Argentina at FIFA World Cup 2026 – Open training of Messi and Co. attracts dozens of reporters

It turns out that reigning World Cup champions Argentina draw quite a crowd wherever they go.

Whether it’s the fans surrounding the team’s luxury hotel near downtown Kansas City, or the first training session that opened to the media on Wednesday and drew hundreds of reporters to the facilities of Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City, there are few places where Lionel Messi and the rest of La Albiceleste aren’t the center of attention as the tournament approaches.

Messi and Co. begin their title defense against Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium on June 16.

Argentina national coach Lionel Scaloni announced his 26-man World Cup squad last week. It is headlined by Messi, who turns 39 in less than a month, and features 17 players who were part of the team that triumphed against France in the final in Qatar four years ago.

Messi is struggling with muscle fatigue and a slight strain on his left hamstring. The team has said his recovery time will depend on «his clinical and functional progress», although he appears unlikely to feature in the upcoming friendlies.

He came to the practice field after the rest of the team on Wednesday and did some conditioning work on the sideline.

Argentina did not make any players or coaches available to speak to reporters. The team will continue training in Kansas City until it leaves for the first of two World Cup matchups against Honduras on Saturday in College Station, Texas.

The team will play Iceland three days later in Auburn, Alabama, before resuming practice in Kansas City.

Most of the players arrived at the team’s home base on Sunday aboard a charter from Buenos Aires designed to pay tribute to the country’s rich World Cup history. The 1978 flight number was a nod to the year it defeated the Netherlands to win the title, and the A330 was given a special livery with the national team colors and Messi’s number 10 on the tail.

Messi joined the team a few hours later on a separate charter from Florida.

The entire roster got a dose of Midwestern hospitality from hundreds of fans waiting outside the Origin Hotel to greet them, then got a taste of summer life in Tornado Alley as the sirens sounded after midnight and a heavy storm passed by.

Strong winds and driving rain toppled several tents and fences that had been erected for security.

“If they choose you as their training site to defend the World Cup, and this is where they are for the next one – you know, hopefully until the end of the tournament – ​​it’s surreal,” said Jake Reid, the president and CEO of Sporting Kansas City, who watched the open training with an array of dignitaries, including Mayor Quinton Lucas of Kansas City, Missouri.

“When they landed on Sunday,” Reid said, “it definitely started to get real.” Despite the weather, Kansas City’s central location has made it a favorable destination for World Cup base camps.

Published on June 4, 2026