2026 World Cup: Exciting draw puts two Arab teams on a collision course with Messi

Arab Sea Newspaper - Follow-ups:

The draw for the 2026 World Cup finals, which will be held for the first time with the participation of 48 teams in three countries, the United States, Canada, and Mexico, between June 11 and July 19, 2026, was held yesterday evening in Washington, D.C. The draw resulted in the two Arab teams, Algeria and Jordan, being placed in Group 10 alongside the reigning champion Argentina, led by star Lionel Messi, and the Austrian national team. Group 10 will witness the only Arab confrontation in the first round, when the Algerian and Jordanian teams meet in a historic match to be held on June 16, 2026, in San Francisco. Algeria will also face a "historic revenge match" with Austria, in a rematch of the famous 1982 World Cup match, which witnessed the "disgraceful" conspiracy between West Germany and Austria at the time, and led to Algeria's controversial elimination. The Algerian national team is led by coach Vladimir Petkovic, in a group described by analysts as "difficult and competitive," as he will have to overcome heavyweight teams, most notably the 2022 world champion Argentina. As for the "Jordanian national team," which qualified for the World Cup for the first time in its history, it achieved a great feat under the leadership of its Moroccan coach "Jamal Sellami," after finishing the Asian qualifiers in second place in its group.