Argentina fans are already filling town as Kansas City prepares for its final World Cup match, a quarterfinal contest against Switzerland at Arrowhead Stadium.
The returning World Cup champions, led by Lionel Messi, have bookended Kansas City's time as a host city — they played in the very first Group Stage match at Arrowhead on June 16. And Argentina also picked Kansas City as its base camp, staying at a Berkley Riverfront hotel during the tournament.
Argentina made it to the quarterfinal after a stunning 3-2 comeback against Egypt on Tuesday, while Switzerland advanced after beating Colombia in a penalty shootout.
The Argentina-Switzerland match will kick off at 8 p.m. on Saturday. The winner will face either England or Norway, who play in Miami earlier that day.
This weekend also marks the last few days of the Fan Festival, Kansas City’s soccer love fest held on the lawn of the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
However, the National Weather Service predicts “multiple chances” of heavy rain and storms through Saturday.
Meteorologist Chad Shafer said that Friday presents the biggest risk of inclement weather, with chances for storms rising to 50%.
This wouldn’t be the first interruption in Fan Fest activities. Ahead of the Tunisia vs. Netherlands match on June 25, the festival closed early due to rain and thunderstorms, although the game proceeded as scheduled.
The Fan Festival ends after Saturday, while the ConnectKC26 transit service will continue through Monday.
World Cup matches at Fan Festival
Here’s a schedule of the quarterfinal games being shown at the Fan Festival:
Friday, July 10:
- Spain vs. Belgium at 2 p.m.
Saturday, July 11:
- Norway vs. England at 4 p.m.
- Argentina vs. Switzerland at 8 p.m. (at Kansas City Stadium)
Entertainment at Fan Festival
Kansas City is bringing in some big-name music headliners for this last weekend as well. Missouri’s own Sheryl Crow takes the stage Friday night, followed on Saturday by Kansas City’s Tech N9ne.
Here’s the full music schedule for the final two days.
Friday, July 10:
- Sheppa & Ernest Melton at 1 p.m.
- Tech N9ne with KC Rumble & KC Cheerleaders at 1:30 p.m.
- Sheppa & Ernest Melton at 4:15 p.m.
- Deshica Rage at 5:00 p.m.
- Hembree 5:45 p.m.
- DJ Skittlez at 6:45 p.m.
- Sheryl Crow at 7:45 p.m.
Saturday, July 11:
- Dom Chronicles at 12 p.m.
- Thebabegabe x Seven Rings at 12:30 p.m.
- Tech N9ne at 1:30 p.m.
- The All-American Rejects at 2:30 p.m.
- Dom Chronicles at 6:15 p.m.
- The Phantastics at 7:00 p.m.
