World Cup: Bundesliga trio start for Algeria against holders Argentina in Messi's 200th cap

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World Cup: Bundesliga trio start for Algeria against holders Argentina in Messi's 200th cap

Holders Argentina will start their 2026 World Cup campaign against Algeria. While Bayer Leverkusen's midfielder Exequiel Palacios starts on the bench for Lionel Scaloni's side, three Bundesliga based players are in the starting lineup of the North Africans.

A day after Leverkusen's fans picked him as Player of the Season, Palacios’ teammate Ibrahim Maza has to play a big role if Algeria have to achieve a surprise result. Eintracht Frankfurt's Farès Chaïbi and Borussia Dortmund’s Ramy Bensebaini are also in the starting XI for Vladimir Petković's side, while Mohamed Amoura sits on the bench after a miserable season with VfL Wolfsburg.

Meanwhile, Marseille's Facundo Medina is the only player who wasn't part of the 2022 squad in Argentina's XI. Lionel Messi, who just saw Kylian Mbappe go past him in the ranking of the all-time World Cup scorers, will make his 200th appearance for the national team. Before Cristiano Ronaldo ties the record tomorrow, he'll become the first player to feature in six World Cups.

Confirmed Argentina vs. Algeria Lineups​

Argentina: Martinez; Montiel, Martinez, Romero, Medina; Mac Allister, De Paul, Fernandez, Almada; Messi ©, Lautaro Martinez

Algeria: Zidane; Belghali, Mandi, Bensebaini, Ait-Nouri; Boudaoui, Maza, Bentaleb; Moussa, Gouiri, Chaïbi

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