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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.

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.

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.

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.

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.