World Cup Day 6: France, Argentina, Norway and Austria Open Their Campaigns

After a day of major surprises, including Cape Verde’s 0-0 draw with Spain, the 2026 World Cup continues with four matches in which almost anything could happen. France, the runners-up, will try to restore the favorites’ pride against Senegal in a rematch of the 2002 World Cup opener. Argentina, the reigning champion, meets Algeria, while Iraq faces Norway and Austria takes on debutant Jordan.

France and Senegal meet in New Jersey at 22:00. Their only previous official meeting was the 2002 opener in Seoul, when defending champion France lost 1-0 to a goal by Papa Bouba Diop. This time, 24 years later, France arrives as World Cup runner-up and Senegal as Africa Cup of Nations champion, but anything other than a French win would still be a major upset. Kylian Mbappe is expected to start, after angering French fans by returning to Madrid to spend time with his girlfriend during the team’s buildup. Didier Deschamps needs him in top form if France is to chase a second title in eight years. For Senegal, Maccabi Haifa’s Abdoulaye Seck is not expected to start, though he could come on later.

In Foxborough at 01:00, Iraq returns to the World Cup for the first time since 1986, when it lost all three group-stage matches, and immediately faces a difficult test against Norway and Erling Haaland. Norway is also back after a long absence, its last appearance coming in 1998, when it reached the round of 16 and lost to Italy. Haaland, another leading betting favorite for the Golden Boot, will look for his first goal of the tournament, with Martin Odegaard supplying support. Iraq hopes only to pull off another surprise.

At 04:00 in Kansas City, Lionel Messi will play his first match ever as a world champion, in front of thousands of Argentine fans in a stadium he knows well from MLS. Argentina arrives as world champion, FIFA’s No. 1-ranked team, South American champion, and winner of seven straight warm-up matches, conceding only once. Algeria, meanwhile, finished first in its World Cup qualifying group in Africa with eight wins, one draw and one loss, returning to the tournament for the first time since 2014, when it reached its best-ever result, the round of 16. A notable twist is that goalkeeper Luka Zidane, son of Zinedine Zidane, is expected to start, setting up a Messi versus Zidane subplot on the biggest stage.

Austria and Jordan meet in Santa Clara at 07:00. Austria returns to the World Cup for the first time since 1998, after missing several tournaments in part because of losses to Israel in qualifying, while Jordan makes its World Cup debut. On paper, it is another match that should favor the European side, though the tournament has already shown that nothing is guaranteed.