KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Turns out that reigning World Cup champion Argentina draws quite a crowd no matter where it goes.
Whether it be fans surrounding the team’s upscale hotel near downtown Kansas City, or their first training session opened to media Wednesday that drew hundreds of reporters to the facilities of Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City, there are few places that Lionel Messi and the rest of La Albiceleste are not the center of attention as the tournament draws near.
They begin their title defense against Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium on June 16.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni revealed his 26-man World Cup roster last week. It is headlined by Messi, who turns 39 in less than a month, and features 17 players that were on the team that triumphed four years ago against France in the final in Qatar.
Messi has been dealing with muscle fatigue and a mild strain in his left hamstring. The team has said his recovery time will depend on “his clinical and functional progress,” though it seems unlikely that he will participate in its upcoming friendlies.
He came to the practice field after the rest of the team on Wednesday and did some conditioning work off to the side.
Argentina did not make any players or coaches available to speak to reporters. The team will continue training in Kansas City until it departs for the first of two World Cup tune-up matches against Honduras on Saturday in College Station, Texas.
The team plays Iceland in Auburn, Alabama, three days later before resuming its training in Kansas City.
Most of the players arrived at the team’s home base Sunday aboard a charter from Buenos Aires designed to pay homage to the nation’s rich World Cup history. The flight number 1978 was a nod to the year it beat the Netherlands to win the title, and the A330 was trimmed with special livery that included the national team colors and Messi’s No. 10 on the tail.
Messi joined the team on a separate charter from Florida a few hours later.
The entire roster got a dose of Midwestern hospitality from hundreds of fans who waited outside the Origin Hotel to greet them, then they got a big taste of summer life in tornado alley when sirens sounded after midnight and a heavy storm rolled through.
High winds and lashing rain knocked over several tents and fences that had been put up for security.
“When they pick you as their training site for defending the World Cup, and this is where they are for the next — you know, hopefully through the end of the tournament — it’s surreal,” said Jake Reid, the president and CEO of Sporting Kansas City, who watched the open training session with a series of dignitaries that included Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas.
“When they landed on Sunday,” Reid said, “it started to get real for sure.”
Weather notwithstanding, the central location of Kansas City has made it a favorable destination for World Cup base camps.
England had hoped to use the home of Sporting KC for training, but Argentina was given preference as defending champion and scooped it up. The Three Lions stuck with their plans to make Kansas City their base, but when they arrive next week, they will be practicing at Sporting KC’s old primary facility at the Swope Soccer Village.
The Netherlands, which also will arrive next week, will be training at the home of the Kansas City Current, one of the top teams in the National Women’s Soccer League. Algeria is making its base at the University of Kansas, about 30 minutes west of the Kansas City metro area, where one of Africa’s top teams will have the use of its new soccer facilities.
As for Argentina, the team has been practicing in the evening to avoid the heat and humidity of Midwestern summers. The weather has been mild so far, with temperatures in the low 80s, but the heat index typically pushes triple digits this time of year.
The six matches at Arrowhead Stadium — four in the group stage, two in the knockout — will be played at night for the same reason.
“I mean, we’ve had a helicopter flying ever since (Argentina) got here. That should tell you this is a big deal, right? ” Reid said. “I think for Kansas City to have Argentina here — and we’re not even talking about the other teams that are going to be here in the next couple of weeks — it’s a massive deal.” ___
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
