World Cup Group J predictions, tips & odds

Group J at the World Cup is underway, and what a start it has been for the mercurial Lionel Messi, who scored a hat-trick to lead Argentina to a 3-0 win over Algeria.

Time and time again throughout his career, Messi has stepped up and delivered for club and country on the biggest of occasions, and he is now level with Miroslav Klose as the tournament's all-time leading goalscorer.

Elsewhere, Austria downed Jordan 3-1 to keep pace with Argentina, making this one of the few groups without a surprise result thus far.

Below, Football Whispers breaks down Group I in full, including upcoming fixtures, the latest odds and predictions.

World Cup 2026 Group J winner odds

• Argentina – 1/12
• Austria – 11/2
• Algeria – 61/1
• Jordan – 250/1

Unsurprisingly, the current holders are the odds-on favourites to win Group J this summer. Austria's price of 11/2 is interesting considering they are level on points with Argentina, but Algeria and Jordan now have virtually no chance of topping the group.

World Cup 2026 Group J qualification odds

• Argentina- 1/1000
• Austria- 1/33
• Algeria- 8/13
• Jordan – 12/1

Argentina are not going to blow qualification from here, and neither are Austria. Algeria are still considered odds-on to make it out of the group, but they will likely need to do so as one of the best third-placed teams.

World Cup 2026 Group J fixtures: Match-by-match schedule

Gameweek 2

• Argentina vs Austria
  • Argentina: 8/13
  • Draw: 14/5
  • Austria: 9/2
    
• Jordan vs Algeria
  • Jordan: 11/2
  • Draw: 3/1
  • Algeria: 1/2

Gameweek 3

• Algeria vs Austria
  • Algeria: 23/10
  • Draw: 23/10
  • Austria: 23/20
    
• Jordan vs Argentina
  • Jordan: 14/1
  • Draw: 11/2
  • Argentina: 1/6

2026 World Cup Group J predictions and betting angles

Argentina

The last nation to retain the World Cup was Brazil all the way back in 1962, so history is certainly against Argentina this time around, but Lionel Scaloni will believe his squad of players have what it takes to beat the odds.

Interestingly, Argentina's best XI this time around is largely the same as the team that started the World Cup final in Qatar three and a half years. The only changes are likely to be Lisandro Martinez in for Nicolas Otamendi and Julian Alvarez in for Angel Di Maria.

Having nine starters who have all experienced winning the World Cup, on top of several squad players, could be invaluable, particularly when one of those players is Messi, who remains one of the most dangerous players on the planet despite being 38 years old.

Since winning the World Cup, Argentina have been excellent, winning the Copa America in 2024 and topping the South American qualifying group by nine points. We're backing them to reach the final once again.

Austria

Ralf Rangnick has done an excellent job as Austria manager since taking the job in April 2022, and they are expected to be the second-best team in Group J after Argentina.

The former Manchester United boss has led Austria to their first World Cup since 1998, and they are expected to do more than just make up the numbers. They won their European qualifying group by winning six of their eight matches and have lost just one of their last ten matches in all competitions.

Like a lot of teams at this tournament, their best players are all experienced professionals. Marcel Sabitzer, Konrad Laimer and David Alaba will all feature, while Marko Arnautovic certainly has a role to play up top.

We expect Austria to make it out of Group J and win one knockout stage match.

Algeria

Algeria are back in the World Cup after missing the previous two editions, and they have a squad of players that could cause Argentina and Austria a headache or two in Group J.

Vladimir Petkovic took the managerial job in 2024 and led the Desert Foxes to top spot in their qualifying group. They won eight of their 10 qualifiers and finished seven points clear of Uganda in second.

It will be good to see Riyad Mahrez back on the world stage, and the 35-year-old will be keen to show everyone what he still has after moving to the Saudi Pro League in 2023.

Jordan

Jordan deserve immense credit for qualifying for their first-ever World Cup, and they do have a chance of causing at least one upset in Group J.

They finished as runners-up to South Korea in their qualifying group, but they managed to finish above Iraq, who were forced into a playoff to qualify for the World Cup.

They also reached the Arab Cup final at the back end of 2025, where Morcco needed extra time to defeat them in the final, so they certainly have something about them.

Final Group J prediction

1. Argentina
2. Austria
3. Algeria
4. Jordan

Group J best bets

This is a group that we believe is going to go exactly as the bookies have predicted, so there is no real value in any outright bets.

Before you place your bet, make sure to check out the best World Cup 2026 betting offers for this summer's tournament.