World Cup attendance issues? Not so in Kansas City for Algeria-Argentina match
There was no need for FIFA spin at Tuesday’s World Cup game between Argentina and Algeria at Kansas City Stadium (aka Arrowhead).
After empty seats were spotted throughout Guadalajara Stadium on Thursday for the South Korea-Czech Republic match, FIFA suggested it simply was a matter of fans being in the concourse rather than their seats.
FIFA also said more than 1 million fans had attended the first 16 matches of the tournament. In fact, fan No. 1 million was identified by FIFA president Gianni Infantino on his Instagram account.
Infantino was at Arrowhead Stadium on Tuesday night for the Argentina-Algeria match. He undoubtedly liked what he saw as the stadium was at least 95% full. For the World Cup, capacity was set at 69,045 by FIFA.
Argentina fans — who loudly serenaded star Lionel Messi after he scored the only goal of the first half — were the dominant force in their sky-blue and white tops. But flecks of green were visible throughout the stadium as Algeria fans made their presence known as well.
So, yeah, this wasn’t your typical Chiefs game where red dominates on Sundays in the fall. And it wasn’t like other stadiums during the World Cup where attendance was part of the story.
