International Football
Travelling fans turn Qatar as ‘home’ for Argentina
Lionel Messi and Argentina’s bid for a third World Cup crown is being boosted by hordes of travelling fans that have transformed each of their matches in Qatar into virtual home games.
Argentine football venues are renowned for their seething intensity – iconic Buenos Aires cauldrons such as the Bombonera or Monumental tremble with passionate ferocity.
Those kinds of scenes have been recreated regularly at Doha’s Lusail Stadium, where tens of thousands of Argentine fans have created a raucous wall of blue-and-white-shirted sound.
Argentina have already played three games at the glittering 88,966-seat arena, where Messi and his team-mates will battle Croatia on Tuesday, aiming to book a place in the World Cup final.
After most Argentina games, the “Albiceleste” have lingered on the pitch long after the final whistle, sharing a moment of emotionally charged communion with their supporters.
“We like to take advantage of these moments with the people who are here and in Argentina, where everyone is euphoric,” Messi said following Friday’s quarter-final win over the Netherlands.
According to the Argentine embassy in Qatar, between 35,000 and 40,000 fans have travelled to the World Cup to support the team, one of the largest contingents of overseas supporters at the tournament.
That sizeable support has been augmented by thousands of Qatar-based migrant workers from India and Bangladesh, where Messi and Argentina enjoy widespread support.
“Compared to France, Argentina aren’t quite at the same level as a team – but they are a team who are benefiting from the support they have here,” the Argentina-born former France striker David Trezeguet told AFP.
At the end of each of their victories at the World Cup, after joining supporters in post-match singing, Argentina’s players will repeat the line that they are playing for “45 million” of their compatriots.
“What I do, I do for the 45 million, They are going through a bad economic period. Giving people joy is the best thing that I can do at the moment,” said Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, the hero of Friday’s penalty shootout win over the Netherlands.
Trezeguet believes the bond between Argentina’s players and their supporters has been forged by the economic crisis battering the country, where inflation has skyrocketed.
“My first memories of the Argentina team were in Mexico in 1986. It was crazy back then, but nothing like as crazy as it is now,” Trezeguet said. “The socio-economic situation in Argentina at the moment has made the support for the team more passionate than ever.”
According to reports in the media, many of the fans who have travelled to Qatar have spent years saving up to make the trip, diligently converting their Argentine pesos into US dollars in order to avoid the ravages of inflation.
Others such as Beto, a fan in his 60s interviewed by AFP as he walked through Doha’s Souq Waqif, have travelled to Qatar from the United States or elsewhere after emigrating overseas. The passion, however, remains as intense as ever.
“Even though I’ve lived in the United States for a long time, if you cut my wrist, I will bleed blue and white,” Beto told AFP.
“We have an immense passion for football. We suffer a lot on a daily basis because there are problems in our country, the economy is not doing well. But football gives us this energy which allows us to go from nothing to everything.”
That passion is evoked in two songs that have regularly reverberated around Qatar’s stadiums when Argentina are playing – “Vamos Argentina” and “Muchachos”, a de facto national anthem of the national team which name-checks Messi, Diego Maradona and the 1982 Falklands War between Argentina and Britain.
“Argentina is a complex, politically fractured country. There are few subjects that unite the country – but the Falklands and the football team do,” said Edgardo Esteban, director of the Falklands Museum in Buenos Aires.
AFP
The ‘Finalissima’ match between Spain and Argentina that was scheduled to be held in Qatar has been cancelled due to the conflict in the Middle East, while the South American side rejected multiple alternatives, UEFA said on Sunday.
The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran have affected countries throughout the Gulf, disrupting travel in some of the world’s busiest transit hubs and forcing several sporting events to be cancelled due to safety concerns.
The contest between European champions Spain and Copa America winners Argentina was scheduled for March 27 at Doha’s Lusail Stadium, where fans would have had the opportunity to watch Lionel Messi go head-to-head with Lamine Yamal.
UEFA said they held discussions with the organising authorities in Qatar and concluded that the match could not take place due to the “current political situation” in the region.
“It is a source of great disappointment to UEFA and the organisers that circumstances and timing have denied the teams of the chance to compete for this prestigious prize in Qatar,” UEFA said in a statement.
Qatar’s Local Organising Committee said airspace disruption and travel restrictions led to the cancellation of its Qatar Football Festival, where the host country, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Serbia were also set to play friendly games this month.
The Football Association of Serbia later announced they would play away in Spain on March 27 and host Saudi Arabia four days later.
OTHER ALTERNATIVES REJECTED BY ARGENTINA
The Finalissima’s cancellation was not just about Qatar’s security concerns, however, with UEFA saying they explored other feasible alternatives, but they proved to be ‘unacceptable’ to the Argentinian Football Association (AFA).
UEFA first offered to stage the match at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid with a 50:50 split of supporters in the stadium.
A second option was to stage the Finalissima over two legs — at the Bernabeu on March 27 and the second leg in Buenos Aires during an international window before the next Euros and Copa America in 2028.
However, the AFA rejected both options. UEFA said Argentina made a counter offer to play the game after the World Cup but Spain had no available dates.
“Ultimately, UEFA sought a commitment from Argentina that, if a neutral venue in Europe could be found, the game could go ahead on 27 March… or on the alternative date of 30 March. This proposal was also rejected,” UEFA added.
SPAIN WERE READY TO PLAY
The Spanish football federation (RFEF) said they had offered Argentina “all possible options” in collaboration with UEFA to ensure the match went ahead, adding that they had the organisational capacity to stage the clash on short notice.
“From the very outset, the Federation has expressed its absolute commitment to ensuring this match goes ahead, as it believes it brings prestige and international reputation at a crucial time in a World Cup year,” the RFEF said.
“Furthermore, it has worked tirelessly to achieve this. Spain was prepared to play, as has always been stated.”
The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada kicks off on June 11.
The 2022 edition of the Finalissima was held at Wembley Stadium in London where Argentina beat Italy 3-0.
-Reuters
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Soccer chiefs from Europe and South America will hold a final meeting before a Thursday deadline to decide whether and where this month’s “Finalissima” between Spain and Argentina will be played, with London emerging as the leading candidate after doubts over Doha, multiple sources told Reuters on Tuesday.
The match between European champions Spain and Copa America holders Argentina had been scheduled for March 27 at Lusail Stadium in Doha.
However, it has become increasingly unlikely that Qatar will host the fixture after the Qatar Football Association suspended soccer tournaments indefinitely following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory missiles fired at the Arabian Peninsula.
The Spanish FA (RFEF) has been pushing for a swift resolution, mindful that the March international break is viewed as vital preparation ahead of the June-July World Cup in North America.
“I know that negotiations are underway,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente told Spanish Public Radio (RNE) on Monday. “The first thing, as a society, is to stop the conflict, but once you are immersed in it and you don’t know how long it will last, the solution would be, as long as you can’t play there, to find another venue as soon as possible.
Wembley Stadium staged the previous edition in 2022, when Argentina beat Italy, but it is set to host England v Uruguay on March 27. London, however, has other stadiums capable of staging the showpiece, leaving the English capital as the most likely alternative should Doha be ruled out, sources confirmed.
ALTERNATIVE OPPONENTS CONSIDERED
While keen to face Argentina and high-profile players such as Lionel Messi, sources told Reuters that Spain had made clear their priority was not to waste the last window of international fixtures before the World Cup and they were already contemplating alternative opponents.
With Spain also due to face Egypt three days later, any change would require agreement between the RFEF and European soccer body UEFA, South American confederation CONMEBOL, global governing body FIFA and the Argentine FA (AFA).
The RFEF, AFA and UEFA did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
A spokesperson for South American confederation CONMEBOL told Reuters that several meetings between the parties had taken place in recent days but did not confirm Thursday’s deadline or London as the preferred venue.
Madrid was initially proposed by the RFEF but rejected by the AFA, who preferred a neutral venue rather than giving Spain home advantage.
Morocco offered to stage the game, but the RFEF was unwilling to back their Mediterranean neighbours amid tensions behind the scenes over the 2030 World Cup, which Spain, Morocco and Portugal will co-host. Both Spain and Morocco are campaigning to stage the final.
Miami was also considered, with Messi based there at Inter Miami, but Hard Rock Stadium is hosting the Miami Open tennis tournament at the same time.
-Reuters
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International Football
Spain-Argentina ‘Finalissima’ in Qatar at risk amid US, Israel attacks on Iran
The match between Spain and Argentina, tagged “Finalissima” in Doha, is in doubt after the Qatar Football Association suspended soccer tournaments indefinitely following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliatory missiles fired at the Arabian Peninsula.
The contest between European Championship winners Spain and Copa America champions Argentina was scheduled for March 27 at Doha’s Lusail Stadium, with potential big-name draws including Lamine Yamal and Lionel Messi.
“Qatar Football Association announces the postponement of all tournaments, competitions and matches, effective from today and until further notice,” the association said in a statement on Sunday.
“The new dates for the resumption of competitions will be announced in due course through the Association’s official channels.”
The final call on whether to postpone the game rests with event organisers UEFA and CONMEBOL.
The Bahrain Football Association postponed all its matches until further notice, while the Asian Football Confederation on Sunday announced it was delaying Champions League Elite fixtures in the region.
The Asian Champions League Two, currently at the quarter-final stage, has also been impacted, along with games in the Challenge League.
Countries across the Middle East have been on high alert since Saturday, when the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes against Iran, aimed at diminishing Iran’s military capability.
Iran retaliated by attacking U.S. targets around the region, including in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
On Sunday, Qatar’s interior ministry reported a fire in an industrial zone after debris fell from an intercepted missile.
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