The defending FIFA World Cup champions will train in Kansas City ahead of this summer’s tournament.

The Argentine Football Association announced Wednesday, Feb. 4 that they will select a location in the Kansas City area to prepare for their defense of the Jules Rimet Trophy. In a statement, the team said that their technical team concluded that Kansas City was the ideal location for their camp given the distances to their stage matches and quality of available facilities and amenities in the region. A specific location within the Metro has not been announced; however, previous media reports suggest that Argentina will use Sporting Kansas City’s training facilities in Kansas City, Ks. Argentina and their star forward Lionel Messi will kick off their title defense at Arrowhead Stadium on June 16 against Algeria, then have their remaining two group stage contests in Arlington, Texas. It’s possible that Argentina could play a second game at Arrowhead on July 11 should they win their group and advance to the quarterfinals.

(UPDATE 6:15 a.m., Feb. 6, 2026): Sporting Kansas City confirmed Thursday afternoon that Argentina would establish their base camp at their facilities in KCK.