* Chosen by host city Kansas as local ‘KC Royalty’ ambassador to deliver the match officials’ tossing coin before Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Algeria
* Kansas City fans and media widely celebrated the moment as she greeted Argentina and world football legend Lionel Messi as meeting of two prolific goal-scorers
By Duncan Mlanjira
Malawi’s celebrated women international football star, Temwa Chawinga, who plays for Kansas City (KC) Current in the US Women’s National Soccer League (NWSL) basked in the prestige of attending the FIFA World Cup™ on the pitch where she had the privilege of greeting Argentina and world football legend Lionel Messi.
Kansas is one of USA’s host cities and Temwa was chosen as local ‘KC Royalty’ ambassador to deliver to the match officials the tossing coin before Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Algeria.
Media reports indicated that Kansas City fans and media widely celebrated the moment at Arrowhead Stadium as she shook hands with Messi as meeting of two prolific goal-scorers during an iconic moment of the FIFA World Cup™, stands as the ultimate moment to celebrate global unity, athletic excellence, and the sheer joy of human connection through sport.
It is a dream to participate in by players all over the world, with the on-going 2026 edition breaking attendance records with over one million stadium fans cheering across North America.
The atmosphere at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium
The tournament consistently proves that football is a universal language as it transforms host cities and local communities alike into hubs of shared euphoria and cross-cultural friendship that the Malawian found herself in having made herself an iconic women footballer for KC Current and the NWSL.
The media likened Messi and Temwa Chawinga as two of the most dominant soccer players in the United States, celebrated alongside one another for their historic, back-to-back Most Valuable Player (MVP) award-winning seasons.
The two legends share several striking parallels across their respective leagues — the Major League Soccer for men and the NSWL. In the previous season, she outscored elite names in men’s football, including Messi across all competitions.
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While Messi has captivated the MLS with Inter Miami, Chawinga set an all-time NWSL single-season scoring record and is a regular nominee for FIFA’s top player awards.
On the Tuesday night, Messi scored all three goals beating Algeria and the-African-representatives-long-awaited-return-to-the-FIFA-World-Cup-to-end-in-disappointment.
The clinical Messi against Algeria