Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said the world champions will stick to the same winning formula that delivered glory at the Qatar 2022 World Cup after on Friday finding out their group opponents for next year's global tournament.

The Albiceleste were drawn with Algeria, Austria and Jordan in a Group J that fans in Buenos Aires described as favourable - though Scaloni warned that there would be no easy games.

"We are going to give the maximum and try to do what we did in the last World Cup, which is to give everything we can, not to give a ball up for lost," said Scaloni, who entered the draw ceremony clutching the trophy as coach of the holders.

Argentina face a potentially tricky path to the final with a last-32 clash awaiting against a team in Group H - headlined by powerhouses Spain and Uruguay, plus Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde.

"As in 2022, we say that there is no easy opponent. You have to play the games. If it is then that the group (H), the crossover is difficult. But first we have to get through and then we'll see," Scaloni said.

The coach said Algeria were "a good team with great players" and praised their coach Vladimir Petkovic, his former head coach at Italian club Lazio.

He also praised Austria for their "great qualifying round," with the Austrians having finished top of their group, while debutants Jordan remained the unknown quantity - though Scaloni insisted Argentina would "not take anything for granted."

The memory of Argentina's shock opening 2-1 defeat by Saudi Arabia in Qatar clearly lingers. "We have that experience, we have to play the match," Scaloni said when discussing Jordan.

Back home, fans seemed pleased with their team's draw.

"It seems to me that it is favourable, isn't it?" Patricio Neira, a 45-year-old teacher, told Reuters TV.

"None of the big powers, no 'bogeyman'... there is no European team that's one of the strong ones. I think it's a good thing, especially for the first few games."

Argentina beat France 4-2 in a penalty shootout after a thrilling 3-3 draw to win the 2022 World Cup.

The 2026 World Cup will kick off on June 11 with joint-hosts Mexico playing South Africa at the Azteca Stadium - iconic venue of the 1970 and 1986 finals - followed by South Korea against a playoff winner after the complex draw was made on Friday.

South Africa are appearing for the first time since 2010, when they drew with Mexico in the opening match but failed to reach the knockout stage.

Mexico's co-hosts the United States and Canada will join the party the next day, against Paraguay and a playoff winner - possibly Italy - respectively in Los Angeles and Toronto.

The draw for the expanded 48-team tournament, with six berths still to be filled via a series of playoffs, was hugely complicated due to various geographical sub-clauses.

However, even the lengthy draw seemed short after an opening ceremony of over an hour that included US President Donald Trump being awarded the new Fifa peace prize.

Five-times winners Brazil will play Morocco - semi-finalists in 2022 - Haiti and Scotland in the group stages.

The Scots are appearing in the finals for the first time since 1998, when they lost to Brazil in the opening game, while Haiti's only previous appearance came in 1974.

France's first game will be versus Senegal in a repeat of one of the biggest tournament upsets, when the Africans stunned the then-holders in their first game of the 2002 tournament. Norway and one of the playoff winners complete their group.

England will start against Croatia, who beat them in the 2018 semifinals, and also face Panama, who they thrashed 6-1 in the group stage in the same tournament, and Ghana.

Debutants Curacao, with a population of 150,000 making them by far the smallest country ever to reach the finals, face Germany, Ecuador and the Ivory Cost.

World number one-ranked Spain have a dream draw alongside debutants Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.

The Netherlands are with Japan, Tunisia and a playoff winner, Belgium have Egypt, Iran and New Zealand, while Portugal face debutants Uzbekistan, Colombia and a playoff winner.

The teams outside the hosts' groups will have to wait until Saturday to find out the venues and kickoff times for their games after soccer's world governing body Fifa attempts to optimise them relating to the various worldwide TV markets.

A newly introduced seeding system ensures that the current top four in the world - Spain, holders Argentina, 2022 runners-up France and England - cannot meet until the semifinal stage if they win their groups.

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