With their unexpectedly good results and shared excitement, Arab fans unite to celebrate their teams’ heroics on the pitch
Doha, Qatar
Like thousands of other Saudi fans, Muhammad al-Dabbagh travelled by car last week to Qatar to watch live the first-ever World Cup to be held in the Middle East. “Had it not been in Qatar,” he said, “it would not have been so convenient, or affordable for me to attend a World Cup.”
And had he not made the road journey via the Abu Samra border crossing, he would not have witnessed Saudi Arabia lighting up the tournament with a massive upset against Argentina. The Green Falcons’ 2-1 over the two-time champions on Tuesday set off wild celebrations, with overjoyed Saudi fans flooding all major tourist attractions and fan zones in Qatar. Quickly, it turned into an all-Middle Eastern party.
At the heart of it all was Doha’s Souq Waqif, where fans from different countries had gathered in a large group with their respective flags, joining in the singing and dancing. Chief among them were Qataris, who were happy to play second fiddle at their neighbours’ party after the hosts’ national team lost to Ecuador in the tournament’s opener.
“We are not sad that Qatar lost, we are happy that Saudi Arabia won,” said Bassam Muhammad, a Qatari student, as others walked by waving the flags of both countries, which restored full relations in early 2021 after a years-long diplomatic rift.
Just hours after the Saudi win on Tuesday, Tunisia pulled its own weight to hold the higher-ranked Denmark to a surprise 0-0 draw at the Education City Stadium.
Most of the more than 40,000 or so fans in attendance were rooting for the team from North Africa. Amine, a Tunisian fan, thinks that the Arab unity on display among the supporters is not strange to see.
“Politics is different and people are different,” he said. “People are always united, even when leaders aren’t.”
Amine said he is a regular at Souq Waqif, where fans from Morocco, Tunisia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia congregate in the evenings to have one big party.
“Even Egyptians, Algerians, Lebanese and Omani fans are here, even though their teams didn’t even qualify for the tournament. But nobody cares.”
On the morning of Morocco’s first match of the tournament against Croatia, Doha’s central metro train station turned red as fans of the Atlas Lions set off for the Al Bayt Stadium in al-Khor.
“This is the best Mundial (world cup), and we are happy that it is in Qatar,” Rachid, and his group of friends from Oujda, Morocco said ahead of the match.
Morocco, the highest-ranked Arab team at the tournament at 22, went on to hold 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia to a 0-0 draw in what was seen as a win by their fans.
