![\"Argentina](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/argentina-fans-in-miami-world-cup-1783064472.jpeg\")
Argentina fans gather in Miami before their team\u2019s World Cup match against Cape Verde, on July 2, 2026 [Hafsa Adil\/Al Jazeera]<\/p>\nMiami, United States \u2013 Singing to the beat of the drum, jumping and dancing with joyful abandon, sporting their famous light blue and white shirts, and waving large flags bearing images of their heroes, Argentinian football fans have announced their team\u2019s arrival in Miami in grand fashion.<\/p>\n
A day before Argentina\u2019s first knockout match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 \u2013 and their first fixture in the Sunshine State \u2013 the portion of Miami Beach known as Little Buenos Aires came to life as close to a thousand revellers geared up for Lionel Messi\u2019s \u201chomecoming\u201d on Friday.<\/p>\n
The defending champions and one of the pre-tournament favourites will take on the fairytale team of the World Cup \u2013 the small African island nation of Cape Verde.<\/p>\n
The match at Miami Stadium will pit a team supported by one of the largest travelling fan bases of the tournament against an outfit that may not have strong backing in the stands but has endeared itself to the neutrals with its heroic performances.<\/p>\n
Among Argentinian supporters, though, there\u2019s no room for sympathy for the team punching above its weight.<\/p>\n
For Adrian Elizondo, the logic is simple: \u201cMessi deserves to win another World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Messi\u2019s last World Cup and since he\u2019s the greatest player of all time, he deserves to walk away with another trophy,\u201d Elizondo told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
Elizondo believes there\u2019s more to Argentina\u2019s success than Messi.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have good players, a great coach and tens of thousands of people supporting the team. We make a big difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
A quick glance at the party-like atmosphere in Miami Beach reinforced Elizondo\u2019s claim.<\/p>\n
Miami, where Messi has been playing his club football since 2023, is home to at least 30,000 Argentinians, according to local census data.<\/p>\n
Add to this mix another 20,000 fans following the team on their quest to defend the title in the United States and it becomes evident that Miami is \u201cMessi Country\u201d.<\/p>\n
Argentina fans gather in Miami before their team\u2019s World Cup match against Cape Verde, on July 2, 2026 [Hafsa Adil\/Al Jazeera]<\/p>\n
The crowd in North Beach, which is home to several decades-old Argentinian restaurants and cafes, started building more than 24 hours before kickoff and showed no sign of letting up as the evening went on.<\/p>\n
Fans, from toddlers to supporters in their 70s, were seen walking towards the central area in Little Buenos Aires.<\/p>\n
A small pocket of enthusiasts would begin singing \u201cMuchachos\u201d \u2013 the famous Argentinian football anthem \u2013 and hundreds of others would soon join in.<\/p>\n
While the lyrics speak to the heartbreak of lost World Cup finals and past heroes, the mood among fans was festive, especially as Messi and Co broke a 36-year title drought four years ago in Qatar and emulated his hero Diego Maradona in leading them to a World Cup trophy.<\/p>\n
For Argentina fans, Maradona and Messi are commonly considered the master and the protege. It\u2019s part of their footballing folklore which is reinforced at every opportunity.<\/p>\n
In Miami, as men, women and children danced on the streets, a group of supporters dressed in the shirts of Argentinian football club Newell\u2019s Old Boys proudly stood in front of a banner connecting the two national heroes with the club.<\/p>\n
![\"Argentina](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260702_201113-1-1783064477.jpg\")
Jorge Martinelli, second left, and other Argentina fans from Newell\u2019s Old Boys club [Hafsa Adil\/Al Jazeera]<\/p>\n
Jorge Martinelli travelled to Miami from Rosario, the club\u2019s base, with his friends and proudly shared some facts about his hometown.<\/p>\n
\u201cMessi was born in Rosario and played in Newell\u2019s youth teams before joining Barcelona, while Maradona came to the club in 1993,\u201d he tells Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
Is there any other connection between the two iconic captains? Martinelli said: \u201cYes, it\u2019s a cosmic connection.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany here believe Maradona is guiding the team from the heavens above,\u201d he quipped.<\/p>\n
Amid Martinelli\u2019s explanation of the spiritual connection between the two, fans let off crackers to celebrate Miami\u2019s favourite footballing son\u2019s return to his adopted home.<\/p>\n
The Rosario resident said he does not want to contemplate a future after Messi retires from international football.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will create a big hole in the national team, the same as what happened after Maradona,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For now, though, he believes Messi is the favourite to do what even the great Maradona couldn\u2019t achieve: successfully defend the title.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe [Messi] is here. He\u2019s playing. Maradona is watching.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miami, United States \u2013 Singing to the beat of the drum, jumping and dancing with joyful abandon, sporting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328294,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[4101,57,3446,123,125,124,197,4571,4572,9611,24215],"class_list":["post-328293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-argentina","tag-football","tag-latin-america","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-sport","tag-united-states","tag-us-canada","tag-world-cup","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}