KARACHI
\nFlags of some nations competing in football\u2019s World Cup fluttered overhead as boys in a dusty alley in Karachi\u2019s Lyari kicked a ball around in a fever of excitement.
\nThe football-crazed neighbourhood of Lyari is also known as \u201cMini Brazil\u201d, and this year a mural featuring the game\u2019s stars, from Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi to Brazil\u2019s Neymar Da Silva Santos J\u00fanior and Portugal\u2019s Cristiano Ronaldo, is taking centrestage.
\n\u201cThe football frenzy here is so great that it feels like the World Cup is being played not in Qatar, but in Lyari,\u201d Waseem Sarbazi, a member of a nearby football coaching academy, said.
\nPakistan has never qualified for a World Cup tournament, but many young people still enrol in football academies to train for hours each day in Lyari, one of the port city\u2019s poorest areas, hoping to take to an international pitch one day.
\n\u201cWe want FIFA to get involved in football activities in Lyari,\u201d Sarbazi added. \u201cThey should have an event here because there is a uncountable number of players and spectators here.\u201d
\nThousands turned out in \u201cMini Brazil\u201d last Monday when Brazil played Switzerland, sporting the classic yellow and green colours of their favourite team as they gathered in front of large television screens to the sound of raucous music.
\n\u201cVery powerful matches and the Brazil match,\u201d said Ashiq Hussain, one of the young players from the academy, adding that he found the matches inspiring.
\n\u201cI think my favourite team is Brazil. I like the goalkeeper Ederson (Santana de Moraes).\u201d
\nThe fans erupted into wild cheers and danced when Brazil sealed their entry into the knockout stages with a 1-0 win over Switzerland.
\n\u201cI went for my job wearing the Brazil shirt, and now at night, I am still wearing the shirt during the match,\u201d said another fan, Mohammad Yasin.
\n\u201cI am going to keep wearing this shirt, whether they lose the match or win. I am not taking off this shirt at all.\u201d
\nBrazil\u2019s success in that match will draw out thousands more in \u201cMini Brazil\u201d on Friday, when the team face off against Cameroon. If they draw or win, Brazil will top their Group G.
\nIf they lose and Switzerland win against Serbia, the goal difference will decide the top spot.
\n\u201cThe people here love football,\u201d said Lyari resident Tahir Khan. \u201cEvery four years, this excitement flares.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KARACHI Flags of some nations competing in football\u2019s World Cup fluttered overhead as boys in a dusty alley in Karachi\u2019s Lyari kicked a ball around in a fever of excitement. The football-crazed neighbourhood of Lyari is also known as \u201cMini Brazil\u201d, and this year a mural featuring the game\u2019s stars, from Argentina\u2019s Lionel Messi to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-299109","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n