2026 World Cup: Jordan vs. Algeria, Probable Lineups

Fans who want to watch the exotic Group J matchup between Jordan and Algeria live will have to set their alarms very early, a match that looks like a true showdown for third place in the group, which also includes Argentina and Austria—both of whom won their openers against Algeria and Jordan, respectively. The match kicks off at 5 a.m. Italian time on Tuesday (4 a.m. in Algeria, 6 a.m. in Jordan) at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, where it will be 8 p.m. on Monday.

In its first-ever World Cup appearance, Jordan put up a strong fight against the higher-ranked Austria on the first day, with Olwan equalizing Schmidt’s opening goal and only faltering in the closing minutes, when the Austrians first regained the lead by capitalizing on an own goal by Al-Arab and then sealed the victory with a penalty kick converted by former Inter Milan player Arnautovic. The match against Algeria is a crucial one: a win is needed to keep their hopes of advancing alive, especially given the daunting final match against Argentina.

Algeria is coming off a crushing defeat at the hands of the Albiceleste—a 3-0 rout entirely orchestrated by Leo Messi, who scored a hat trick. The North Africans’ only bright spot had been Chaibi’s goal, which was disallowed while the score was 0-0: from there, it was all downhill, with the team led by former Lazio coach Vladimir Petkovic constantly struggling and proving easy prey for Scaloni’s side. The match against Jordan is crucial to avoid an early exit from the World Cup and ending up as little more than a bit player in the eyes of fans and experts.

Probable Lineups

JORDAN (3-4-3): Abulaila; Al-Rousan, Al-Arab, Abualnadi; Haddad, Al-Rashdan, Al-Rawabdeh, Abu Taha; Fakhoury, Olwan; Tamari. Head Coach: Sellami.

ALGERIA (4-3-3): Zidane; Belghali, Mandi, Bensebaini, Ait-Nouri; Boudaoui, Zerrouki, Maza; Mahrez, Amoura, Chaibi. Head Coach: Petkovic.