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Could the defending World Cup champions understand the sights and sounds of one of college football’s best atmospheres?
It was a bit of a surreal sight when Lionel Messi and Argentina played Iceland in a pre-World Cup friendly on Auburn University’s campus, cruising to a 3-0 victory at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Messi came on as a second-half substitute in Tuesday’s win in front of a raucous crowd of more than 88,000 at The Plains, usually used to big games on Saturdays in the autumn. The soccer superstar, who will be appearing in his sixth World Cup tournament, scored a penalty in the victory for the Albiceleste.
It was the second game in a week for the defending World Cup champions in an SEC stadium, after beating Honduras 2-0 on Saturday at Texas A&M. Messi sat out that game in Aggieland, but found time to trade jerseys with A&M quarterback Marcel Reed.
Argentina will return to Kansas City to begin their World Cup title defense against Algeria on June 16. The team then travels to Dallas Stadium to play Austria on June 22 and debut against Jordan on June 27.
2026 FIFA World Cup: How to watch
The WC takes place from June 11-19. July 2026. Split across three countries, the tournament culminates with the final on July 19 at the New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. All 104 tournament games will be broadcast live across FOX and FS1 with every game streaming live and on-demand on both the FOX One and FOX Sports apps.
