World Cup 2026

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Matchday 6 · Group J · 2026-06-16
Argentina
xG 1.51
HT 1–03 – 0
Algeria
xG 0.77
Argentina Lionel Messi 17′, Lionel Messi 60′, Lionel Messi 76′
GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium · 69,045 attendance
The story

Argentina made a statement — a 3–0 dismantling of Algeria.

Expected goals race
0.511.50′15′30′45′60′75′90′1.51Lionel Messi 17′Lionel Messi 60′Lionel Messi 76′0.77
Argentina Algeria ● goal

Cumulative expected goals, minute by minute. ESPN's free feed has no xG, so each shot's xG is estimated with a naive distance-and-angle logistic model fitted on shot coordinates from the play-by-play.

Shot map
Lionel Messi · 17′ · xG 0.12 · GoalFarès Chaïbi · 41′ · xG 0.19 · Shot Off TargetThiago Almada · 42′ · xG 0.06 · Shot Off TargetFarès Chaïbi · 44′ · xG 0.07 · Shot Off TargetFarès Chaïbi · 45′ · xG 0.10 · Shot Off TargetAnis Hadj Moussa · 45'+4′ · xG 0.13 · Shot BlockedAlexis Mac Allister · 45'+5′ · xG 0.21 · Shot Off TargetLionel Messi · 51′ · xG 0.10 · Shot Off TargetLautaro Martínez · 54′ · xG 0.16 · Shot On TargetIbrahim Maza · 57′ · xG 0.10 · Shot BlockedAlexis Mac Allister · 60′ · xG 0.07 · Shot On TargetLionel Messi · 60′ · xG 0.44 · GoalLionel Messi · 66′ · xG 0.17 · Shot On TargetHoussem Aouar · 69′ · xG 0.11 · Shot Off TargetLionel Messi · 76′ · xG 0.17 · GoalRiyad Mahrez · 86′ · xG 0.09 · Shot Blocked
Argentina (attacking →) Algeria (attacking ←) size = xG · star = goal
Argentina  ·  match stats  ·  Algeria
47.9 Possession 52.1
10 Shots 7
6 On Target 1
2 Corners 2
13 Fouls 8
3 Offsides 1
0 Saves 3
0 Yellows 0
0 Reds 0
What the model expected
Argentina 82%ACTUAL

Pre-match Elo: Argentina 2120, Algeria 1780. The model priced this Argentina 82% / draw 12% / Algeria 6%, most likely score 2–0. The model called it. The result moves 11 Elo points from Algeria to Argentina — that flows straight into the next round of tournament simulations.

Timeline
17' GOALGoal! Argentina 1, Algeria 0. Lionel Messi (Argentina) left footed shot from outside the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Rodrigo De Paul.
45' SUBSubstitution, Argentina. Nahuel Molina replaces Gonzalo Montiel.
55' SUBSubstitution, Argentina. Nico González replaces Thiago Almada.
55' SUBSubstitution, Argentina. Julián Alvarez replaces Lautaro Martínez.
60' GOALGoal! Argentina 2, Algeria 0. Lionel Messi (Argentina) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner.
64' SUBSubstitution, Algeria. Houssem Aouar replaces Hicham Boudaoui.
64' SUBSubstitution, Algeria. Mohammed Amoura replaces Amine Gouiri.
64' SUBSubstitution, Algeria. Riyad Mahrez replaces Anis Hadj Moussa.
76' GOALGoal! Argentina 3, Algeria 0. Lionel Messi (Argentina) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Nico González.
80' SUBSubstitution, Argentina. Nico Paz replaces Lionel Messi.
80' SUBSubstitution, Argentina. Nicolás Otamendi replaces Cristian Romero.
81' SUBSubstitution, Algeria. Adil Boulbina replaces Nabil Bentaleb.
82' SUBSubstitution, Algeria. Ramiz Zerrouki replaces Ibrahim Maza.
Lineups
Argentina
4-4-2
  • 23Emiliano Martínez G
  • 6Lisandro Martínez CD-L
  • 13Cristian Romero CD-R
  • 25Facundo Medina LB
  • 4Gonzalo Montiel RB
  • 24Enzo Fernández CM-L
  • 20Alexis Mac Allister CM-R
  • 16Thiago Almada LM
  • 7Rodrigo De Paul RM
  • 22Lautaro Martínez CF-L
  • 10Lionel Messi CF-R
Subs: Nahuel Molina, Nico González, Julián Álvarez, Nico Paz, Nicolás Otamendi
Algeria
4-3-3
  • 23Luca Zidane G
  • 21Ramy Bensebaini CD-L
  • 2Aïssa Mandi CD-R
  • 15Rayan Aït-Nouri LB
  • 17Rafik Belghali RB
  • 19Nabil Bentaleb CM
  • 22Ibrahim Maza LM
  • 14Hicham Boudaoui RM
  • 9Amine Gouiri F
  • 10Farès Chaïbi LF
  • 11Anis Hadj Moussa RF
Subs: Houssem Aouar, Mohamed Amoura, Riyad Mahrez, Adil Boulbina, Ramiz Zerrouki
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Generated automatically from public match data. Stats: ESPN · Results: openfootball · xG: own naive model (distance + angle).