Tuesday is one of the most star-studded days in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Kylian Mbappé and France begin the day by taking on one of Africa’s best teams in Senegal. The second game features Erling Haaland and Norway beginning their tournament run when they face Iraq.
Then Lionel Messi and Argentina begin their title defense against an Algerian team that enters the tournament playing great soccer. Finally, one of the most improved European teams in Austria looks to continue to impress in its opener when it faces Jordan.
Here is all you need to know for the big day.
France vs. Senegal: How To Watch
When: Tuesday, June 16, 3 p.m. ET
Where: New York/New Jersey
TV: FOX
Stream: Watch three days free on FOX One
Group I gets underway on Tuesday when pre-tournament favorite France opens its World Cup at New York New Jersey Stadium with a difficult test against one of Africa’s best teams in Senegal.
France is remarkably deep and talented at every position and the team’s expectation is to lift every trophy possible. But the team has come up short in its last two major tournaments. At the 2022 World Cup final, France painfully lost to Argentina on penalties. At Euro 2024, France fell to eventual champions Spain 2-1 in the semifinal round.
Under head coach Didier Deschamps, France strolled through World Cup qualifying without a loss, outscoring opponents 16-4 over six games.
Kylian Mbappé is eyeing a third straight World Cup final appearance. (Getty) –>
It is hard to find a weakness in France as Ibrahima Konaté and Willian Saliba likely make up the best central defensive pairing at this tournament. The midfield trio of Aurelien Tchouameni, N’Golo Kante, and Adrien Rabiot are all well established at the highest levels. And the front line consists of Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé, who recently won the Champions League with Paris St. Germain, and Kylian Mbappé, who is one of the best attackers of his generation.
Even with all that talent, there are some concerns. France was stunned by the Ivory Coast in its first World Cup tune-up in Nante as the African nation carved up the French defense with excellent passing en route to a 2-1 win. France then won its final World Cup friendly against Northern Ireland 3-1 but was not particularly sharp.
Coached by Pape Thiaw (who spent a large portion of his playing career in France), Senegal will not be an easy game for France. Currently, ranked 15th in the latest FIFA Rankings, Senegal also qualified for this World Cup without losing a game. Sadio Mané, 34, is not the player he was a decade ago, but he is still a dangerous forward. Winger Nicholas Jackson is also a top-level attacker after recently winning the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, while on loan from Chelsea.
But there is a lot of depth to this Senegal team and 20 of the 26 players played in Europe’s top five leagues this past season.
France vs. Senegal: Player to Watch
Kylian Mbappé: Regarded as one of the best players of his generation (ranked No. 2 in our Top World Cup Players), the French striker is on the shortlist for most experts to win the World Cup’s Golden Ball, Golden Boot, or both. The common criticism of Mbappé in recent years has been his scoring efficiency, as he has been wasteful with many of his opportunities despite still scoring goals in droves. This was the case in France’s two friendlies prior to the World Cup. He had six shots against Northern Ireland and did not score. Against the Ivory Coast, he only had one shot that was saved.
Mbappé could use a strong start at this World Cup to get into a rhythm for the knockout stages. But if he continues to go games without scoring, frustration could set in.
Norway vs. Iraq: How To Watch
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When: Tuesday, June 16, 6 p.m. ET
Where: Boston
TV: FOX
Stream: Watch three days free on FOX One
The second game of the day takes us to Boston Stadium when Norway takes on Iraq in the Group I opener for both teams.
All eyes will be on Norway in this game. Currently ranked 31st in the FIFA World Rankings, the last time Norway was in the World Cup was 1998. The last time it participated in the European Championships was in 2000. Despite not having been relevant on the international stage for over two decades, Norway brings a very talented team to the 2026 World Cup and has the potential to make a very deep run.
Norway was the most dominant team in UEFA World Cup qualifying, having won all eight of its games in a group with Italy, Israel, Estonia, and Moldova and outscoring opponents by a stunning margin of 37-5.
Erling Haaland is one of the best center forwards in the world. In his club career in top divisions (with Molde, Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund, and Manchester City), Haaland as scored 297 goals in 364 games in all competitions.
For Norway’s national team, he has 55 goals in 50 appearances.
But Norway brings a fantastic supporting cast to this World Cup. Martin Ødegaard is the captain of both Norway and Arsenal, who are coming off winning the Premier League. RB Leipzig midfielder Antonio Nusa, 21, is one of the top young players at this tournament. Fulham’s Oscar Bobb is a electric winger for Fulham after the London club paid £27 million to Manchester City for him in January.
Erling Haaland of Norway is set to bring his superstar status to the World Cup. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
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While many believe Norway can make a deep run in the knockout stages at this World Cup, a potential concern is the team’s ability to withstand the heat of the American summer.
Ranked 57th in the World in the latest FIFA Rankings, Iraq is the heavy underdog in each of his Group I games. Australian head coach Graham Arnold has done an impressive job with Iraq after taking over in 2025 when the team was in poor shape. But Arnold dramatically improved the team to qualify through a 2-1 intercontinental playoff win over Bolivia.
That playoff win was a remarkable story as it took the Iraqi team to make a harrowing journey to get to Monterrey, Mexico after war in the Middle East closed airspace, forcing the team to make a 12-hour bus ride to Jordan, followed by a long wait, to catch a flight to Mexico.
The expectation is that Iraq will not advance, but Arnold believes that belief will help Iraq.
“Some people may say that France, Norway and Senegal is the group of death,” Arnold told FIFA’s website. “I say let’s go for it. All the pressure is on France to win it, the pressure’s on Norway and Senegal to get through — the pressure is not on Iraq.”
Norway vs. Iraq: Player to Watch
Erling Haaland: With how good Haaland, 25, has been at the club level, he will finally have the opportunity to play in a major international tournament with Norway, like his father, Alf-Inge Håland, did for Norway at the 1994 World Cup in the United States. Haaland (ranked No. 6 in our Top World Cup Players) was the top goalscorer in UEFA World Cup qualifying with 16 goals, and he now enters this tournament as a contender for the Golden Boot.
Norway has elite players but is not particularly deep. For the team to make a deep run, its star players will have to play well and that starts with Haaland.
Argentina vs. Algeria: How To Watch
When: Tuesday, June 16, 9 p.m. ET
Where: Kansas City
TV: FOX
Stream: Watch three days free on FOX One
Reigning champions Argentina kicks off its title defense on Tuesday when it faces Algeria at Kansas City Stadium in Missouri in Group J action.
Argentina has not taken its foot off the gas pedal since winning the 2022 World Cup. At the 2024 Copa América, Argentina cruised to the title while conceding just one goal over its six games. Then in CONMEBOL’s singles-table World Cup qualifying, Argentina easily finished in first, nine points better than second-place Ecuador and outscoring opponents 31-10 over 18 games.
The concern over Argentina is that the team has mostly remained the same since winning the 2022 World Cup. Lionel Scaloni remains the head coach and Lionel Messi remains the team’s captain and most important player. In total, 17 players on this current 2026 team were on the 2022 team. This includes key midfielders Enzo Fernández, Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, and Leandro Paredes along with forwards Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez, who should all feature heavily again this summer.
Lionel Messi wants to win his second straight World Cup. (Getty) –>
With the same team four years ago, has the team lost a step due to age? Are they too complacent? Is the hunger still there?
Even with this concerns, Argentina is still the heavy favorite in this game Algeria, who are ranked 28 in the latest FIFA World Rankings. Led by Bosnian head coach Vladimir Petkovic, Algeria are capable of surprising people at this World Cup.
Algeria’s friendlies in March as well as the recent tune-up games have gone very well for Algeria, who coasted to a 7-0 win over Guatemala, played Uruguay to a 0-0 draw, then in June defeated the Netherlands 1-0 and Bolivia 4-0. In World Cup qualifying, Algeria posted a record of 8-1-1 while outscoring opponents 24-8.
At 35, winger Riyad Mahrez remains the team’s captain and most important offensive player. Now with Saudi club Al-Ahli, Mahrez won four Premier League titles with Manchester City and one with Leicester City. The team’s second leading scorer is Wolfsburg striker Mohamed Amoura who has 19 goals from 44 appearances.
Argentina vs. Algeria: Player to Watch
Lionel Messi: As one of the legendary players of all time, Messi will earn his 200th cap for Argentina when he plays in this game. He has won the domestic league for each of his clubs: Barcelona, Paris Saint0Germain, and Inter Miami. He has won the World Cup, the Copa América, the Olympics, the U-20 World Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup.
At age 38, Messi is fighting Father Time in impressive fashion (ranked No. 16 in our Top World Cup Players). All eyes will be on him to see how he begins what could likely be his final major international tournament.
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Austria vs. Jordan: How To Watch
When: Wednesday, June 17, 12 a.m. ET
Where: San Francisco Bay Area
TV: FS1
Stream: Watch three days free on FOX One
In Group J, one of the world’s most improved teams in Austria gets its World Cup underway with high expectations when it takes on Jordan on Tuesday night at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.
There are plenty of reasons to believe that Austria is significantly better than its current FIFA World Ranking of 24. It qualified for the World Cup after winning UEFA Group H over Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Cyprus, and San Marion with a record of 6-1-1 while impressively outscoring opponents 22-4. At Euro 2024, Austria finished atop Group D over traditional world powers France and the Netherlands along with Poland before being eliminated in the knockouts by Poland.
In 2026, Austria has won its three friendlies, a 5-1 win over Ghana, a 1-0 win over South Korea, and a 1-0 win over Tunisia.
This success is a complete reversal of decades of lackluster results. The last time Austria had qualified for the World Cup was in 1998 when it made a group stage exit in France.
The architect of this rise has been famed German head coach Ralf Rangnick who is known for his counter-pressing style. He has heavily influenced top German managers such as Jürgen Klopp, Julian Nagelsmann, and Thomas Tuchel.
He has led Austria since 2022, and it is his first time running a national team. Under Rangnick, Austria has been effective in its relentless pressing.
Rangnick brings with him an older roster with an average age of 28.6. The likely average age of its starting lineup is over 30. This includes captain amd defender David Alaba, 35, of Real Madrid, forward Marko Arnautovic, 37, of Red Star Belgrade and who has 133 appearances, forward Michael Gregoritsch, 32, of FC Augsburg, and midfielder Marcel Sabitzer, 32, of Borussia Dortmund. Each of these players are important to Austria’s current World Cup efforts.
Meanwhile, Jordan will be making its World Cup debut and is currently ranked 63 in the FIFA World Rankings. The Chivalrous Ones are the heavy underdogs in what is a very strong Group J.
Managed by Jamal Sellami of Morocco, Jordan is a team that plays with a compact defense and looks to generate chances through counterattacking. The team qualified for the World Cup after finishing as the runners-up in Group B of the third round of the AFC’s qualifiers. Sellami’s squad finished behind South Korea but ahead of Iraq, Oman, Palestine, and Kuwait.
Nearly all the players on Jordan’s roster play for Asian clubs. The only player who plays for a major European team is starting forward and captain Musa Al-Taamari who plays for Rennes in France’s Ligue 1. Al-Taamari, 29, has scored 24 goals in 94 appearances for Jordan.
Austria vs. Jordan: Player to Watch
Marko Arnautović: In a World Cup that features many aging stars, such as Lionel Messi, Luka Modrić, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Edin Džeko, Arnautović remains undisputed leader of Austria’s attack at age 37. Now with Red Star Belgrade, which he joined in 2025, Arnautović is the national team’s most-capped player and all-time scorer. But unlike those other players, Arnautović will be playing in his first World Cup. He is known for his powerful style and his strong hold-up play. In 2025, he scored eight goals in nine appearances for Austria.
Austria has ambitious goals this summer and Arnautović is a critical part of those efforts.
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