Advertisement live Updated 32s ago Lionel Messi and Argentina begin their World Cup title defence today as they face Algeria in Kansas City today. Lionel Scaloni’s side are looking to become the first back-to-back winners in more than 60 years and just the third ever. Messi will become the first player to play at six men's World Cups, before Cristiano Ronaldo likely joins him in doing so tomorrow. Lionel Messi is winning his 200th cap today, at the age of 38. Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal — very likely to feature for Portugal at this tournament — leads the way in men's internationals, with 228, while Bader Al-Mutawa of Kuwait is on 202. He retired in 2022 so Messi could well go above him to second in the all-time list here in North America. Kansas City Chiefs’ star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is in the house. He and his wife were just shown on the Jumbotron at Arrowhead Stadium. He, of course, recently signed his restructured $500 million deal to stay in KC through 2033. Don't sleep on the Algeria fans, either! Supporters of the North African team will definitely make themselves heard here. Some serious ink on show in the Argentina end! As has been mentioned, 17 members of the Argentina squad were also present when they won the World Cup three-and-a-half years ago. That's an impressive level of continuity. Also eye-catching: 16 of those (all of them but Lisandro Martinez) have the same squad number they had in 2022. This is very, very pleasing and proof that the nation of Argentina respects the aesthetics of football. For Algeria, the big news is that Riyad Mahrez, their most experienced attacking player, starts on the bench. That might be a wise call given he is 35 and you certainly could not say that this team lacks talent in the final third. Youngster Ibrahim Maza is a crafty operator, while striker Amine Gouiri is capable of the spectacular on his day. The press box here at Arrowhead Park is right at the top of the stadium. It's behind g
Fuente: NYT — Ver nota original
