Argentina’s international friendly victory against Honduras on Saturday evening drew an official crowd of 91,102 spectators to Texas A&M’s Kyle Field, setting a new all-time soccer attendance record for the state of Texas. The massive turnout broke previous regional benchmarks, confirming the immense commercial draw of the defending world champions ahead of the upcoming World Cup.
ESPN and the Houston Chronicle reported that the attendance surpassed the previous Texas soccer record of 90,526 set during a international match in 2010. It also eclipsed the venue’s first-ever football match in 2024, which saw 85,249 fans witness a friendly encounter between Brazil and Mexico.
The record-shattering audience gathered despite national team captain Lionel Messi remaining on the bench due to a lower-body muscle injury. Local media reported that the crowd consistently chanted Messi’s name throughout the match and cheered whenever the forward appeared on the stadium’s primary scoreboard screens.
On the pitch, Lionel Scaloni’s squad secured a comfortable 2-0 victory via a first-half penalty from Lautaro Martínez and a second-half strike from winger Giuliano Simeone. The fixture serves as the final high-capacity public match for the Albiceleste before they open their official Group stage schedule in the United States.
