With their unexpectedly good results and shared excitement, Arab fans unite to celebrate their teams\u2019 heroics on the pitch
\n Doha, Qatar
\nLike 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. \u201cHad it not been in Qatar,\u201d he said, \u201cit would not have been so convenient, or affordable for me to attend a World Cup.\u201d
\nAnd 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\u2019 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.
\nAt the heart of it all was Doha\u2019s 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\u2019 party after the hosts\u2019 national team lost to Ecuador in the tournament\u2019s opener.
\n\u201cWe are not sad that Qatar lost, we are happy that Saudi Arabia won,\u201d 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.
\nJust 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.
\nMost 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.
\n\u201cPolitics is different and people are different,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are always united, even when leaders aren\u2019t.\u201d
\nAmine 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.
\n\u201cEven Egyptians, Algerians, Lebanese and Omani fans are here, even though their teams didn\u2019t even qualify for the tournament. But nobody cares.\u201d
\nOn the morning of Morocco\u2019s first match of the tournament against Croatia, Doha\u2019s central metro train station turned red as fans of the Atlas Lions set off for the Al Bayt Stadium in al-Khor.
\n\u201cThis is the best Mundial (world cup), and we are happy that it is in Qatar,\u201d Rachid, and his group of friends from Oujda, Morocco said ahead of the match.
\nMorocco, 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With their unexpectedly good results and shared excitement, Arab fans unite to celebrate their teams\u2019 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. \u201cHad it not been in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297742,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-297716","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n