Who Does Argentina Play Next? Argentina’s World Cup Path to the Final

Argentina are the reigning World Cup champions after winning vs. France in 2022, with Lionel Messi deservedly getting his first World Cup title.

Four years later, Argentina and Messi seem poised to make another deep push at the 2026 World Cup, as the favorite to advance to the Final from their side of the World Cup bracket.

As the winners of Group J with a 3-0-0 record and a +7 goal difference in the group stage, La Albiceleste are set to face Cape Verde in the Round of 32. In addition to taking on Cape Verde, we now know who Argentina could face on their path to the World Cup Final.

Below, we’ll analyze who Argentina will play in each round of the 2026 World Cup, all the way to the World Cup Final on July 19

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Note: Within this article, we’ll use the WorldCup2026Predictions.app to show the most likely opponents for Argentina in each round.

Who Will Argentina Play in the Round of 32?

Date: Friday, July 3, at 6:00 p.m. ET

Location: Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Stadium) in Miami, Fla.

Opponent: Cape Verde

Argentina will play Cape Verde in the Round of 32 on Friday, July 3, at 6 p.m. ET. La Albiceleste will face the second-place team from Group H at Hard Rock Stadium, which isn’t too far from where Messi plays domestic home matches for Inter Miami in the MLS.

Cape Verde has been a fantastic story at the 2026 World Cup, becoming the smallest nation by population to qualify for the knockout stage. An impressive 0-0 draw against Spain, a 2-2 draw against Uruguay, and a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia were enough for Cape Verde to clinch a spot in the Round of 32.

Although Cape Verde has been strong defensively and defends with a ton of effort, they are 34th in xG scored (2.5), per FotMob. As fun as it's been to root for Cape Verde, Argentina is a massive favorite to advance, with a 1.06x payout to win within 90 minutes + stoppage on Friday, via PrizePicks Team Picks.

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Argentina Round of 16 Game

Date: Tuesday, July 7, at 12: p.m. ET

Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta Stadium) in Atlanta, Georgia

Argentina to Qualify for World Cup Round of 16: Yes 1.04x | No 9.09x

Potential Opponent: Australia (57%), Egypt (43%)

Assuming Argentina powers through Cape Verde in the Round of 32, their most likely opponent in the Round of 16 would be Australia.

Egypt is the only other possible opponent, and Argentina will know who they’d face next round before taking on Cape Verde, as Australia vs. Egypt is set for Friday, July 3, at 2:00 p.m. ET — just before Argentina’s Round of 32 match.

Australia struggled to generate much attack during the group stage, totaling just 2 goals (both against Turkiye), while ranking 28th in shots on target per match (3.7), 37th in xG (2.1), and 46th in big chances created (1). 

At the same time, they are eighth in goals conceded per match (0.7), 13th in xG conceded (2.7), and 10th in clearances per match (29.7).

On the other hand, Egypt has flashed a bit more of an offensive prowess, tallying 5 goals while sitting at 26th in xG (3.8) and 21st in shots on target per match (4.3). Regardless of who the opponent is in the Round of 16, Argentina has much more quality and is expected to cruise to the Quarterfinals.

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Who Will Argentina Play in Quarterfinals?

Date, Kickoff Time: Saturday, July 11, at 9:00 p.m. ET

Location: Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City Stadium) in Kansas City, Missouri

Argentina to Qualify for World Cup Quarterfinals: Yes 1.17x | No 4.54x

Potential Opponent: Colombia (56%), Switzerland (43%)

For the quarterfinals, Colombia is currently positioned to be the most likely opponent for Argentina. Switzerland is the other most probable opponent, after dominating Algeria, 2-0, in the Round of 32.

Colombia is not a team to overlook, having won Group K ahead of Portugal, DR Congo, and Uzbekistan. On top of being tied with Argentina for the third-fewest goals conceded per match (0.3), Colombia is sixth in shots on target per match (6.3) and 19th in xG (4.3).

Switzerland is also 11th in accurate passes per match (470.7) and 7th in big chances created (13). That being said, La Albiceleste trounced Algeria, 3-0, to begin the 2026 World Cup — a convincing performance that Switzerland nearly duplicated in the Round of 32.

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Who Could Argentina Face in World Cup Semifinals?

Date, Kickoff Time: Wednesday, July 15, at 3:00 p.m. ET

Location: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta Stadium) in Atlanta, Georgia

Argentina to Qualify for World Cup Semifinals: Yes 1.44x | No 2.63x

Potential Opponent: Brazil (41%), England (28%), Mexico (20%)

Argentina is a heavy favorite to reach the World Cup semifinals. But unsurprisingly, things get a lot more difficult for Argentina at this point in the tournament, with Brazil being the probable opponent in the Semifinals. England, Mexico, and Norway are the other projected foes that could meet Argentina in this spot.

Since drawing 1-1 with Morocco in their World Cup opener, Brazil has outscored their opponents (Haiti, Scotland, Japan) 8-1 over their last three matches. 

Of the three teams not named Brazil, Mexico seemingly poses the biggest threat, as they have yet to concede a goal, and their attack has shown more promise in recent matches. Meanwhile, England was tested in their 2-1 win over DR Congo, and Harry Kane is right behind Messi in the Golden Boot race with 5 goals scored in the tourney.

Even if it’s Norway and Haaland that meet Argentina in the Semifinals, there won’t be a shortage of notable names if La Albiceleste faces any of these teams.

Get the full World Cup Bracket here – including a printable PDF!

Who Could Argentina Face in the World Cup Final?

Date, Kickoff Time: Sunday, July 19, at 3:00 p.m. ET

Location: MetLife Stadium (New York New Jersey Stadium) in East Rutherford, New Jersey

Argentina to Qualify for World Cup Final: Yes 2.12x | No 1.66x

Argentina to Win World Cup: Yes 4.54x | No 1.17x

Potential Opponent: Spain (40%), France (37%), Portugal (8%), Morocco (6%)

For a moment, Spain was predicted to be the most likely opponent for Argentina if they were to advance to the Final. However, all signs point toward a rematch between France and Argentina being the most likely outcome.

France has looked absolutely unbeatable en route to advancing to the Round of 16 already, scoring 13 goals while allowing only 2 goals. Les Bleus looks like they’re playing a different sport than everyone else right now, generating the most goals per match (3.3) and shots on target per match (8.5).

Although Spain hasn’t dominated like France — at least not yet — they’ve put it in cruise control so far, outscoring their opponents 5-0 in the group stage despite RW Lamine Yamal playing limited minutes.

With a midfield of Rodri and Pedri, Spain can dictate the tempo of games with the highest average possession (69.4%) and the most accurate passes per match (651.7) in the World Cup. They also have arguably the deepest roster in the tournament.

There’s no doubt that every fan would sign up to watch France or Spain against Argentina to put a bow on the 2026 World Cup.

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Argentina could become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups — and doing so would solidify Lionel Messi as the GOAT.

At the moment, Messi and Argentina seem up to the challenge despite history being against them, as the favorites on their side of the bracket to reach the World Cup Final.

You can make your World Cup predictions on how far Argentina or other teams will advance in the knockout stage on PrizePicks Team Picks — available in 35 states!

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