On Monday, June 22, at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington (USA), one of the key matches of the second round of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup will take place. The reigning world champions — the Argentina national team — will face the Austria national team. This game will be decisive in determining the leader of Group J and early qualification for the knockout stage.

Argentina: Messi breaks records

The "albiceleste" began their title defense with a triumph. In the opening round, the Argentine team crushed the Algerian team with a score of 3:0. The main hero of the match was Lionel Messi. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, who recently recovered from an injury, scored a hat-trick. Two of the three goals were scored by the forward with his signature shots from outside the penalty area.

This result allowed Messi to reach a historic milestone: he now has 16 goals in World Cup tournaments. The legendary Argentine has equaled German striker Miroslav Klose, who has headed the list of top scorers in the tournaments for many years.

Austria: A difficult start after a long break

For the Austrian national team, coached by Ralf Rangnick, this championship is the first since 1998. The start of the tournament for the Austrians was difficult but productive: in the first round, they defeated the World Cup debutant — the Jordanian team — with a score of 3:1.

The history of head-to-head matches between these teams includes only two games, both friendly. They first played in May 1980: then Argentina crushed the opponent 5:1. The rematch took place ten years later, on the eve of the 1990 World Cup, and ended in a 1:1 draw.

Schedule and broadcast in Ukraine

In addition to the Argentina vs Austria match, three more games will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday in groups J and I. Due to the time difference, some matches will start at night on June 22 and in the morning on June 23 Kyiv time.

Live broadcast of all World Cup matches in Ukraine will be available on the Megogo media service via MEGOPACK, "Sport" subscriptions, as well as in the MEGOPACK N+S and MEGOPACK Y packages.

Additional news

Earlier, it was reported that the German national team lost its main defender until the end of the 2026 World Cup. This could significantly affect the tactics and results of the German team in upcoming matches.