Lionel Messi notched his first World Cup hat trick in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Algeria in their opening match of the World Cup Tuesday night in K.C., in what was “a moment for an entire country back home” and “a moment for a little old city in the middle of America where this sort of thing was never supposed to happen.” Argentina fans “jam-packed” into a capacity crowd of 69,045 at K.C. Stadium on Tuesday, and they jam-packed the whole city on Monday (K.C. STAR, 6/17).
It’s been “a sea of Argentine blue and Algerian green for the past couple of days” as fans waited for Tuesday’s primetime matchup. Both sides “celebrated the night prior, with Argentina fans taking over Mill Creek and KC Live!, and Algeria fans crowding Union Station.” Fans in attendance “braved the early heat and were rewarded with a cool breeze and the sunset in the background to set the stage for a game the entire world had their eyes on” (K.C. STAR, 6/16). Fans “sat for hours in Power and Light waiting for the kickoff” of the game. While the district “was quiet for the Norway and Iraq game earlier in the day,” it soon saw “hundreds of fans head to the watch party” for Argentina-Algeria. Despite Algeria “becoming the local darlings” of Lawrence, Kan., KC Live! in the Power & Light District “was a sea of blue and white for a Lionel Messi masterpiece” (K.C. STAR, 6/16). FIFA President Gianni Infantino was at Tuesday night’s game. FIFA also said “more than 1 million fans had attended the first 16 matches of the tournament” (K.C. STAR, 6/16).
Fox’s John Strong said, “Kansas City loves to call itself the ‘Soccer Capital of America’ -- that’s not something we would have said 20 years ago. This is not a game we would have expected to see in this city 20 years ago. But what has happened here in Kansas City -- Sporting K.C.; the K.C. Current; four teams, including these two, basing themselves in world-class facilities here in Kansas City; an entirely packed Arrowhead Stadium to see the defending champions -- is one of the great stories in American soccer’s modern history” (“Argentina-Algeria,” Fox, 6/16).
As the smallest U.S. metro area chosen to host World Cup matches, K.C. “faced challenges that other cities did not.” Tuesday was “the first big test,” and there “were logistical kinks, some of them noticeable.” Organizers acknowledged in a pregame social media post that “some of the buses in the temporary transit system were delayed.” In addition, “some parking passes did not specify an entry gate, leading to circuitous detours.” But “by kickoff, that angst seemed to have passed” (N.Y. TIMES, 6/17).
