Lionel Messi and Argentina’s Route to the 2026 World Cup Final

La Albiceleste enter the tournament as defending champions.

Lionel Messi could have some very familiar foes in his way. / Daniel Jayo/Getty Images, OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images, Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images, Joe Prior/Visionhaus/Getty Images

Lionel Messi’s path to glory has become clearer after Friday’s 2026 World Cup group stage draw.

The Inter Miami CF veteran will be playing on familiar ground in North America next summer as he and his Argentina teammates seek to defend their crown. The 2022 world champions are naturally among the favorites for the trophy, but will have to overcome some sizable hurdles en route.

Argentina now know their three group stage opponents for the largest ever iteration of world soccer’s grandest tournament, while their journey through the knockout stages can also be projected.

Here is Messi and Argentina’s route to the 2026 World Cup final.

Next. 2026 World Cup full schedule. Full List of Matches for 2026 World Cup. dark

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Group Stage

Algeria

Algeria are Argentina’s first opponents. / CHRISTINE OLSSON/TT/TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP/Getty Images

Argentina certainly avoided some of the trickiest opposition during the group stage draw. They were unable to lock horns with any fellow CONMEBOL nations, but also managed to steer clear of troublemakers such as Croatia, Norway, Morocco and Japan.

They will face favorable opposition in their opener, too. A first ever competitive meeting with Algeria, who featured in Pot 3 for the draw, will be staged next summer and appears unlikely to cause much concern. The North Africans have failed to qualify for the previous two tournaments and have never made it beyond the last 16, while they lack the star power of other participants.

Wolfsburg’s Mohammed Amoura is their leading attacking threat after ten goals in a strong qualification campaign, but little is expected of Algeria at the tournament itself. Having said that, few expected Saudi Arabia to beat Argentina in their opening match of the 2022 World Cup.

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Austria

Austria are not World Cup regulars. / Severin Aichbauer/SEPA.Media /Getty Images

Next up in Group J is Austria. Another fortunate draw for La Albiceleste, the Europeans will be featuring at their first World Cup since 1998 and failed to entirely convince in qualifying. While they enjoyed a 10–0 drubbing of minnows San Marino, they did taste defeat to Romania and dropped points against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

David Alaba’s fitness issues mean he’s not guaranteed to feature next summer, while the majority of the rest of Austria’s squad play in the German Bundesliga. Bayern Munich’s Konrad Laimer and Borussia Dortmund’s Marcel Sabitzer are among the best they have to offer.

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Jordan

Jordan are appearing at a first World Cup. / Armando Babani/Getty Images

Lady Luck also shone down on Argentina when it came to their Pot 4 match-up. World Cup debutants Jordan will be their final group stage opponent, by which point the South American behemoths will hoped to have secured their knockout place. If they haven’t, then toppling FIFA’s 66th-ranked side should be no problem.

Messi has never faced Austria or Jordan previously—Argentina having never played the latter—but he did score a brace against Algeria during a 4–3 friendly victory in 2007.

Argentina will need to finish in the top two of their group to automatically qualify for the round of 32, with the winner, on paper at least, earning a more favorable draw for the first knockout round. However, the eight best-performing third-placed sides also progress, meaning only 16 teams are actually eliminated at the group stage.

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Argentina World Cup Group Stage Schedule

Date	Opponent
June 16	Algeria
June 22	Austria
June 27	Jordan

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Knockout Stage

Round of 32

Uruguay would be very tough round of 32 opposition. / Ernesto Ryan/Getty Images

While Argentina will not know their knockout stage opponents until the end of next summer’s group stage, they can begin to plot a path to the showpiece event.

Realistically, La Albiceleste should win their group at a relative canter, which would set up a clash against the runner-up from Group H. That could prove tricky for the reigning champions, with that particular group containing Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia and debutants Cabo Verde. Based on FIFA rankings, it’s Uruguay who they would face in the last 32.

Should Argentina only finish second in their group, then they would face the winner of Group H. That will almost certainly be reigning European champions Spain—who will be kept apart from Argentina until the final if both sides finish first in their respective groups. Lionel Scaloni’s men will be desperate to avoid such a mammoth clash so early in the knockout phase.

If Argentina finish third and qualify as one of the eight best performers, then they will face either of the winner of Group B, D, G, K or L.

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Round of 16

Australia would be simple last 16 opponents—or at least it would appear. / Getty

Imagining Messi and Co. top Group J as expected and progress to the round of 16, then they will come up against either the runner-up from Group D or G. While it’s impossible to know who that will be, the FIFA rankings suggest it will either be Australia or Iran—both of which would be great draws.

Argentina beat Australia in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup and also beat Iran at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. They won’t fear either of the AFC representatives.

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Quarterfinal

Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could lock horns in the quarterfinals. / Luis Loureiro/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

Should they follow the aforementioned path to the last 16 and then progress, they would likely face the winner of either Group B or K in the quarterfinal.

Portugal or Colombia are the most likely Group K winners, which could result in a meeting between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi in the last eight, but Group B is much tougher to predict.

Should they qualify via the playoffs, Italy would be favorites to top Group B. However, as things stand, Switzerland and Canada are the most likely to do so.

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Semifinal

England vs. Argentina would be huge. / Carl Recine/Getty Images

Based on FIFA rankings again, Argentina could well face the winner of a quarterfinal between England and Brazil in the semis. Both would be absolutely tantalizing match-ups, although a renewal of their bitter rivalry with the Seleção at such a key juncture would be particularly thrilling.

However, England are ranked higher than Brazil at present and could meet Argentina for the first time since 2005. It would be a sixth clash at the World Cup between the historic foes.

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Final

Spain could await in the final. / NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP/Getty Images

Providing both sides win their respective groups, then a clash with Spain would potentially ensue in the final in the United States. The two giants are the highest-ranked nations in the world for good reason and will be among the favorites to clinch the title no matter what happens in the build-up to the tournament.

Argentina’s only World Cup duel with Spain came all the way back in 1966, but their most recent battle was during a friendly in 2018 which ended 6–1 in La Roja’s favor.

Having thrilled so many in Spain over the course of his career with Barcelona, Messi could break their hearts in the grand finale.

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