{"id":3265,"date":"2026-06-17T06:34:23","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T06:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265"},"modified":"2026-06-17T06:34:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T06:34:23","slug":"argentina-is-defending-its-world-cup-title-and-its-fans-are-more-obsessed-than-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265","title":{"rendered":"Argentina is defending its World Cup title, and its fans are more obsessed than ever"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) \u2014 As reigning champions Argentina returned to the World Cup stage Tuesday, there was no drive too long and no ticket too pricey for its most fervent fans.<\/p>\n

Read more Tunisia\u2019s Herv\u00e9 Renard embraces challenge against Japan in World Cup debut<\/a><\/p>\n

Three fans bicycled nearly 11,000 miles (17,700 kilometers) from South America to Kansas City, Missouri \u2014 without tickets in hand. One group drove 20 hours, living off sandwiches to save money. Daniel Otero, a 73-year-old attending his seventh tournament, is shelling out around $100,000 so he and his two sons can watch the team play over the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are crazy for Argentina,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s why we spend so much money to see our country, our national team.\u201d<\/p>\n

The obsession was rewarded in Kansas City as the team made opened its World Cup defense, defeating Algeria 3-0. Scoring all three of those goals was the legendary Lionel Messi who, turning 39 next week, could be playing in his last World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cArgentina now is like the Chicago Bulls with Michael Jordan,\u201d said Juan Martin, 43, of Buenos Aires, Argentina, before the match. \u201cIn his prime, he had fans around the world. Argentina has fans around the world with Messi.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin plans to spend the next month following the team with his girlfriend, 31-year-old Agostina Gomez Uvia, a quest that he estimates will cost them $20,000 each. Similarly Otero is spending $40,000 on tickets alone. <\/p>\n

Otero and his son, Franco Otero, 27, marveled that U.S. families also were wearing Argentina jerseys, emblazoned with Messi\u2019s name. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t remember an Argentinian team without Messi,\u201d Franco Otero said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe changed the game,\u201d agreed Manuel Valdes, a 29-year-old engineer from Corrientes, Argentina, who traveled to the match with his father and younger brother. \u201cThere\u2019s a before and after in football.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Messi has his first World Cup hat trick as defending champion Argentina beats Algeria 3-0 in opener<\/a><\/p>\n

In the parking lot outside the stadium, 11-year-old Andre Cornuz, of Miami, joined his father as he set up a flag atop a van before the game. In front, members of the band Los Sin Entradas (translation: Those Without Tickets) lined up drums. Passersby stopped to pose for photos in front of the display, which included a giant banner that read, \u201cLio Te Quiero\u201d \u2014 \u201cI love you, Lio\u201d \u2014 and a photo of Messi.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have been raised with Messi,\u201d said Andre, whose father is from Argentina and who often travels back to visit his family. \u201cI am very connected to the land.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s next stop is Dallas, where Argentina is playing next, and then \u201cwherever it takes us,\u201d Andre said.<\/p>\n

Pam Kramer, the chief executive of the Kansas City organizing committee, has marveled over the past week at the lengths that Argentina fans have gone to support the three-time World Cup champions, including the trio that cycled their way to Kansas City in time for the opening match.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had those three Argentine cyclists come here, and they came here without tickets. And the people in Johnson County (Kansas) were like, \u2018You know what? We\u2019re fans too. We\u2019re going to make sure you get to a match,\u2019\u201d Kramer said, \u201cand that\u2019s genuine. Nobody is doing it for show. We want people to see what we see, that this place is pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Three hours before kickoff, fans already were lining up to get into the stadium. Jorgelina Skorput, 34, of New York City, waited with her friends as police officers on horseback patrolled the crowd. They drove two days to get here, munching on sandwiches and staying at an Airbnb an hour out of town because it was cheaper. <\/p>\n

All told, she figures the trip cost her $2,000, including the $800 game ticket.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like this is the only time, the only opportunity I\u2019m going to get to see the World Cup,\u201d said Skorput, who was born in Rosario, Argentina, and moved to the U.S. when she was 9. \u201cWe\u2019re the last champions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Lionel Messi ties the World Cup goals record with an incredible hat trick as Argentina tops Algeria<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP Sports Writer David Skretta contributed to this report. <\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP World Cup coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/fifa-world-cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) \u2014 As reigning champions Argentina returned to the World Cup stage…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nArgentina is defending its World Cup title, and its fans are more obsessed than ever - Raleigh Moving News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Argentina is defending its World Cup title, and its fans are more obsessed than ever - Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) \u2014 As reigning champions Argentina returned to the World Cup stage...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Raleigh Moving News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T06:34:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3265#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3265\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"headline\":\"Argentina is defending its World Cup title, and its fans are more obsessed than ever\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T06:34:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3265\"},\"wordCount\":717,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3265#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a6318d48d565128e937ac50c011c81c2.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3265#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3265\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3265\",\"name\":\"Argentina is defending its World Cup title, and its fans are more obsessed than ever - Raleigh Moving News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3265#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3265#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a6318d48d565128e937ac50c011c81c2.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T06:34:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3265#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3265\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3265#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a6318d48d565128e937ac50c011c81c2.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/a6318d48d565128e937ac50c011c81c2.webp\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?p=3265#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Argentina is defending its World Cup title, and its fans are more obsessed than ever\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Raleigh Moving News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/raleighmovingnews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Argentina is defending its World Cup title, and its fans are more obsessed than ever - Raleigh Moving News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Argentina is defending its World Cup title, and its fans are more obsessed than ever - Raleigh Moving News","og_description":"KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) \u2014 As reigning champions Argentina returned to the World Cup stage...","og_url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265","og_site_name":"Raleigh Moving News","article_published_time":"2026-06-17T06:34:23+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"headline":"Argentina is defending its World Cup title, and its fans are more obsessed than ever","datePublished":"2026-06-17T06:34:23+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265"},"wordCount":717,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a6318d48d565128e937ac50c011c81c2.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265","name":"Argentina is defending its World Cup title, and its fans are more obsessed than ever - Raleigh Moving News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a6318d48d565128e937ac50c011c81c2.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-17T06:34:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a6318d48d565128e937ac50c011c81c2.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a6318d48d565128e937ac50c011c81c2.webp","width":1280,"height":853},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?p=3265#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Argentina is defending its World Cup title, and its fans are more obsessed than ever"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/","name":"Raleigh Moving News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/eda87157c0d9ccdbb002a999547a6a60","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3265","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3265"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3265\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/raleighmovingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}