Five hundred people showed up at an airport in Lawrence, Kansas to welcome a football team that wasn't theirs. A local artist carved a giant Algerian flag into the ground using mulch and sand. The university marching band learned the Algerian national anthem. This is either the most wholesome story of the 2026 World Cup, or a reminder of how sport has a way of papering over things that deserve to stay visible.
Algeria — Les Fennecs — set up their World Cup base in Lawrence, a college town 40 miles west of Kansas City and home to the University of Kansas. They share the region with Argentina, England, and the Netherlands, but none of those sides have generated anything close to the local affection that Algeria has. Players shot hoops at Allen Fieldhouse. They tossed American footballs at Memorial Stadium. Arabic-language signs of support went up around town. "They quickly became our home team," said Ruth DeWitt, the city's director of community relations.
Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez, the Manchester City winger, told the people of Lawrence simply: "Respect, and thank you so much for the welcome." The warmth, by all accounts, went both ways.
The shadow FIFA couldn't ignore
Then there's Christophe Gleizes. The French journalist has been detained in Algeria since 2024, serving a seven-year sentence for "glorifying terrorism" and "possessing propaganda harmful to national interests" — charges Reporters Without Borders has called "unfounded and outrageous." He was originally investigating the death of Algerian footballer Albert Ebosse when he was caught up in a case that critics say reflects a broader crackdown on press freedom and political dissent under President Tebboune.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino didn't stay quiet. He granted Gleizes a media credential for the tournament, left a seat symbolically open for him in the press area, and publicly called on Algerian authorities to pardon him. "I hope — I really hope — that in a great act of humanity, he will be given grace," Infantino said. His parents were invited to attend a match.
Even from prison, Gleizes has been trying to do his job. At a recent press conference, L'Equipe journalist Vincent Duluc asked France coach Didier Deschamps a question on Gleizes' behalf — about hydration breaks during the tournament. Deschamps, who met Gleizes' parents at the French Cup final, kept it simple: "I hope for him and his family that he will be here as soon as possible, and be in a position to ask his questions himself."
Algeria still have something to play for
On the pitch, the Fennecs opened with a 3-0 loss to Argentina — Messi scored a hat-trick inside Arrowhead Stadium, which is about as brutal a welcome to a World Cup as you can get. That means Monday's Group J clash with Jordan in Santa Clara is essentially a must-win. Algeria have qualified for the World Cup five times and have never made it past the round of 16. They didn't qualify for the last two tournaments at all.
With 32 of 48 teams advancing to the knockout stage, the margin for error is wider than it used to be — but losing your opener to Argentina still concentrates the mind. Coach Vladimir Petkovic knows his side can't afford another slip.
"We'll try to give them something back," Petkovic said of the Lawrence crowd. The Jordan game is where that starts.
