Argentina to open WC defence vs Algeria, record entry for Arabs

All around the globe, eyes focused on the stage where World Cup paths were sorted, nations' names chosen one by one in a draw that determined Argentina and Lionel Messi will start their title defense against Algeria and the US will open against Paraguay.

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Twenty-seven months after qualifying began, 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 II in the United States, 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 country with a population of 150,000, into an opener against four-time champion Germany.

On a day that began with snow falling on the nation's capital, the ceremony at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts included US President Donald Trump receiving a newly created peace prize awarded by FIFA, soccer's governing body. New Zealand was the last orb picked.

The Argentina 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.