KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland, including Liberty. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
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Argentina fans packed Mill Creek Park for Monday's banderazo ahead of the team's first match of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Banderazos are passionate fan rallies that often feature chants and the waving of flags.
Kansas City looked, sounded, and felt like Argentina the night before the national team's World Cup match.
"We are all alike," Juan Carlos Pezarro, one of the fans there, said.
For Lucas Gonzalez, who traveled from Argentina for his fifth World Cup, the experience was immediately familiar.
"It's kind of being home," Gonzalez said.
He called the trip something he will never forget. "It's amazing, it's incredible, it's unforgettable," Gonzalez said.
His father, Geraldo Gonzalez, made the trip for his seventh World Cup.
"It's a unique experience,” Geraldo Gonzalez said in his native Spanish.
Fans described the banderazo as something almost spiritual — a gathering where flags, music, and shared passion create a bond that transcends borders.
"Like a Catholic mass," Ezequiel Magron said.
Mathias Celestino raised money to bring instruments to the event. He said no simple explanation covers why fans travel so far and sacrifice so much.
"We put a lot of emotion into it, a lot of love," Celestino said.
For Celestino, the flags carried at the banderazo represent something deeper than national pride.
"The flag is a sense of belonging," Celestino said.
Celestino said Argentina supporters will follow the team anywhere.
The banderazo honored both Argentina's present and its past, with images of Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi displayed among the crowd.
For Lucas Gonzalez, the gathering meant something simple and profound.
“Here, we are brothers," Gonzalez said.
KSHB 41’s Fernanda Silva said fans started arriving hours before 6 p.m., setting up around 4 p.m.
Argentina opens its World Cup title defense Tuesday against Algeria at 8 p.m. at Kansas City Stadium (GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium).
Both teams have set up base camp in the area. Argentina is training at the Compass Minerals National Performance Center in Kansas City, Kansas, while staying at the Origin Hotel along the Berkley Riverfront in Kansas City, Missouri. Algeria is training at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence and staying at the DoubleTree.
As expected, Argentina fans have made their presence known in the area.
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But Kansas has quickly taken to Algeria, going viral for embracing the team.
RELATED | KU marching band welcomes Algeria’s World Cup team to Lawrence with country's national anthem
RELATED | Algeria opens World Cup training to the public in Lawrence
RELATED | 2 unlikely friends: Lawrence resident welcomes Algerian fan into her home
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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