Santa Clara, June 22 (IANS) Jordan and Algeria square off in a pivotal Group J encounter at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, with both teams facing immense pressure to get their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaigns back on track.

After suffering defeats in their opening fixtures, neither side can afford another setback, as a second consecutive loss would leave their hopes of reaching the Round of 16 hanging by a thread.

Jordan showed plenty of promise in their historic World Cup debut against Austria but ultimately came away empty-handed in a 3-1 defeat. The contest remained finely balanced for much of the match before Austria pulled away late, with an own goal followed by a stoppage-time penalty sealing the result. Despite the scoreline, the Jordanians produced an encouraging display and will believe they can challenge Algeria for their first-ever World Cup points.

Algeria, meanwhile, endured a far sterner opening assignment against defending champions Argentina. The Desert Warriors struggled to cope with Lionel Messi, whose clinical hat-trick inspired a comfortable 3-0 victory for the South Americans. The defeat left Algeria rooted to the bottom of Group J and in urgent need of a response to keep their qualification ambitions alive.

Following the opening round of fixtures, Argentina and Austria occupy the top two spots in the group with three points apiece, while Jordan and Algeria remain without a point. With the group beginning to take shape, Monday’s meeting has all the ingredients of a high-pressure contest, as both nations chase a victory that could reignite their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages.

How to watch Jordan vs Algeria live in India

Live streaming and live telecast of the FIFA World Cup 2026 football matches will be available on the Zee5 platform and app in India. A subscription will be needed.

Live telecast of the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be available on the Unite8 Sports 1, Unite8 Sports 1 HD, Unite8 Sports 2, and Unite8 Sports 2 HD TV channels in India.

Key details

Date and kick-off time: Tuesday, June 23, 08:30 AM IST

Venue: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, USA

Referee: Slavko Vincic

Squads

Jordan –

Goalkeepers: Yazid Abulaila, Abdallah Al Fakhouri, Nour Bani Attiah

Defenders: Mohammad Abualnadi, Husam Abu Dahab, Mohammad Abu Hashish, Yazan Al Arab, Abdallah Nasib, Saleem Obaid, Ehsan Haddad, Saed Al-Rosan, Anas Banawi, Mohannad Abu Taha

Midfielders: Mohammad Al Dawoud, Nizar Al Rashdan, Noor Al Rawabdeh, Rajaei Ayed, Amer Jamous, Ibrahim Sadeh, Mahmoud Al-Mardi

Forwards: Mousa Al Tamari, Odeh Al-Fakhouri, Mohammad Abu Zrayq, Ali Azaizeh, Ali Olwan, Ibrahim Sabra

Algeria –

Goalkeepers: Oussama Benbot, Melvin Mastil, Luca Zidane

Defenders: Achref Abada, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Zineddine Belaïd, Rafik Belghali, Ramy Bensebaini, Samir Chergui, Jaouen Hadjam, Aïssa Mandi, Mohamed Tougai

Midfielders: Houssem Aouar, Nabil Bentaleb, Hicham Boudaoui, Farès Chaïbi, Ibrahim Maza, Yacine Titraoui, Ramiz Zerrouki

Forwards: Mohamed Amoura, Nadhir Benbouali, Adil Boulbina, Fares Ghedjemis, Amine Gouiri, Riyad Mahrez, Anis Hadj Moussa

–IANS

vi/