Messi – Argentina Face A Pre-World Cup Mishap, Being Woken Up In The Middle Of The Night
The reigning world champions Argentina had just arrived in the US to prepare for the 2026 World Cup campaign. However, the team’s training camp in Kansas City was hit by tornadoes and extreme weather just hours after the entire squad arrived.
Let’s join Vipph to find out what’s happening ahead of the 2026 World Cup!
Argentina Faces Setback Ahead of World Cup
The reigning world champions, Argentina, have chosen Missouri, USA. As their base camp ahead of their opening match against Algeria at the 2026 World Cup at Arrowhead Stadium on June 17th.
Captain Lionel Messi and his teammates arrived in Kansas City on May 31st after a flight of approximately 8,850 km from Buenos Aires, Argentina. However, on their first night in the Midwest city, local authorities issued a tornado warning.
Images captured on the morning of June 1st show a metal fence covered with banners bearing the Argentina team’s logo being toppled by strong winds.
A video posted on social media was accompanied by the caption: “Argentina’s facilities damaged after tornado in Kansas City last night!”
Messi has arrived in the US
KMBC reporter Eric Graves said: “It’s highly likely Lionel Messi and the Argentinian players were awakened by a very loud tornado warning siren around 1:45 a.m..”
He added: “The storm broke many tree branches and blew away privacy screens on the fences surrounding the hotel where the team is staying. The good news is that the giant Messi poster on the hotel is still intact.”
Argentina schedule to play two friendly matches to prepare for the 2026 World Cup campaign. Lionel Scaloni’s team will travel to Texas to face Honduras on June 7th. Before moving on to Alabama to play Iceland three days later.
Kansas City Has Issued A Tornado Warning
Despite this, Kansas City will remain Argentina’s main base of operations throughout the World Cup campaign. Their opening match against Algeria on June 17th will take place at Arrowhead Stadium.
On their first day in the US. Argentina trained at the Compass Minerals National Performance Center, the training center of Sporting Kansas City in the MLS.
After the match against Algeria. Messi and his teammates will face Austria on June 23rd and Jordan on June 28th in Arlington, Texas.
Besides Argentina, England, Algeria, and the Netherlands have also chosen Kansas City as their base of operations during the World Cup.
In addition to the Argentina vs. Algeria match. Arrowhead Stadium will also host Ecuador vs. Curacao, Tunisia vs. Netherlands, and Algeria vs. Austria.
A round of 16 match will also take place here before Kansas City’s World Cup hosting campaign concludes with a quarter-final on July 12th.
