By Ian KingArgentina remain wedded to Lionel Messi, but has he got another tournament in him? Argentina arrive in Kansas City for the opening match of their World Cup defence against Algeria in the midst of ongoing Messi fever, and the big question they’ll face this summer is whether this is a tournament too far for arguably the greatest player of the modern age. Lionel Messi has continued to tear things up in MLS since 2022, but the question of whether this will be enough to steer them through a successive World Cup remains moot, and he turns 39 years of age in just over a week. In potentially punishingly hot conditions, there are few guarantees that he’ll be able to recreate the heroics of 2022. And Algeria certainly aren’t a team to be taken lightly in their opening fixture. They won eight of their ten CAF qualification matches, qualifying by seven points, and have had impressive results in their 2026 friendlies, beating Guatemala 7-0 and Bolivia 4-0, drawing with Uruguay, and beating the Netherlands. In terms of this opening fixture, Argentina’s biggest enemy might just turn out to be any degree of complacency they may carry into this fixture. Argentina have a warning from history to heed about how to start their defence of a World Cup titleThe 2022 title was Argentina’s third World Cup win, and both of their previous wins were followed by warnings for this summer. Having won the tournament for the first time in 1978, they started their defence four years later by surprisingly losing 1-0 to Belgium in Barcelona. After winning it again in 1986, they lost the opening match of the 1990 tournament to Cameroon by the same scoreline. But this doesn’t have to be a completely terrible omen for them. They lost their first match in Qatar 2022 to Saudi Arabia, and qualification from the group stages was on a knife-edge, but they went on to win that tournament, and in 2018 they were thumped by Croatia in their opening match but still got through the group stage, despite only taking one point from their first two group matches, and were only narrowly beaten by the eventual winners France in the second round. Algeria didn’t make their World Cup debut until 1982, but when they did so, they did in style, with a 2-1 win against West Germany. After outrage caused by the match between West Germany and Austria which became known as The Disgrace of Gijon – in which Germany won 1-0, a result which sent both teams through at Algeria’s expense, which was played at walking pace and which resulted in the rules being changed so that final group games were played simultaneously – it took until 2014 for them to get through the group stages. This is the first time they’ve qualified since then. These two teams have only met once before, in a friendly match played in Barcelona in 2007 which Argentina won 4-3, with two of Argentina’s goals that day scored by a certain Mr L Messi.Argentina’s squad is packed with established stars, but Algeria also have a lot of experienceAll attention will be focused on their captain, but Argentina have plenty of talent elsewhere. Julián Alvarez was recently subject to a €150 million transfer bid from Real Madrid that their city rivals Atlético turned down, although his form was patchy over the last couple of months of the domestic season, while another Atleti player, left-sided midfielder and winger Thiago Almada, could be a breakout star in this tournament for them. Algeria don’t have the same broad spread of elite-level talent as Argentina, but they have more than one world class player. Captain Riyad Mahrez is now 35 and playing his club football in Saudi Arabia, but he’s made 116 appearances for his country and his form this year has been good, while Rayan Aït-Nouri has impressed for Manchester City, Ramy Bensebaini has been a solid presence for Borussia Dortmund, and vice-captain Aïssa Mandi of Lille has 119 caps and was part of their 2014 team. Algeria have faced a goalkeeping crisis, going into this tournamentThere had been question marks over whether Messi would be available for this fixture, though these seem to have been answered by him coming off the bench and scoring in their final warm-up match against Iceland. But this hasn’t been their only injury concern. Goalkeeper Emi Martínez fractured a finger shortly before Aston Villa’s Europa League final win against Freiburg last month, though he’s understood to have now fully recovered, while left-back Nicolas Tagliafico and midfielder Nico González are also considered doubtful. One major injury worry for Algeria involves Ramy Bensebaini, who missed a couple of their pre-tournament friendlies and is being reported to be out for this match. Mohamed Tougai of Esperance de Tunis may step in to replace him, alongside Aïssa Mandi in a flat back four. The biggest issue Algeria have faced, though, has been behind that back four. They’ve had a goalkeeping crisis, after injuries left Melvin Mastil and Luca Zidane doubtful and Anthony Mandrea ruled out altogether. Oussama Benbot had to be called out of international retirement for a place in the squad, and may start this match. Algeria’s three goalkeepers for the tournament have just 12 international appearances between them.Predicted Argentina starting XIArgentina proved four years ago that success in a World Cup isn’t always determined by your opening matchFor such a major footballing nation, Argentina have a surprisingly patchy record in opening World Cup finals fixtures, and Algeria are a talented team who have a lot to prove, having failed to qualify for the previous two tournaments. Lionel Messi might be the greatest player in the world, but much of their capability in this tournament may come down to whether he can still mix it at an elite level. But Messi is clearly not the only talent at their disposal, and Argentina’s success may come down to whether players who’ve played support roles in the past can step out of his enormous shadow and make a name for themselves. Head coach Lionel Scaloni got them through it in Qatar four years ago, but no-one has successfully defended a World Cup since Brazil in 1962, so this is going to be a tough assignment for them.With Austria and Jordan still to face in their group matches and eight of the twelve third-placed sides all set to progress to the second round, defeat in this fixture will not mark the end of the road for either team in this competition. But I’m calling it. I’m going for the surprise result. Argentina lost their opening fixture to Saudi Arabia in 2022 and to Croatia in 2018, and this, coupled with Algeria’s need to prove a point after having failed to qualify for the previous two tournaments, hints at the possibility of one of the surprises of this group stage turning up in this match.I’m going to stick my neck on the line and go for a 2-1 Algeria win, although as Argentina proved in Qatar, even a losing start like this will not mean the end of their involvement this summer. (Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game at the World Cup with FotMob this summer – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.