After defeats in their opening matches of the FIFA World Cup 2026, both Algeria and Jordan are looking to earn their first points of the tournament when they face each other on Monday in San Francisco.
Algeria were undone by Lionel Messi magic with the Argentine superstar scoring a hat trick against them. Despite being a decent attacking unit, Algeria struggled to create chances in their opening game.
Meanwhile, Jordon put up a good fight in their loss to Austria. They created scoring chances and were defensively solid for large parts of their opening game. It was 1-1 till 75th minute when Austria scored twice -- an own goal and a penalty from Marko Arnautovic -- to clinch the win.
Here's everything you need to know about the match.
How to watch:
The match will be available on ITV in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: 11 p.m.. Monday, June 22
UK BST: 4 a.m., Tuesday, June 23
India IST: 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 23
Australia AEST: 1 a.m., Tuesday, June 23
Venue: San Francisco Bay Area Stadium
Referee: Slavko Vincic
Team News
Jordan - Predicted XI
GK: Yazeed Abulaila
CB: Mohammad Abualnadi | CB: Abdallah Nasib | CB: Yazan Al-Arab
LM: Mohannad Abu Taha | CM: Noor Al-Rawabdeh | CM: Nizar Al-Rashdan | RM: Ehsan Haddad
CAM: Odeh Fakhoury | CAM: Mousa Al-Tamari
ST: Ali Olwan
Algeria - Predicted XI:
GK: Luca Zidane
LB: Rayan Aït-Nouri | CB: Aïssa Mandi | CB: Ramy Bensebaini | RB: Rafik Belghali
CM: Nabil Bentaleb | CM: Houssem Aouar
LW: Farès Chaïbi | CAM: Ibrahim Maza | RW: Riyad Mahrez
ST: Amine Gouiri
Talking Points
Jordan show they belong at this level
It might've been a 3-1 loss against Austria, but Jordan showed the world that they can hold their own against bigger opponents. Their performance even led to praise from Austria head coach Ralf Rangnick, who said their opponents exceeded the expectations in the match. Jordan's relentless work rate clearly stood out and they were positive going forward whenever they had the possession. After Austria took the lead, Jordan didn't crumble and fought for the equaliser with Ali Olwan seizing his chance from a counterattack.
The team from Asia will need at least a point to keep their hopes alive. They will face Algeria who are higher ranked than them but expect it to be a close contest. There's a real fighting spirit to this Jordan and they can test the goalkeeper with their quick transitions, with the key players once again being Olwan and Musa Al-Taamari, who are known for their pace and finishing.
Algeria's attack need to step up
Algeria conceded three against Argentina so there's a case for their defence to improve but those three goals came from Lionel Messi so they couldn't do much. There is improvement needed in their overall game after their opening match but more importantly, their attack should step up.
With 52 percent of possession against Argentina, Algeria's xG was a mere 0.32. Their xG from open play was 0.18. There was just one shot on goal and zero big chances created in the entire game. Manager Vladimir Petkovic will have to significantly improve their attacking output in order to stand their chance to make it to the next round.
It's not going to be easy as Jordan will defend deep and make it a more physical battle in the middle. That's why the likes of Riyad Mahrez, Ibrahim Maza, Mohamed Amoura and Farès Chaïbi need to take responsibility and push hard to score goals.