Group J

The Coronation Group

Venues: Kansas City, Santa Clara, Dallas

The Group

Argentina are simply in a different bracket to the rest of Group J, and the market knows it. Priced at -250 (FanDuel) to win the group, Lionel Scaloni's side carry three major trophies in four years into this tournament and breezed through CONMEBOL qualifying with a +21 goal differential. Messi, at 38 and nursing a hamstring scare, may not be at 100%, but Lautaro Martínez and Julián Álvarez give Scaloni a relentless front two even when the great man drops into the orchestration role. Nine games without a loss coming in. This group is about the race for second. Austria are the sensible pick to claim that runner-up spot. Ralf Rangnick's 4-2-3-1 presses with ferocity; his side topped UEFA qualifying Group H with 19 points from eight games, two clear of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Christoph Baumgartner scored 13 Bundesliga goals this season, the best campaign of his career, and the Bundesliga-heavy squad will handle the physical demands of a North American summer better than most. Algeria are dangerous, not to be dismissed. Vladimir Petković's side stunned the Netherlands in a pre-tournament friendly, and Mohamed Amoura finished as top qualifier scorer with 10 goals in eight CAF matches. The Desert Foxes are back at a World Cup for the first time since 2014, and their Algeria vs Austria finale in Kansas City is the game that decides the group's second qualification place. At +800 for the group, there is fringe value if you believe Petković's counter-pressing system can neutralise Rangnick's intensity. Jordan are genuinely poor at this level. A 4-1 pre-tournament thumping by Switzerland said everything. Coach Jamal Sellami's side conceded just four goals across all of AFC qualifying, but the quality of opposition there versus Argentina or Austria is a different universe. Musa Al-Taamari is a live wire and Ali Olwan finished third in AFC qualifying scorers with nine goals, but Jordan will need a miracle to collect three points from their three group games.