Photo by OS Photography Studio
Audio By Carbonatix
Many in South Florida will need no reminder of what happened the last time the Argentina national soccer team played a knockout tournament match in Miami. With reports that 50,000 Argentina fans alone are expected to travel here for the Round of 32 FIFA World Cup match against Cabo Verde, Miamians will no doubt be having flashbacks to thousands of fans (and one poor backpack Shih Tzu) bum-rushing Hard Rock Stadium in 2024 to see Argentina vs Colombia.
Trivia nerds will love to know that Lionel Messi’s Argentina playing a World Cup game in Miami marks one of the few times an international soccer player will play a match in the city of their professional club team (Inter Miami). And thanks to the sheer gravitational force that is Messi, tens of thousands are expected to descend upon the city for a chance to see him play in a World Cup knockout match.
According to many reports, including from Argentina-based soccer account Sudan Analytics, 50,000 Argentina fans are expected to come to Miami for the game at a stadium that holds about 65,000 people.
Many in the comments were clearly experiencing PTSD from the 2024 match, where an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people had a premeditated plan to break into the stadium, according to a report about the incident.
“Don’t be idiots, don’t cause trouble, it might end up getting FIFA to sanction us,” one wrote, clearly referencing FIFA’s penchant for punishing national team federations for fans’ behavior at tournaments.
“Be careful in the USA or the same thing will happen to you that happened to Pato Busi and Mármol,” another wrote, referencing the two Argentinian streamers arrested in Miami and accused of using previous game media passes to attend the Colombia vs Portugal match.
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office spokespeople didn’t respond to questions about whether there would be heightened security at the game.
Many social media accounts are citing a request from the Argentine Football Association (AFA) for FIFA to release more tickets for the event. While FIFA didn’t respond to questions about whether it would release more for this game, it has done so for other knockout matches and even lowered the price, according to Front Office Sports.
AFA didn’t respond to emails or calls requesting comment.
