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Key events
32 mins: Algeria get on the ball in Argentina’s half for the first time in ages. They work the ball from side to side then look to attack down the right but Almada tracks back effectively.
30 mins: Messi misplaces a pass, then commits a foul trying to win the ball back. He is by no means the passenger we might have expected out of possession.
28 mins: Only when the ball is back with E Martinez do Argentina spread the field. Otherwise it is like a small-sided training exercise. The composure in tight areas and confidence in the collective technical ability is something to behold. The ball is in perpetual motion, then in the final third the single touches become more extravagant and daring, but always effective. Algeria can’t get near it.
26 mins: Messi is now the joint-third highest goalscorer in World Cup history. And he joins Cristiano Ronaldo as the only men to find the back of the net in five different World Cups.
24 mins: Time for a hydration break. That first quarter went according to plan for Argentina – but only just, with a VAR offside check saving them from conceding the opening goal.
22 mins: Messi works space from one of those rapier-like moves but his cross is overhit and Algeria clear. Argentina are hungry in midfield though and soon with the ball back. The North Africans are now defending in a deep low block, scared of pressing for fear the defending champions will just play through them.
21 mins: Argentina return to their game plan of working the ball around slowly and safely across their defence and midfield before darting forward like a fencer with razor sharp incisions.
20 mins: That goal was exactly how Lionel Scaloni had drawn up on the training ground. Technical excellence from back to front and individual brilliance of historic proportions.
18 mins: Sometimes all the hype is actually worth it.
Argentina are looking almost exclusively for vertical passes through the lines with even Messi dropping deep to accept possession. The little genius does just that to start a move with a one-two then ghosts unchecked into space between the lines. A couple of passes later the ball is at his feet with room to turn, which he does, then takes a couple of steps to advance towards the penalty area before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed effort that arcs away from Zidane and into the top right corner. Brilliant.
GOAL! Argentina 1-0 Algeria (Messi, 17)
You know the script.
15 mins: Argentina’s structure during build up play is very compact. They’re looking to ping rondo-style passes in tight areas to unlock Algeria on the half-turn with very little space between the back four and the front three.
13 mins: Argentinian songs rain down from the precipitous stands of Arrowhead Stadium as the team they are cheering on pad their possession stats. Eventually they work the ball through the lines on the left where Almada has an opportunity to do something decisive but he overhits his throughball to Messi when he may have been better off shooting.
11 mins: Algeria with a free-kick on the left. They go short – and like London buses, Messi makes a second tackle of the game to dispossess Hadj Moussa. Even though their goal was ruled out, Algeria have gained confidence from the move and started to spray the ball around nicely in midfield.
VAR! No Goal!
Brilliant from Maza in midfield, recycling possession, keeping the ball moving, teasing between the lines. He spots Chaibi darting between fullback and centre-half, feeds him perfectly, and the finish is glorious, deceiving Martinez at his near post.
But with the crowd adjusting to the shock excitement is quelled by a VAR intervention and the goal is ruled out for a marginal offside against the goalscorer.
GOAL! With their first attack Algeria opening the scoring!
7 mins: This is a rare low tempo contest. Argentina are dominating possession but not looking to force anything.
5 mins: The ball goes out of play on the right as a pass slightly in front of Messi beats the veteran’s quickstep. He has definitely lost a yard or six of pace. You wouldn’t know it during the next phase of play though as he jumps in behind and clips a delightful finish over the onrushing Zidane. However, his delight is cut short as he notices the assistant’s flag raised for offside. It was marginal, but he took off a fraction too early.
3 mins: In possession, Argentina are happy to bide their time and draw Algeria out to them. They do just that, Romero attempts the long ball, Almada picks up the scraps and crosses to La Martinez who heads straight at Zidane. He was offside anyway so it wouldn’t have counted.
2 mins: Argentina are defending in a 4-3-3 shape out of possession with Messi on the right of the front three. And you’ll never believe this – he did some defending – winning the ball back in his own half and feeding back to his keeper.
1 min: An early question to ponder as the action gets under way at walking pace: are Argentina the most heavily tattooed team at the World Cup?
Kick-off!
Lionel Messi’s World Cup campaign is under way…
Argentina’s anthem was sung with smiles and pride, the defending champions looking relaxed and confident. Algeria’s players belted out their own hymn with a steely determination on their faces.
The Fennecs’ kit improves on closer inspection, with some nice touches giving it a retro feel, imbuing the spirit of 1982, the Disgrace of Gijon, and all that.
Out walk the two sides into a stadium populated from near top to bottom in fans wearing Albiceleste colours.
Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane is wearing a protective face mask as he recovers from a severe jaw and chin fracture that he suffered playing for Granada in April.
Argentina will be in their glorious sky blue and white stripes today, complemented by black shorts and trim. Algeria are wearing their change strip of green with white shorts.
A selection of Messi stats for you to digest at as the veteran begins his valedictory World Cup.
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26 – record number of World Cup matches played
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6 – record World Cups appeared in (shared with Cristiano Ronaldo)
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13 – World Cup goals (joint fifth all-time)
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38 – age at kick-off (12th oldest at the 2026 World Cup)
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2 – record number of World Cup golden balls
Today’s officials are from Poland, led by referee Szymon Marciniak, who took charge of the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France, and the 2023 Champions League final between Manchester City and Inter Milan.
He is a celebrity in Poland, appearing as a contestant on the Polish version of Hell’s Kitchen, and featuring in the documentary series Sędziowie, a behind the scenes look at the life of a referee.
Conditions are glorious in Kansas City. It is around 26C and dropping as golden hour drifts towards sundown.
The venue today is Arrowhead Stadium. This classically American open bowl can hold 76,000 spectators and is known commercially as GEHA Field. During the World Cup it is neutralised to Kansas City Stadium.
The primary tenants are NFL franchise the Kansas City Chiefs, winners of four Super Bowls, including three since 2019.
The venue has twice earned the Guinness World Record for the loudest stadium, first in 2013, then in 2014, during matches featuring the Chiefs.
Lionel Messi has already stamped his authority on the turf.
Daniel Sperry brings us one of those necessary World Cup stories that reminds us the hostile politics of the leaders of a nation does not reflect the hospitality of most its residents.
Jonathan Wilson has spoken to Luciana Alvarengue, the former maths teacher of both Enzo Fernández and Julián Álvarez, who provides a neat character study of the two World Cup winners.
“You either love maths or you hate it,” Alvarengue says. “There are no grey areas. Julián was very good at maths. He had a very good way of working in the classroom in general. Enzo was a little more difficult to deal with. There are days when you would say he was more focused on a game, on whether he was going to be selected or not.
“When he came into the classroom, Enzo liked to make sounds, banging his pencil case on the table. I remember entering the classroom, and on the left side was Enzo’s place, and he was with his back against the wall, his feet on the other bench, and there were days when he was like: ‘Today I’m going to stay like this.’ Julián was calmer, much more respectful.
22 players will walk out into the Kansas City evening with an equal chance of influencing this contest but the eyes of the world will be trained squarely on the oldest and shortest of them.
Your eyes are not deceiving you, that is a Zidane in goal for the Fennecs, Luca Zidane, son of the French World Cup legend.
Algeria XI
Vladimir Petkovic has opted for a 5-2-3 formation in a bid to stiffen his side’s defence. Star man Riyad Mahrez starts on the bench.
23 Zidane; 17 Belghali, 2 Mandi, 21 Bensebaini, 5 Belaid 15 Ait-Nouri; 19 Bentaleb, 14 Boudaoui; 22 Maza, 11 Hadj Moussa, 9 Gouiri.
Argentina XI
Lionel Scaloni has left in-demand Julian Alvarez on the bench for Argentina’s opening match. Cristian Romero is fit to start after fleeing Tottenham’s relegation battle.
23 E Martinez; 4 Montiel, 13 Romero, 6 Li Martinez, 25 Medina; 7 De Paul, 24 Fernandez, 20 Mac Allister; 10 Messi, 16 Almada, 22 La Martinez.
What about Algeria? Even Maher Mezahi isn’t sure what to expect.
Algeria are one of this World Cup’s great unknowns. On paper, this team has an impressive recent record: a friendly victory over the Netherlands made it 21 wins, four draws and three defeats from 28 matches under Vladimir Petkovic, with 67 goals scored. The problem is that it has been achieved against generally poor-quality opposition. Algeria’s qualifying campaign was a breeze, with Guinea and Mozambique – both considered Pot C sides on the continent – being their sternest tests.
We can be pretty sure Petkovic will lean on his players’ technical quality, play attractive football, but leave gaps in behind the defence. What we don’t know is which players will be called upon for half the starting positions.
Ok, turning our attention now to Argentina v Algeria, let’s get a view on the defending champions from the experts at Olé.
The holders arrive at the World Cup with a squad that knows each other almost by heart but perhaps not with its players in peak physical condition – several had injury set-backs at the end of a very demanding season with their clubs. If everyone is fit, the coach will field many of the same players who were crowned champions in Qatar, with the exception of Ángel Di María, who no longer plays for the national team.
Lionel Scaloni’s plan is to keep the 4-3-3 formation, with a solid defence featuring two centre-backs and two attacking full-backs, plus dynamic midfielders with excellent passing. Lionel Messi leads the charge once more, supported by the formidable Julián Alvarez and Thiago Almada, who could be the breakout star. Almost two thirds of the 2022 squad remains, but it now also includes some promising young players such as Nico Paz, who has been in excellent form at Como. They will also have established stars like Lautaro Martínez, who aims to be in top condition for this World Cup: something he couldn’t achieve in Qatar.
Norway have delivered on their pre-tournament dark horse status with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Iraq to join France at the top of Group I. There was a brace for Erling Haaland, putting the Manchester City goal machine alongside Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot.
In the latest who-cares-the-rapture-is-coming-soon-anyway news Johnny Child continues to turn left for global warming.
As a result of the huge distances the New Weather Institute has described this World Cup as “the most polluting event ever”, estimating that it will generate about 9 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Air travel is responsible for about 7.7 million tons of that carbon estimate, more than four times that of the average for World Cups held from 2010 to 2022.
In today’s opening match France overcame a disjointed first half to run out comfortable 3-1 winners over Senegal. Les Bleus didn’t look at their best for big chunks but the class of Olise, Mbappé, Doue, and Barcola proved irresistible.
Mbappé now has 14 goals in 15 World Cup matches, drawing him alongside Gerd Muller on the all-time standings, behind only Ronaldo and Miroslav Klose. He will surely leave North America as the most prolific goalscorer in finals history.
Max and the gang celebrate Cape Verde on the latest World Cup Daily pod.
In case you missed it, international manager par excellence Hervé Renard will go to the ball after all. He of the fitted white dress shirt qualified with Saudi Arabia, only to lose his job on the eve of the tournament. The Frenchman has answered Tunisia’s SOS and will replace Sabri Lamouchi in the dugout for the remaineder of the tournament after the former Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City boss was sacked following a grisly opening defeat to Sweden.
Michael Butler compiled the latest Football Daily roundup, featuring Pico Lopes, Marcelo Bielsa, and the late Roy Hattersley.
Let’s ease into the third fixture of matchday six by peering into the mind of David Squires.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of match 19 of the 2026 World Cup between Argentina and Algeria. Kick-off in this Group J clash at Kansas City Stadium is 8pm local time (9pm EDT/2am BST/11am AEST).
The arrival of the defending champions into a tournament always adds a frisson of excitement to proceedings and that is the case today as Argentina get their campaign underway. Of course the presence of la Albiceleste also means that of captain, Lionel Messi, who alone has the heft of a participating nation in these parts since his move to MLS.
2022 was Messi’s crowing glory, the triumph that cemented his status among the very greatest in football history. He is not without a chance of adding a second winner’s medal to his collection in North America, but he faces a tougher task this time around as he and his team battle the unvanquishable opponent: time.
Algeria offer a stiff early test of an ageing team’s title defence. Ranked 28th in the world they are coached by the canny Vladimir Petkovic and captained by serial winner Riyad Mahrez. They warmed up for the World Cup by beating the Netherlands in Rotterdam and thrashing Argentina’s northern neighbours Bolivia 4-0.
I’ll be back shortly with team news and a round-up of all the matchday action so far. In the meantime you can keep an eye on Iraq v Norway and email any thoughts about the tournament so far to jonathan.howcroft.freelance@theguardian.com.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer says the ban will give children more time, security and freedom to grow up. But how do under-16s feel?
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US midterm primaries 2026 live: results and updates as elections in Georgia and Oklahoma test Trump’s power | US midterm elections 2026
Results expected as voters cast ballots in three states and Washington DC
Fran Lawther
Voters have been casting their ballots in primary elections in Alabama, Oklahoma and Georgia – where a closely watched runoff will decide who faces off against Democratic candidates in Senate and gubernatorial races in November.
In Washington DC – a Democratic stronghold – voters were also selecting a candidate for the party ahead of November’s mayoral election.
In Alabama, a Republican primary runoff for Senate between Trump-backed Barry Moore and Jared Hudson is another test of how far Trump’s endorsement can sway voters.
These primaries are the latest test of Donald Trump’s power over the Republican party. In deeply conservative Oklahoma, Trump has given his early backing to Kevin Hern in the senate seat previously held by homeland security secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Hern has kept other potential big challengers at bay in Oklahoma, which hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1990, according to AP.
But a bigger test of Trump’s influence – which has usually proved potent in Republican primaries this year – may come in the crowded race to succeed outgoing governor Kevin Stitt.
In Georgia, meanwhile, Republicans will finalize their selections for gubernatorial and US senate elections.
For the senate, US representative Mike Collins and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley are the finalists for the Republican nomination. Whoever wins will challenge rising Democratic star Jon Ossoff for the seat in November.
In the Republican primary campaign for Georgia governor, Trump-backed Burt Jones was facing off against the healthcare billionaire and political newcomer Rick Jackson. Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state and longtime political enemy of Trump, was locked out of the race when he finished third earlier in the year.
We’ll bring you the latest results and reactions as the night unfolds.
Key events
Trump’s candidate trails in early count in Republican primary race for Georgia governor
With the first 20% of the ballots counted in the Republican primary in Georgia to be the party’s candidate for governor in November, the Trump-endorsed candidate, Georgia’s lieutenant governor, Burt Jones, trails health care executive Rick Jackson by nearly 20 points: 59.4% to 40.6%.
Jackson has spent over $100 million on his campaign.
Georgia Republican Senate primary on a knife edge in early count
With 15% of the vote counted in Georgia, the race for the Republican nomination for the US Senate, to take on incumbent Jon Ossoff, is very close. Trump-endorsed congressman Mike Collins has 51.9% of the vote so far, to 48.1% for former football coach Derek Dooley, who is backed by the Georgia governor Brian Kemp. The current margin in less than 6,000 votes.
Polls close in Georgia primary runoff elections
Polling places closed at 7pm local time across Georgia, where voters cast ballots in several primary runoff races, including Republican contests to be that party’s nominee for the US Senate and governor. We will bring you updates on the vote count soon.
A trip to the Georgia secretary of state’s website is a reminder that the state’s elections are still overseen by Brad Raffensperger, the top voting official Donald Trump threatened with possible prosecution during a recorded phone call in early 2021, if he did not help the then president “find 11,780 votes”, one more than he needed to overturn his loss to Joe Biden in the state’s 2020 presidential election.
Weighed down by his subsequent unpopularity with Trump voters, for refusing to help him cheat, Raffensperger finished a distant third last month in the Republican primary to be the party’s candidate in the November election for governor.
Raffensperger got less than half the votes of the two leading contenders who faced off in today’s runoff: the Trump-backed Burt Jones, who supported his effort to overturn the 2020 election through false claims of fraud, and a self-funding healthcare billionaire, Rick Jackson.
Peter Stone
The Trump administration is waging war on voting rights using justice department lawsuits, FBI investigations, and an executive order to limit voting by mail, moves mirroring the US president’s false claims he lost the 2020 election due to voting fraud, say election experts and ex-officials.
Since Donald Trump began his second term, numerous 2020 election denialists have been installed in key agencies such as the DoJ, the FBI and elsewhere to pursue widely discredited claims of fraud, which can intimidate election workers and voters in swing states that Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020.
The justice department has also filed lawsuits seeking sensitive voter data from 30 states – even though, by law, states control elections – and the FBI has launched investigations into debunked allegations of voting fraud in Georgia, Wisconsin and a few other swing states that Trump lost in 2020.
Trump in late March this year issued an executive order sharply tightening mail-in voting rules, which Trump has long claimed without evidence contribute to fraud. The order gives the United States Postal Service unprecedented powers to issue new rules making voting by mail harder.
The administration’s multi-pronged push to change voting rules is under way despite laws that empower states and Congress to set election rules, sparking lawsuits from states and nonpartisan voting rights groups.
Fran Lawther
Donald Trump has a strong record in this year’s primaries so far – with many of his preferred candidates winning their primaries.
But none have faced a self-funded rival with Rick Jackson’s spending power, the AP reports. Trump has backed Burt Jones, who, as lieutenant governor, was part of Trump’s attempt to overturn his 2020 defeat to Joe Biden, and the president has repeatedly praised Jones’ loyalty.
Jackson has chipped in more than $93m of his own money to win the nomination. The 71-year-old businessman amassed a fortune from his company that provides contract healthcare personnel, and he’s used it to blanket television and online platforms with ads.
Results expected as voters cast ballots in three states and Washington DC
Fran Lawther
Voters have been casting their ballots in primary elections in Alabama, Oklahoma and Georgia – where a closely watched runoff will decide who faces off against Democratic candidates in Senate and gubernatorial races in November.
In Washington DC – a Democratic stronghold – voters were also selecting a candidate for the party ahead of November’s mayoral election.
In Alabama, a Republican primary runoff for Senate between Trump-backed Barry Moore and Jared Hudson is another test of how far Trump’s endorsement can sway voters.
These primaries are the latest test of Donald Trump’s power over the Republican party. In deeply conservative Oklahoma, Trump has given his early backing to Kevin Hern in the senate seat previously held by homeland security secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Hern has kept other potential big challengers at bay in Oklahoma, which hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since 1990, according to AP.
But a bigger test of Trump’s influence – which has usually proved potent in Republican primaries this year – may come in the crowded race to succeed outgoing governor Kevin Stitt.
In Georgia, meanwhile, Republicans will finalize their selections for gubernatorial and US senate elections.
For the senate, US representative Mike Collins and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley are the finalists for the Republican nomination. Whoever wins will challenge rising Democratic star Jon Ossoff for the seat in November.
In the Republican primary campaign for Georgia governor, Trump-backed Burt Jones was facing off against the healthcare billionaire and political newcomer Rick Jackson. Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state and longtime political enemy of Trump, was locked out of the race when he finished third earlier in the year.
We’ll bring you the latest results and reactions as the night unfolds.
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