Jordan face Argentina at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on 28 June 2026 in their final Group J fixture at the expanded World Cup. Argentina are already through after back to back wins and need just a point to finish top of the section, while Jordan sit bottom with no points and nothing left to play for beyond a send off on the biggest stage they have ever reached. For Argentina, this is about keeping clean sheets ahead of the round of 16.
Jamal Sellami steered Jordan through AFC qualifying in his first year in charge, whereas Scaloni has been in the role since 2018 and delivered the 2022 World Cup title and the two coaches have never met before.
Jordan's qualifying campaign earned them a spot as AFC runners up, though their 1-2 defeat to Algeria on Matchday 2 exposed the gaps that better sides will find. Argentina, meanwhile, have scored five and kept two clean sheets across their two games, taking a 3-0 win over Algeria and following it with a 2-0 victory against Austria.
Both squads are largely healthy, with no notable injury concerns for Jordan, though the short turnaround from the Algeria game leaves little recovery time and fatigue could show in their pressing in the second half. Argentina are expected to rotate, with Cristian Romero a doubt with a knee issue from the Austria game, though Scaloni has sufficient cover at centre back. Jordan line up in a compact 4-3-3 with Yazeed Abulaila in goal, Yazan Al Arab, Ihsan Haddad and A Musallam Naseeb across the back, while Argentina deploy their fluid 4-3-3 with Emiliano Martinez between the posts and Messi directing things in attack alongside Lautaro Martinez.
Jordan get forward quickly through Mousa Al Taamari and Ali Olwan and the question is how long they can hold their shape against an Argentina side that cycles through Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez in midfield before working the ball wide through Nahuel Montiel and Nicolas Tagliafico. The most obvious individual battle is Messi against Jordan's central block, who will likely look to double team him but the more dangerous problem for Jordan is the space Lautaro Martinez will find in behind when they push up. This is also the first competitive meeting between the two sides, so how Jordan adjust to Argentina's structure in those early exchanges will tell most of the story.
Jordan's best chance of causing problems comes from dead ball situations, particularly if they can win fouls in good areas and Argentina will be content to keep the ball and grind the game out with the round of 16 in mind. Jordan may take more risks going forward than they otherwise would, while Argentina are likely to manage the clock rather than push for a third group win.
Argentina 2-1 Jordan. Even rotating, the quality edge is most likely to show when Lautaro Martinez finds space in behind Jordan's defensive line as it steps up, or when Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez overload Jordan's midfield three and Argentina should secure first place in the group. Al Taamari or Olwan remain Jordan's likeliest source of a goal from a dead ball situation.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
