Kansas City, KS – With the 2026 FIFA World Cup just three months away, cities across the United States are racing to finalize training facilities that national teams will call home during the global tournament.

Among them is Kansas City, which will serve as the base camp for defending champion Argentina national football team, a major win for the region as it prepares to welcome both players and tens of thousands of international fans.

Base camps are critical to World Cup operations. They serve as home headquarters where teams live, train and recover while traveling between match sites throughout the competition.

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“From private practice fields to player recovery rooms, these facilities are designed to support some of the biggest names in soccer,” said Alan Dietrich, who has worked closely with organizers.

Local leaders have spent more than a year pitching their cities to international teams, hoping to showcase not just athletic facilities but the broader community.

“We started actually over a year ago with countries beginning to visit,” Dietrich said.

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Tourism officials say the opportunity extends far beyond the sport itself. Hosting a base camp allows cities to introduce themselves to global audiences and build long-term international relationships.

To show support for Kansas City’s bid for the men’s 2026 FIFA World Cup, the KC2026 Bid Committee and Outfront media installed a 90×90-foot banner on Main Street in Kansas City, Missouri. (Jill Toyoshiba/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

“We knew that the World Cup was going to be kind of our first chance and probably our biggest chance to be engaging these international markets,” said Devin Aaron with Visit KC.

A locker room shows the “We are FIFA 2026 Kansas City” sign in Sporting KC training facility (Olivianna Calmes)

Early expectations had Argentina basing in Miami, but Kansas City ultimately stood out during the selection process.

“When Argentina visited, they really loved it here,” Dietrich said. “They loved our facilities, they loved our people.”

The team will train at Sporting Kansas City’s Compass Minerals National Performance Center, a state-of-the-art facility in Kansas City, Kansas that will serve as Argentina’s training home base during the tournament.

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The complex features multiple professional grade fields and elite level training amenities designed for international competition.

Inside, players will have access to private dining areas, meeting rooms and dedicated recovery spaces designed to help them rest between matches.

A resting room for World Cup players (Olivianna Calmes)

“If they’ve traveled a lot and they’re tired, they can come in here, turn the lights out and get a nice nap,” Dietrich added.

Up to 100,000 Argentine fans are expected to travel to Kansas City during the tournament, a preview of the global crowds set to flood World Cup host cities across the U.S.

Across the U.S., cities selected as host sites and base camps are preparing for similar surges, as teams finalize training locations and fans follow their national squads.

Cities across the US which are hosting World Cup games (Fox News)

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The 2026 World Cup will be the largest in history, expanding from 32 to 48 teams and spanning host cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico, with each location competing for global visibility and long-term economic impact.

Antoine Griezmann is set to sign a two-year deal including an additional one-year option with Orlando City SC, multiple sources told ESPN Sunday.

The Atlético Madrid attacker left for Orlando on Sunday night after his team’s 3-2 derby loss to Real Madrid to finalize the move, sources added, with Griezmann expected to begin playing for the MLS side in July.

Griezmann will remain with Atlético until the end of the season, which still includes a Champions League quarterfinal tie with Barcelona and a Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad.

The former France star, who was on the 2018 World Cup winning team, retired from international duty in 2024.

ESPN reported in February that Griezmann was in talks to make a move to Orlando before the end of the LaLiga season, but sources said he decided to put the move on hold to finish out the year with Atlético.

Griezmann is Atlético’s all-time leading scorer with 210 goals, but he has yet to win a major title with Diego Simeone’s team.

Simeone has said repeatedly that he would support any decision that Griezmann, a longtime Atlético Madrid veteran, made. His current deal with Atleti runs through 2027.

Major League Soccer’s summer window opens on July 13.

ESPN’s Gustavo Hofman and Jeff Carlisle contributed to this report.

Olivier Giroud came off the bench for Lille to condemn Marseille to a 2-1 home defeat on Sunday as fellow European contenders Lyon’s woes continued with another defeat.

Ethan Nwaneri’s first-half goal seemed to have put Marseille on course for a third straight win in the league as they look to consolidate the third and final Champions League spot.

But Belgian right-back Thomas Meunier struck back for seventh-placed Lille in the 49th minute to level matters at the Stade Velodrome.

Former Arsenal and France striker Giroud then netted his sixth goal of the season to send Lille in front inside the final five minutes.

The 39-year-old substitute headed in Meunier’s cross to complete the comeback for fifth-placed Lille and move them to within two points of their opponents.

“We didn’t deserve to be behind at half-time. So at the break, I told my players to keep doing what they’d been doing. We can be proud of what we’ve achieved, but we need to keep our feet on the ground,” Lille coach Bruno Genesio said.

“Olivier did us a world of good… He scored a brilliant striker’s goal.”

Defeat left Habib Beye’s Marseille on 49 points, also just two clear of fourth-placed Lyon after the seven-time French champions went down 2-1 at home to Monaco.

The defeat compounded a miserable week for Lyon after they were eliminated from the Europa League 3-1 on aggregate following Thursday’s 2-0 reversal at the Groupama Stadium to Spaniards Celta Vigo.

Paulo Fonseca’s charges are now without a win in their last six outings in all competitions.

“We played well up until the 70th minute, dominating the game and creating chances,” Lyon boss Fonseca said.

“We’ve been facing a lot of difficulties this season and the mistakes are piling up. I can accept that the referees don’t always have the best view, but how can some of the VAR decisions be explained?”

The Portuguese was particularly aggrieved by the decision not to award a penalty for a pull of the shirt on Lyon forward Endrick in the immediate build-up to the decisive spot-kick whistled for Monaco.

Pavel Sulc had sent the hosts ahead on 42 minutes but the principality side roared back courtesy of Maghnes Akliouche’s leveller shortly after the hour before Folarin Balogun netted from the spot in the 72nd minute to move Monaco into sixth and within one point of Lyon.

They sit on 46 points, two clear of Rennes, who played out a goalless stalemate with bottom-placed Metz.

Despite twice taking the lead against Strasbourg, second-bottom Nantes fell to a 3-2 loss after Joaquin Panichelli’s late brace and find themselves five points behind Auxerre, who occupy the relegation play-off spot.

Elsewhere, Paris FC took a big step towards ensuring their top-flight status for next season with a vital 3-2 home win over Le Havre.

The capital side sit on 31 points, with Le Havre now four behind them in 14th spot.