The Argentine national football team is embarking on one of the most difficult tasks - defending its World Cup title. Only Italy and Brazil have managed to do so.
The "Azure" managed to do it in 1934 and 1938, while the Brazilians won the "golden goddess" back-to-back in 1958 and 1962.
The "gauchos" will have serious challengers already in Group J. They will face matches with Algeria, Austria and Jordan.
ARGENTINA
Argentina has reached the finals of two of the last three World Cups. They were defeated by Germany in Brazil 2014, while they won the long-awaited title four years ago in Qatar.
They are the fourth most successful nation at the World Cups. Only the Brazilians with five and the Germans and Italians with four World Cup trophies each are better.
Lionel Scaloni's team cruised through the qualifiers - winning 38 points, nine more than second-placed Ecuador.
The world champions will be led by Lionel Messi for the sixth time in his career at the World Cup. Even though he is approaching the age of 39, one of the best footballers of all time will be the key player for Argentina.
Emiliano Martinez will certainly be in goal, and the center-back tandem will most likely consist of Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez. In midfield, the main force will be Alexis McAllister and Enzo Fernandez, supported by the experienced Rodrigo de Paul and Leandro Paredes.
Along with Messi, Argentina's main attacking assets are Julián Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez.
The "Gauchos" are on a seven-game winning streak in friendly matches, and in a dress rehearsal before the World Cup they defeated Iceland (3:0). Their first match at the World Cup awaits them on June 17th at 3:00 AM, and their rival will be Algeria.
ALGERIA
For the fifth time in history, we will see the "Desert Foxes" at the world's best football teams. They have mostly finished their participation in the group stage - only in 2014 did they reach the round of 16 when they were stopped by Germany (2:1).
They didn't have too many problems in the qualifiers. They easily won first place, justifying their role as favorites in a group with Uganda, Mozambique, Guinea, Botswana and Somalia.
The Algerian coach is Vladimir Petković, an expert from Sarajevo, who led Switzerland for seven years with great success.
Despite no longer playing in Europe, Riyad Mahrez is still the team's biggest star. However, alongside him are Ryan Eit-Nouri (Manchester City), Rami Bensebaini (Borussia Dortmund), and young players like Ibrahim Maza (Bayer Leverkusen) and Fares Chaibi (Eintracht Frankfurt).
Their results during friendly matches show that they are fully prepared for the World Cup. In March, they outclassed Guatemala (7:0) and drew with Uruguay (0:0), while a few days ago they outplayed the great Netherlands (1:0).
AUSTRIA
After almost three decades of waiting, the Austrians are returning to the World Cup.
Austria's best performance at the World Championships came 72 years ago, when they finished third in Switzerland. They also finished fourth in Italy in 1934.
They qualified for the finals of the competition through qualifying group H, where they won 19 points, two more than second-placed Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Most of Ralf Rangnick's team plays in the German Bundesliga. Despite saying goodbye to Real Madrid and entering his mature playing years, David Alaba is still the main star of the Austrians.
There is also a duo from two of the strongest German clubs - Konrad Lejmer from Bayern and Marcel Sabitzer from Borussia Dortmund.
Of course, a lot is expected from the record holder for the number of appearances and goals in the national team, Marko Arnautović. At the same time, this will be the Red Star striker's last appearance in the national team jersey.
In a dress rehearsal before the World Cup, they defeated Tunisia (1:0), and their first match will be on June 17th at 6:00 AM against Jordan.
JORDAN
For the first time in history, we will be watching Jordan at the World Cup.
They started the qualifiers in the second round, where they took first place in Group G thanks to a better goal difference than Saudi Arabia. They booked their ticket to the World Cup in the third round, where they took second place in Group B, which was enough for direct qualification.
Only South Korea was ahead, while they left Iraq, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait behind.
There are no stars in the Jordan team, which is coached by Moroccan expert Jamal Selami.
They only have one player playing in Europe. It's Moussa Al-Tamari who plays for Rennes. He has made 33 appearances in the French Ligue 1 this season, scoring six goals and providing nine assists.
He has played 92 games for Jordan so far (24 goals), the same number as captain Ihsan Hadad.
The March friendly window brought them two 2-2 draws - against Costa Rica and Nigeria. Before the World Cup, they decided to take on more serious challenges and suffered two defeats. Switzerland beat Jordan 4-1 and Colombia 2-0.
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