According to L'Équipe, Algerian fans gathered at the Adidas fan zone in Saint-Denis in the early hours of the morning to watch Argentina play Algeria. The venue was packed, but the atmosphere quickly cooled down after Messi scored a hat-trick.
According to L'Équipe, despite the "Desert Foxes" suffering a 0-3 defeat against Argentina, the Adidas fan zone in Saint-Denis was still crowded in the early hours of Tuesday to Wednesday. However, after Messi scored a hat-trick, the good atmosphere quickly dissipated. Late at night, in the center of the Lapland-Saint-Denis district, about 1,500 Algerian fans gathered to watch Argentina play Algeria, which was also the first round of Group J. This stadium was inaugurated by Adidas in 2018 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Zidane's double crown after beating Brazil 3-0 in the 1998 FIFA World Cup final. The most enthusiastic fans came to witness the "Desert Foxes"' first FIFA World Cup match since 2014.
Though late, the atmosphere was lively, with singing, flags, and Mahrez jerseys everywhere. The event, called "City," started on Tuesday and continued until Sunday, attracting huge crowds. On President Wilson Avenue, long queues even made latecomers worry about not getting in on time. The event first featured several performances, followed by a performance by the rap group L2B, and screenings of France vs. Senegal (3-1) and Iraq vs. Norway (1-4). The main event was the team led by Vladimir Petkovic facing the world champions. Although some fans said that the scene would be just as lively when they play Jordan or Austria, this pivotal match still attracted a large audience.
"Messi cooled everything down," a fan said. "We came after seeing the news on social media. To be honest, it's great here because we don't have TV channels, and at this hour, you can't watch the game anywhere else," said a fan named Loubna, who was very satisfied with the atmosphere. Chants of "One, two, three, Viva l'Algérie" echoed continuously in the stands, and the temporary stands and most of the artificial turf area where people were sitting responded in kind. In the 8th minute, Fares Chaibi briefly thought he had broken the deadlock, and the scene even erupted like a volcano, but VAR subsequently ruled him offside, disallowing the goal. That could have heralded a wonderful night, but Messi extinguished the enthusiasm in the 17th minute.
"It's been like this for 20 years," a fan complained, then added with reluctance and admiration, "This guy is a magician. We haven't seen him play in two years, but he's even better than before." Every time the Algerian team attacked, it caused a stir of tension, but the fans quickly realized that there would be no miracle tonight. Engineer Ali said: "It's pretty good here. I took Wednesday off early for this all-night game. We were doing well until the first goal." Amin disagreed with Petkovic's tough player choices, especially putting Mahrez and Amoura on the bench. He said: "We still had hope, but we have to admit defeat to Messi. We are disappointed because the Algerian team respected the Argentinians too much. They were stunned, but they actually had a chance. Today was the time to show experience." Fans quickly admitted that the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, Messi, was indeed superior. He was unstoppable on the night of his 200th national team appearance. Messi received a warm applause when he was substituted, just minutes after he had scored a hat-trick, making the entire stadium rise in disappointment. As people left, Messi was the topic of conversation for everyone. Even though it was nearly 8,000 kilometers from Kansas City, the fans' hearts never stopped beating, even at dawn.