What a thrilling way to end the group stage of the World Cup, as Algeria and Austria decided to make it fun with a 3-3 draw. I was expecting a boring, pragmatic game where a 0-0 or 1-1 would be enough for both teams to advance to the Round of 32, and I wasn’t the only one expecting that. The total World Cup experience, including the fan fest, travel, signage, and the game, made it enjoyable for my first World Cup.
Arriving in Kansas City
As one of the host cities for the World Cup, this was the closest place for me to watch a World Cup game. Taking the train to Kansas City, I arrived at Union Station and immediately felt the World Cup verve once I exited the Amtrak and entered the lobby full of shops and restaurants. Immediately met with a sea of red and white Austria jerseys interspersed with green and white Algerian tops and flags, I couldn’t help but smile—the magnitude of the World Cup hit me.
Now I’ve been to Kansas City many times. I’ve frequented the downtown area and watched a few games at Sporting Park to watch a few US Men’s National Team games in the Gold Cup and Copa America. But it was just so cool hearing German and Arabic being spoken downtown. Witnessing people all decked out in their gear marveling at the city and taking pictures was a sight I was not accustomed to seeing, but I loved it. The simple interactions, like people asking the Kansas City residents for directions, brought an extra layer of communal geniality in Kansas City.
Union Station was conveniently located right next to the Fan Fest area, roughly 10-15 minutes away (the Fan Festival is where people gather to watch the various World Cup soccer matches happening at the hour). While on my walk, I saw several military trucks marked “military police” that I didn’t completely register thats what I saw until I passed the police presence a third time on my way back to the hotel. They are discrete and visible at the same time, if that makes sense. Or maybe I was just oblivious, taking in the other aspects of the World Cup experience.
I had a little bit of time to kill at the Fan Fest during the second halves of the England-Panama and Ghana-Croatia games. It was a lovely setup, where they had three large spaces to catch the games. Kansas City summer was in full swing so it was a balmy afternoon, but the venue was well-equipped with tents, hydration stations, and those fans that spray mist. People were being creative in finding shaded areas to post up. It was pretty neat watching Jude Bellingham score the opening goal at the Fan Fest.
Signage and transportation
I paid attention to the signage and how it contributed to wayfinding. It was simple to get to the Fan Fest and understand where to go if you have a General Admission, Premium Garden, or Legacy Lounge pass. Finding the area to catch the shuttle to and from the stadium was fairly simple. The signage was either a standalone display somewhere on a sidewalk or accompanied by a volunteer. The signs all around helped provide clear direction. Transportation was easy and there were so many buses to take that the line waiting to get the bus you would only stand in it for 20 minutes max. The wait time could be shorter if you went to the stadium a little earlier than I did. I went during peak time. For instance, I decided to catch the bus to the stadium two and a half hours before 9pm kickoff. I got in line at 6:50 and go on the bus at around 7:10. But catching the bus from the stadium back to the Fan Fest pickup area was a breeze, with only a five minute wait this time. I heard the transportation was a mess for the first game in Kansas City (that was the Argentina game against Algeria where Messi scored a hat trick). But it was hard to tell there was an issue before given how smoothly the travel went on gameday.
The game
The positive vibes radiated by the Austrian and Algerian fans in downtown Kansas City, coupled with the seamless travel experience, teed up a good game. Algeria fans far outnumbered the Austrian supporters. I was geeked to hear the Algeria national anthem, Kassaman—I became enamored with it during Algeria’s 2014 World Cup campaign so it was a delight to finally hear it live.
Also, World Cup fans are different. Anytime a team was on the attack, people would stand up and quickly sit back down when possession was lost. And this was happening intermittently, like every five minutes. I don’t know if it was the area I was sitting in where it required people to stand or what. I didn’t find it as a nuisance, though. I rather saw it as a particularly passionate set of fans you don’t typically come across (at least for me living the United States). The first twenty or so minutes favored Austria. Once the refreee blew the whistle for the hydration break, loud jeers filled the stadium. Watching the games on TV, you don’t really hear the hydration break boos on television, but I do remember seeing a post on social media about fans vociferously booing the hydration breaks so I wasn’t too surprised to hear it.m. I think the crowd quickly forgot about it because they played the Macarena afterward.
Shortly after the water break, and typical of most games, a goal ensued and was converted in unorthodox fashion by Austria’s veteran striker Marko Arnautović. But right before halftime was some brilliant individual play by Algeria’s captain Riyad Mahrez, which led to some kind deflections and skill by right back Rafik Belghali to score the tying goal. The raucous cheers after the equalizer affirmed my earlier observation: Algeria fans were the more populous fan base.
After halftime, Austria regained the lead with a fine goal by Marcel Sabitzer. But Riyad Mahrez equalized minutes later. Both goals were before the second hydration break (which people booed again but frustrations quickly dissipated with “Hey! Baby” playing in the stadium).
This 2-2 result was perfectly fine for both teams: Austria would finish second, and Algeria would advance as one of the top 8 best third-place teams. And it appeared both were content with the result in the 84th minute. Algeria just kept passing the ball in Austria’s half for about 6 minutes with no intent to score a third goal. It was pretty obvious what they were doing so fans booed their approach, and people started to trickle out of the stadium. But in the midst of Algeria’s death by a thousand passes, someone decided to play a forward pass and Mahrez scored with Austrian defenders on their knees, slamming the ground.
I wasn’t too sure what the implications were with him scoring that goal at the time, but checking the FotMob app showed Austria would be eliminated and Algeria would finish second. I felt bad for Austria too. But with Austria pushing on for an equalizer goal, they eventually got from their 6’7 forward who came on seconds earlier. I had to double check my phone to see what the implications of that goal was and it confirmed what it would’ve been at 1-1 or 2-2: Austria finishes second in the group and will face Spain whereas Algeria will face Switzerland. My gut instinct for the equalizing goal at 3-3 was “this has to be a gentlemen’s agreement.” In other words, it’s like Algeria and Austria agreed the match would end in a draw so they had to allow Austria to score to fulfill that agreed upon promise.
Overall, it was a great World Cup match for my first one. Glad I got to see the last group stage match of the tournament, the fans and their passion, as well as moments of unity like the mutual disdain of hydration breaks.
SuperBafanaStars 
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