A Festival Before the 'Last Dance'… "The World Cup Belongs to Messi"

[Anchor]

The 'Last Dance' of the 'God of Football' begins tomorrow, June 17. Argentina, led by Messi, is aiming for a second consecutive World Cup title and will play its first match tomorrow. In Kansas City, USA, where the match will be held, a massive festival has been underway since a day before the game.

Reporter Hong Seok-jun has the story.

[Reporter]

Flags bearing the face of the 'legend' Maradona and Messi's jersey number are waving, while fans beat drums, sing, and cheer with fervor.

In Kansas City, where Argentina is set to play its first match against Algeria tomorrow, countless fans have gathered since the day before the match to hold a festival wishing for a successful 'Last Dance' for Messi.

[Fan: Messi is the God of football himself. He cannot be compared to anything else.]

[Fan: The trophy belongs to Messi. It's only Messi!]

While Times Square in New York, 1,800 km away, is also painted in the sky blue and white of the Argentine uniform, the Argentine national team has confidently thrown its hat into the ring for a second consecutive title.

[Lionel Scaloni / Argentina National Football Team Head Coach: If I had to express the most important thing in one word, it would be 'composure.' We are full of confidence, and I believe our current momentum is very good.]

Messi, who has shaken off his injuries and showed he is in good form during the recent friendly match against Iceland, also completed his final training session with a serious demeanor. He has finished all preparations for his 6th World Cup, which will begin with his 200th international match.

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The Tunisia national team, which suffered a 5-1 crushing defeat to Sweden yesterday, has abruptly dismissed head coach Lamouchi.

While there have been cases in the past, such as South Korea's Cha Bum-kun and Tunisia's Henryk Kasperczak in 1998, where coaches were dismissed after just two matches in the World Cup finals, this is the first time a coach has been sacked after only one match.

Renard, who led Saudi Arabia to an upset victory over Argentina in the group stage of the previous tournament, has been appointed as the new head coach.

Video Editing: So Ji-hye | Graphics: Choi Jin-hoe
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.