Argentina and Algeria fans clashed in Times Square on Monday night as World Cup fever turned ugly in the heart of New York City.
The two countries will face off over 1,000 miles away in Kansas City later today, but those who cannot attend the game flooded to Midtown Manhattan instead.
With 24 hours to go before the game, the two countries clashed earlier than planned, with a barrage of punches thrown by both sets of fans in unsavory scenes.
The fights, captured by photographers and in various social media videos, broke out after both sets of fans turned up in their droves to show support for their team.
Algeria fans appeared to outnumber Argentina, but it is not clear what sparked the mindless violence in the middle of the Big Apple.
In one clip, an Argentina fan wearing a Messi shirt can be seen throwing a barrage of punches after shoving broke out between the two groups, before he was pushed away by his Algerian rivals.
A fan wearing a Lionel Messi shirt throws punches at Algerian fans in Times Square
Violent clashes broke out ahead of the two countries facing off in Kansas City on Tuesday
Viral clips on TikTok showed fights breaking out in the heart of New York City on Monday night
In separate images, Algeria fans lit flares and sang songs as the entirety of Times Square was packed out by fans.
Nearer the stadium in Kansas City, a similar situation occurred as Algerians lit up the local area with hundreds of flares on the night before their opening match.
The violence in Times Square occurred just days after the area was shut down by New York Knicks fans celebrating their NBA championship.
Those wild scenes occurred on Saturday night, and included one teenage boy being shot in the foot, and another four being stabbed or slashed.
An Algerian fan is tossed in the air by his friends during wild scenes in the heart of Manhattan
Algeria fans lit flares as they outnumbered their Argentina rivals in the Big Apple
By Tuesday morning, the atmosphere had calmed down as France fans arrived on the scene
Arrests were made by the NYPD on Monday night after the fight between the soccer fans, but the exact numbers are not clear.
The two countries will face off in Group J on Tuesday night, with Inter Miami and Argentina star Lionel Messi expected to start the game.
Lionel Scaloni’s team are trying to become the first back-to-back winners of the World Cup for more than 60 years, while Algeria are aiming to get past the group stages for just the second time in their history.
Times Square, meanwhile, had calmed down by Tuesday morning, when France and Senegal fans arrived to celebrate their team before facing off at MetLife Stadium later that day.
