France and Argentina Open World Cup Campaigns
France and Argentina headline Day 6 of the 2026 World Cup as four teams begin their tournament campaigns across the United States.
Atlas Newsdesk ·
Tournament favorites France and Argentina begin their 2026 World Cup campaigns on Tuesday, headlining a four-match slate across the United States. France faces Senegal at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, while reigning champions Argentina meet Algeria in Kansas City, Missouri.
The France-Senegal fixture marks a rematch of the 2002 tournament opener, where Senegal secured a 1-0 victory. Despite historical precedent, predictive modeling from Opta assigns France a 64.8 percent probability of victory, compared to 14.9 percent for Senegal. Argentina enters its match against Algeria with a 68.2 percent win probability, supported by a historical record of six consecutive World Cup victories against African opponents.
Tuesday’s schedule also features Norway’s return to the tournament after a 28-year absence, as they face Iraq in Boston. Austria concludes the day’s play against Jordan in San Francisco. Data projections favor both Norway and Austria, assigning them 77.4 percent and 70.3 percent win probabilities, respectively. These matches represent the final group-stage openers for these eight nations as the tournament progresses into its sixth day.