At least one World Cup warm-up match is expected to be played in Kansas City
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas City is expected to host a warm-up match, likely Algeria vs Netherlands.
- Four teams will base locally: Argentina, England, Netherlands and Algeria.
- Sporting Park is the likely venue while organizers and teams continue active talks.
It’s been an embarrassment of riches for Kansas City soccer fans ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Four teams will have base camps in the area, including three ranked in the top seven in the world (Argentina, England and the Netherlands). The other is Algeria, which announced Thursday it will train in Lawrence.
There also will be six matches at Arrowhead Stadium, including two knockout games.
A seventh match is likely to be announced soon.
It will be a warm-up match ahead of the start of the World Cup and likely will pit Algeria against the Netherlands.
Longtime soccer journalist Jaap de Groot reported last month in a story for BNR Newsradio in the Netherlands that the Dutch team would arrive in Kansas City on June 5.
The Netherlands, which will train at the Current facilities, is expected to play a warm-up match ahead of its first World Cup game on June 14 in Arlington, Texas.
“We expect this to be against Algeria, which is also preparing in the same area,” de Groot said in the BNR story. “The Algerians’ playing style is similar to that of Tunisia, the Netherlands’ World Cup opponent in Kansas City (on June 25).”
Algeria opens the World Cup at Arrowhead against defending champion Argentina on June 16. That means a warm-up match between Algeria and the Netherlands likely would be held on or around June 7.
That game would take place at Sporting Park.
Sporting Kansas City president and CEO Jake Reid said last week that talks for a warm-up match were “still active.”
“The Netherlands, we’re talking to them about whether we can figure something out,” Reid said.
He added: “I think we’ve got some good discussions going on. So, yeah, nothing final, but we are optimistic we’ll get something done. It’d be great.”
Kansas City soccer fans certainly would agree.
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 8:51 AM.
