DOHA, Qatar —
The eyes of the world will be focused Tuesday on the Lusail Stadium just outside the Qatari capital, for the first of the World Cup semifinals, between Argentina and Croatia, which will also pit against each other the greatest soccer geniuses of the generation: Lionel Messi and Luca Modric.
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In the stands, the Argentina fans will be dominant. Croatia will hardly have any fans present, and one can safely assume that among viewers at home (with the exception of fans in Brazil and Croatia) Argentina will enjoy overwhelming support, and fans around the world will be united in prayer that Messi will take another step toward the one title he has yet to win. The outpouring of love and support for "The flea" crosses all borders. An Indian souvenir salesman in the Doha bazaar was singing songs of praise for Messi yesterday in the hope of attracting buyers. When I asked him Why just Messi, he answered with a smile. "I don't know anything about football, except Messi."
The Qatari World Cup hosts and FIFA, the world soccer governing body, would both like to see Messi reach the final, and not just because without him it will be much less interesting. About a year and a half ago, the Qatari's invested an absolute fortune to bring him to Paris St. Germain, the French side they own. From their perspective, Messi reaching the final will justify their investment and leverage its value. If Messi's PSG teammate Kylian Mbappé reaches the final with France, the Qataris will have been able to say to themselves that they scored big time their two diamonds facing off in the head-to-head on the biggest and most important stage of them all.
But until that happens, we have two semifinals to get through. The fan favorites on the streets of Doha are clear for all to see, Argentina and Morocco. The pundits and the non-partisan fans at home want to see Argentina face France in the final. Ticket prices are soaring. A good seat for the semifinal Tuesday will cost 1,200 euros on average, while for tomorrow's second semifinal between France and Morocco tickets start at 1,600 euros.
Hearing Hebrew in Doha
The fans on the streets of the Qatari capital are now mostly just those of the four semifinalists. But Hebrew now seems to be heard much more on the streets, although the presence of Israeli fans is marginal of course when compared to the massive number of Palestinian fans. Yet, most of the Israelis aren't bothering to hide where they are from.
The temporary Foreign Ministry consular mission set up, especially for the World Cup (and which will be dismantled as soon as the competition is over) has so far mostly helped out Israelis who have lost their passports. Yossi Zilberman the spokesperson for the Israeli consular delegation said yesterday that most of the Israelis have heeded the warnings issued by the Foreign Ministry and the Healthy World Cup initiative. Verbal abuse suffered by Israelis, he said, has been marginal. "To be honest, we have to say honestly, the majority of the Israelis here have enjoyed the experience without any problems. We haven't received complaints about physical or verbal violence"
Zilberman meanwhile, paid a visit to the bazaar Monday to buy an Argentina shirt. Having served previously at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, he is supporting the Albicelestes. "But only because Israel didn't make it to the World Cup," he says with a smile. Zilberman doesn't have a ticket yet, but he's optimistic and some of his colleagues have already managed to attend games at the tournament.
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