A Kansas Citian's guide to Argentina vs. Algeria
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And the crowd goes wild. Photo: Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images
South America and Africa converge on Kansas City tonight as Argentina faces Algeria, bringing international fans to our stadium and drawing global attention.
The big picture: No. 1-ranked Argentina is the favorite, but potential "giant killer" Algeria seeks the upset.
- Both teams have base camps around KC, setting up a continental clash that's starting to feel like a hometown rivalry.
Zoom in: Argentina's Lionel Messi is considered the best soccer player ever and could break the record for the most overall goals scored at the World Cup.
- Veteran Algerian captain Riyad Mahrez led the team back to the World Cup after it didn't qualify for the last two.
- Both Messi and Mahrez play right wing and attacking midfielder positions, setting up an offensive showdown.
Fun fact: Messi has played 2,314 minutes across all the World Cups he's been at — a record he's set to extend.
- That's more than a day and a half.
Zoom out: This match could kick off an Argentine repeat championship, which would make the team only the third to do so after Brazil (1958–1962) and Italy (1934–1938).
- But Algeria (No. 27) just came off an upset 1-0 win against the Netherlands (No. 7) in a friendly match earlier this month.
Travis' thought bubble: As someone who's well-versed in border war competitions between Kansas and Missouri, it's not lost on me that Algeria made its base camp in Lawrence and Argentina is staying on the Missouri side.
If you go: The game starts tonight at 8pm.
- Shuttles to the stadium are sold out at the park-and-ride locations at Oak Park Mall and in North Kansas City, but the four other locations still have thousands of seats, KC2026 organizers tell Axios.
- They recommend reserving a spot well in advance.
The bottom line: Kansas City is used to being an underdog — and also defending championships. Either way you slice it, this game was meant for us.