What has to happen for Argentina to play Spain? | OneFootball

The first thing to keep in mind is that La Albiceleste had already secured first place in Group J after beating Austria 1-0 last Monday, also thanks to Algeria defeating Jordan, so they will head into the third matchday with no chance of losing that spot.

Since both won their groups, they could only meet in a hypothetical final, given that they ended up on opposite sides of the bracket. If that happens, it would be only the second meeting between the two at a World Cup, as they previously faced each other only in their opening match of the 1966 edition, a game Argentina won thanks to a brace from Luis Artime.

Although for now a clash between the two is still a long way off, it will undoubtedly be the goal they have in mind going forward. But first they will have to get through the earlier rounds.

Argentina already knows it will face surprise package Cape Verde in the round of 32, after their draw against Saudi Arabia in the last matchday left them second in Group H with three points. If they get past Austria or Algeria, Spain knows that on its side of the bracket it could come up against Germany or France.

This is what the 2026 World Cup bracket looks like

This is the bracket and the round-of-32 matchups for the 2026 World Cup.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.