STAR SPORTS DESK

The drums are beating and the countdown is on. As the world’s biggest sporting spectacle edges ever closer, defending champions Argentina have officially landed in Kansas City, USA, where they will set up camp for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Drawn in Group J alongside Algeria, Austria and Jordan, the Albiceleste begin their title defence against Algeria at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas on June 16.

While Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul arrived separately on a chartered jet, most of the squad flew in aboard Aerolineas Argentinas, the country’s state-owned airline. After covering more than 5,500 miles from Ezeiza International Airport, the flight landed in Missouri yesterday.

The flight carried the number 1978 -- a tribute to Argentina’s first World Cup triumph.

Messi may not have been on board, but his presence was impossible to miss. His iconic No. 10 adorned the tail against the national team’s famous blue-and-white stripes, while three gold stars beside the aircraft’s door symbolised the nation’s three World Cup crowns.

Argentina are the first of four teams to establish a World Cup base in the Kansas City metro area. The Netherlands, England and Algeria, who will stay at the University of Kansas in nearby Lawrence, are due later this week.

Messi and company will be based at the Origin Hotel near downtown Kansas City. According to reports, fences have been erected around the property and security has been significantly increased ahead of the team’s arrival. Inside, the hotel has been transformed into an Albiceleste outpost, with signs, posters and giant images of Argentina’s biggest stars adorning the building.