Messi and who else? Kansas City’s World Cup games include these 5 notable players

Much of the news coverage surrounding the lineup of countries whose national soccer teams will play 2026 World Cup matches in Kansas City will, with good reason, lead with prominent global superstar Lionel Messi.

But there will be other stars to watch, too.

That game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead (dubbed Kansas City Stadium for the World Cup) will be the first of four group-stage matches bringing some of the best players in the world to KC. After that come visits from Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Curaçao, the Netherlands and Tunisia.

Here are five must-watch players who are coming to Kansas City with their respective national teams next summer:

Julian Álvarez, Argentina forward

Álvarez burst onto the scene at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Just 22 then, he scored four goals, including two in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Croatia in the semifinals.

He became the youngest player since Pelé in 1958 to score twice in a World Cup semifinal.

Álvarez plays for Atletico Madrid in Spain’s La Liga, where he has scored 39 goals in 76 games across all competitions the last two seasons.

Riyad Mahrez, Algeria winger

Algeria’s World Cup history might be most remembered for something the North African nation would like to forget: being on the wrong end of Landon Donovan’s legendary last-gasp goal during the 2010 World Cup.

They followed that with a trip to the round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup, pushing eventual champion Germany to the brink in extra time. Mahrez was part of that 2014 team but had yet to become a global name. In fact, he had played in just one game.

Mahrez would reach stardom two years later with Leicester City: Together they stunned the world and won the English Premier League.

Mahrez would later join Manchester City. He scored double-digit goals in each of his last nine seasons and reached double-digit assists in seven of those nine — and the only two seasons he didn’t, he came close, with nine.

Mahrez, 34, currently plays for Al Ahli in Saudi Arabia and can play either as a winger or an attacking midfielder.

Virgil Van Dijk, Netherlands defender

Virgil Van Dijk, who captains Liverpool, has widely been regarded as the best defender in the world for the last eight years.

Holland, traditionally a powerhouse, missed the 2018 World Cup in the early years of Van Dijk’s prime. But he captained the Dutch in Qatar in 2022 and they reached the quarterfinals before losing to Argentina in a penalty shootout.

Van Dijk is tall, strong and fast and is usually a bear to get past 1v1. Holland will need to rely heavily on his leadership and defensive organization to have hopes of making a run.

Memphis Depay, Netherlands striker

Depay has scored the most goals of anyone to wear the famous Orange shirt of the Netherlands.

In 108 appearances, he has scored 55 goals. One of those goals came against the U.S. in a round-of-16 matchup at the 2022 World Cup.

Depay came up through PSV Eindhoven’s highly touted youth system before earning an unfruitful move to Manchester United. After shifting to Olympique Lyon in France and starring there for four years, he played for Barcelona and Atlético Madrid.

He currently plays for Corinthians in Brazil.

Lionel Messi, Argentina winer

You have to save the best for last, right?

Messi has already appeared in Kansas City twice. He scored a stunning goal in each of those games as Inter Miami CF beat Sporting Kansas City.

The opening game of the group stage for Argentina, against Algeria, will be Messi’s second game at Arrowhead.

When it comes to soccer, he is the showstopper of showstoppers. He enjoyed an illustrious career with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain before leading Inter Miami to its first MLS Cup championship on Saturday (Miami beat Vancouver 3-1).

Messi has scored 13 goals in 26 World Cup appearances. He has the most goal contributions and most minutes played in World Cup history. During the 2022 World Cup, he scored seven goals and provided three assists en route to lifting the crown for the third time in Argentina’s history.

Honorable mention

Countries like Argentina and the Netherlands boast rosters loaded with global stars.

Xavi Simons and Frenkie De Jong are two other players of note for the Netherlands. At the same time, you can’t talk about Argentina without thinking of eccentric goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez and do-it-all midfielder Alexis MacAllister.

Algeria boasts two young attackers to keep an eye on, considering the “Desert Foxes” play in Kansas City twice. Mohamed Amoura scored 10 goals in 10 games during Algeria’s qualifying run.

A majority of Tunisia’s players play within the country, but Ellyes Shkiri, who plays for Frankfurt in Germany, might be its best player.

Austria employs a host of high-quality players from around Europe, but none have true global reach. David Alaba is Austria’s highest-profile player, but injuries have severely hampered game time for the defender in recent seasons.

And finally there’s Curaçao, which will make its first World Cup appearance in 2026. The roster includes Manchester United Academy product Tahith Chong.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.