Argentina and Messi to open World Cup against Algeria, US starts against Paraguay

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WASHINGTON (AP) — With eyes across the globe focused on 48 balls being plucked from four bowls, next year's World Cup came into focus Friday when a draw determined Argentina and Lionel Messi will start their title defense against Algeria and the U.S. will open against Paraguay.

Teams from five-time champion Brazil to newcomers Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan and Uzbekistan learned their group stage opponents in the expanded 48-nation, 104-game tournament that starts June 11 in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“Exciting for the island, for the people there. They’re so proud,” said Dick Advocaat, the 78-year-old Dutchman leading Curaçao, a Caribbean island country with a population of 150,000, into an opener against four-time champion Germany.

The ceremony included U.S. President Donald Trump receiving a peace prize awarded by FIFA. Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney selected the balls of their own countries from bowls during a ceremony at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Sheinbaum drew more applause than Trump.

The lead-in show was almost as long as a soccer match, with the actual draw for the expanded 48-nation tournament starting in the 87th minute. Balls with team names were plucked by famous North American athletes Tom Brady, Shaquille O’Neal, Aaron Judge and Wayne Gretzky.

“Just watching Americans on stage and the president giving speeches and performances, it made it feel like an American event already,” said U.S. midfielder Tyler Adams, who watched from England, where he plays for Premier League club Bournemouth. “And I think we know the expectation of what it’s going to be like when we go there and there’s going to be halftime shows and there’s going to be celebrities and the big draw of, what America brings to sports.”

Three-time champion Argentina opens on June 16 at either Kansas City, Missouri, or Santa Clara, California. Specific sites for all group stage games and kickoff times were to be announced Saturday. The Albiceleste then face Austria and Jordan in Group J. Argentina surprisingly lost its 2022 opener to Saudi Arabia before going on to win the final over France on penalty kicks.

The U.S., which reached the semifinals at the inaugural World Cup in 1930 and the quarterfinals in 2002, starts Group D against Paraguay on June 12 in Inglewood, California. The Americans play Australia six days later at Seattle, then face Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo on June 25 back at SoFi Stadium.

The Americans had friendlies against Turkey in June, Australia in October and Paraguay last month.

“We know them but they know us,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said. “The most important is the evolution and keep improving.”

Mexico hosts the tournament opener at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City on June 11 against South Africa in Group A, a rematch of the 2010 opener in Johannesburg, a 1-1 draw. El Tri then meets South Korea and closes the first round against the Czech Republic, Ireland, Denmark or North Macedonia.

Forty-two of the teams have been determined and 22 are competing in playoffs for six berths that will be decided March 31.

Winners and second-place nations from the 12 groups advance to the new round of 32 along with the top eight third-place teams. All games from the quarterfinals on will be in the U.S., culminating in the July 19 final at East Rutherford, New Jersey.

England, which won its only title in 1966, plays Croatia, Ghana and Panama in Group L, and five-time champion Brazil meets Morocco, Haiti and Scotland in Group C.

Top-ranked Spain, the 2010 champion, faces Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in Group H, while four-time champion Germany plays Curaçao, Ivory Coast and Ecuador in Group E.

Two-time champion France starts June 16 against Senegal at East Rutherford, New Jersey, or Foxborough, Massachusetts, then platys . With Les Bleus coming off their first world title, they lost to Senegal 1-0 in the 2002 opener. France then faces Bolivia, Iraq or Suriname in Group I and closes against Norway in perhaps the most daunting group.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, like Messi expected to play in a record sixth World Cup, has Group K matches against Uzbekistan, Colombia and Congo, Jamaica or New Caledonia. If Portugal and Argentina win their groups, Ronaldo and Messi could meet in a quarterfinal at Arrowhead Stadium.

Other groups include:

G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand

B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar and Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Wales or Northern Ireland

F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia and Sweden, Ukraine, Albania and Poland

No team has repeated as champion since Brazil won in 1958 and ’62 and only eight nations have won soccer’s biggest prize. Italy has four titles and Uruguay two.

On a wintry day with snow falling, soccer officials and celebrities filled the hall, 189 days before the expanded 48-nation, 104-game tournament.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino gave Trump a large gold-colored peace prize trophy and a gold-colored medal hanging from a blue ribbon, which Trump hung around his neck. Standing next to Trump, Infantino lavished praise.

“This is truly one of the great honors of my life,” Trump said.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer