Argentina face Algeria in their second 2026 World Cup group match on Friday June 20 at Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, with kick-off at 6 p.m. ET, 11 p.m. BST. Lionel Messi and company come into the match on the back of a dominant 3-0 win over their opening group opponents, while Algeria are looking to recover from a difficult start to their campaign.

In the United States, Fox and Telemundo carry the match live, as with all World Cup fixtures in this cycle. Spanish-language coverage on Telemundo is expected to draw particularly high numbers given the significance of the Argentina match. Streaming options include Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, and the Fox Sports app for authenticated subscribers.

In the United Kingdom, ITV and BBC are sharing World Cup coverage across the group stage. Argentina vs Algeria is assigned to BBC One, with free-to-air coverage starting at 10:30 p.m. BST. The match is also available on BBC iPlayer at no cost. In Ireland, RTÉ Two is carrying the fixture with simultaneous streaming on the RTÉ Player.

In Argentina, TyC Sports and TV Pública hold the national broadcast rights and both are showing the match live. Argentine fans can also stream through Disney Plus, which holds supplementary digital rights in South America for the 2026 tournament. In Algeria, ENTV and Bein Sports Arabia are broadcasting live, with the Bein Sports Connect app available for streaming in the MENA region.

Messi, who scored a hat-trick in the opening group win, is expected to start despite manager Lionel Scaloni confirming he would rotate the squad to manage minutes through the group stage. Messi said before the tournament that his primary goal was to keep himself fit and available for the knockout rounds rather than carry the burden of every group game. His opening hat-trick had dispelled any doubts about his sharpness heading into the tournament.

Algeria qualified through the African confederation and feature several players from Ligue 1 and the Spanish top flight. Their captain Riyad Mahrez, who plays his club football in Saudi Arabia, is the creative hub of their side and the player most likely to cause Argentina problems if given space on the right. Their defeat in their opener makes this effectively a must-win fixture for Algeria if they are to maintain knockout stage ambitions.

The Rose Bowl holds 90,888 for football and is one of the most iconic venues in the tournament, having hosted the 1994 World Cup final. The USA’s win the previous evening had generated enormous enthusiasm across the host nation and Argentina’s match in Pasadena was expected to draw one of the largest attendances of the group stage. FIFA Plus offers free streaming in countries without dedicated broadcast rights.