere near as efficient as Argentina in the final third.

Over 2.5 goals landed in five out of seven matches in their 2022 World Cup run, which shows how their games tend to be quite open and high-scoring, and that should be the case again here.

Argentina have been handed a favourable draw alongside Algeria, Austria, and Jordan, and the South American side will want to kick off their opening fixture with a convincing win.

Argentina were on the receiving end of one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history in 2022 when they were beaten by Saudi Arabia in their opening match, so Scaloni's side will be aware not to repeat that this time round. 

Argentina are going to take some stopping at the moment, though. After cruising to top spot in the CONMEBOL qualifiers, they have won all seven friendlies prior to this tournament, which underlines the talent in their ranks.

Colombia should be quite a fun side to follow during the World Cup, given some of the quality they have in the side. Players like Diaz, Rodriguez, Suarez and Arias should all entertain and give Colombia a decent chance of reaching the knockout stages. 

Uzbekistan are the weakest side in this group on paper and don’t have much experience at all of competing on this stage. I expect it to be quite a learning curve for Uzbekistan, though they are worth keeping an eye on in the coming years with how successful the country has been in the youth tournaments over recent campaigns.

Colombia have scored first in five of their last six international matches, and I expect them to deliver the first blow here against an Uzbekistan side that may find it difficult to even get on the scoresheet.

DR Congo can be stubborn, but I do expect Portugal to eventually break them down and go on to win by a couple of goals.

There's so much quality in this Portugal side, and Ronaldo will also be aware that this is one of his few real chances to add to his World Cup goal tally - which, for a player of his standing, isn't actually that impressive.

Portugal scored 20 goals in six qualifying games (3.33 per game), and they have the firepower to unlock what's expected to be a low block from Congo, thanks to the talented midfield trio of Fernandes, Vitinha and Neves.

DR Congo conceded two goals in their final warm-up against Chile, and recent form suggests their stubbornness can waver against elite opposition; they've shipped 3+ goals in games against Senegal and Morocco within the last year.

I do think England may have to score more than once to win this game. Croatia may be an ageing side, but they do have real threats who can cause the Three Lions problems, having won seven of their eight qualifying matches themselves.

Croatia also have a very consistent record at international tournaments over the last few years. They beat England 2-1 in the 2018 World Cup, with the sides also facing each other in the Nations League over the last few years, with England getting their revenge in those matches.

England have seen 2+ goals in nine of their last 11 matches across all competitions, with the exceptions being friendly matches against Japan and New Zealand.

I’m a bit worried about Ghana in this group, many people have Panama bottom but the African side could really struggle without one of their main stars in Mohammed Kudus. 

Ghana failed to even qualify for AFCON earlier this year, which was a real failure and kind of reflects where the nation is ahead of this World Cup. Panama really struggled the last time they featured at a World Cup, but have improved since then and shown recent signs of promise - including scoring twice against Brazil in a recent friendly.

I don’t think Ghana will sit back here, this is the most winnable game for them of their three group matches - though Panama can definitely carry an attacking threat themselves having scored in each of their last five matches, including against other sides that have reached the World Cup such as Bosnia and South Africa.