Road to Lusail abuzz with Argentina fans ahead of Croatia clash
Ever since coming to Qatar to report on the latter stages of the World Cup, it has been quite evident to this reporter that Argentina are the people's favourites.
In Bangladesh, there is considerable support for Brazil and some for some European nations too, but nothing beats the support that Argentina get, both from the Argentines and the non-Argentines.
The Metro to Lusail on Tuesday evening was buzzing with Albiceleste fans, and the ones who took the long journey from Buenos Aires to Doha were turning the metros electric with their chants and songs and constantly jumping with the tune – on the platform, on the escalator even inside the train.
Angelo was a little more restrained than most of the others, but he was happy to lend his voice as the chorus rang around the compartments for the best part of 40-odd minutes.
He explained the songs with elaborate meanings as if he had all the songs and their meanings at the tip of his tongue – ready to deliver whenever the occasion arrived.
An employee at a hotel in Pearl Doha, Angelo was going to the match with two of his colleagues – one Colombian and another Moroccan, who too was wearing an Albiceleste shirt.
He said how these songs relay the high regard that Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are held in their home country.
"Maradona is there up above with Christ's mother and they are blessing Messi from up there," said Angelo.
"The song was written, by someone, after Argentina's Copa America win last year. It says we've waited for years for a cup and now we feel we are ready for the one that's missing," he said, adding that in most songs there is always a bit of slight against Brazil, their biggest continental rival.
Like Angelo, there are many Argentina fans who may not be from Argentina. As the metro reached the Lusail station and led into the Iconic Stadium, there were a group of four Bangladeshi workers taking selfies in a corner, with an hour-and-a-half left till kickoff. They've all come here in the past three to seven years as Qatar built its infrastructure with foreign labours.
They weren't too inclined to reveal what sector they were working in – maybe some in restaurants or in building construction or something else. But they were all here to watch Argentina play against Croatia. They had watched matches at fan zones before but tonight they were here, despite the high price of tickets, to watch their favourite team, and especially their favourite player, Lionel Messi in action.