Qatar World Cup – According to the sports reporter of Tasnim news agency, when Qatar was chosen as the host of the 2022 World Cup, there were many doubts whether the Qataris could afford to host such an important tournament or not.
Criticisms started a few days before the start of the games, a number of countries objected to the non-sale of alcoholic beverages, some pointed to the expensiveness of hotel rooms, and the rest brought up other issues, but the discussion was about the World Cup and millions of people were waiting to see the biggest Football event.
After arriving in Qatar, the first thing that attracted attention was the presence of migrant workers. Qatar is a country with a small population and it was natural to look for labor, especially since it had assumed a great responsibility. Most of the immigrants were from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, etc.
The surface of the city of Doha did not smell of the World Cup, except for the signs and pictures plastered on the giant buildings, as if the Qataris did not care much about what important tournament is going to be held in their country, a tournament in which many countries are lined up for once. They have been hosted.
With the opening day approaching, the fans of different teams finally found their heads so that Qatar gets a bit of World Cup color. With their presence, you could feel the smell of football in Qatar.
The problems became visible from the opening day, the lack of means of transportation, a lot of walking to get to the stadium, etc., has made everyone tired. The most important issue is the ignorance of the people who are responsible in the stadium. Apart from the few signposts, only one in 10 people could possibly help which way to go! The lack of mastery of the English language has doubled the problems.
With all these difficulties, the World Cup started. The host country lost two goals from Ecuador in the first half and a bunch of Qataris left the stadium very soon to show how bored and weak they are. If there was any noise, it was the fans from other countries who were hired by the Qataris to both fill the stadium and cheer on the hosts.
We reached the second day, where Iran had to face England in one of the games. We had no idea what was going to happen. Khalifa Stadium may have the best location, because the metro is close to the stadium and it is easier to get around.
When we entered the subway, we saw Iranians enthusiastically cheering for their team and chanting for the British. We were heartbroken that the national team is not alone and good things are going to happen. The Iranians cheered very enthusiastically and did not care that their opponent is one of the contenders for the championship. It should be noted that the Iranians living in London left no stone unturned for Manchester United’s defender Maguire and reminded the English that if he is in the team, he will still blow the whistle!
The Iranians, who were more enthusiastic, cheered more inside the stadium than the British. The referee blew the whistle to start the game, our stress increased, the injury of Alireza Biranvand was the first shock of the game. He went out and Seyyed Hossein Hosseini stood inside the gate. British attacks and consecutive mistakes by Iranian players worked for us and we conceded two goals.
Carlos Queiroz tried hard to get the players to focus, but we scored the third goal until they wanted to come to their senses. It was unbelievable that we scored three goals in the first half. Most of the fans complained about the initial composition of Keyrosh. Some were looking for political issues or were influenced by the atmosphere and tried to say that they came to protest, but every time Iran attacked, they wanted the ball to enter the English goal to raise the country’s flag as a sign of joy and pride.
The Portuguese head coach of Iran made several changes in the second half to turn the game around, but we conceded the next goals as well. Mehdi Tarimi scored two goals for us, but when we saw the scoreboard, we wanted to say that we were dreaming. The game was over and we went to the game between Wales and America and the other team in Iran’s group. The result of the game was what we wanted, it was equal to the best result so that Iran can hope for the next two games.
When we got out of the mood of the Iran game, we went to the next games, the city was full of spectators of different teams. The noises took us away from the thought of Iran’s defeat.
The good thing about the smallness of Qatar was that we were less on the roads, but the pedestrians and the ignorance of the officials had become troublesome for the journalists’ guide. Sometimes we had to make a lunar round to reach the position!
Qatar’s stadiums are very beautiful and modern, unlike the roads leading to them where you see half-finished buildings, and it catches the eye of every viewer. Outside the stadium, the city is in a different situation, shops, fast food, restaurants, etc. are busy serving football fans.
It seems that football is not very attractive to Qataris, because when you ask them about hosting their country, they answer as if they did not like it to be held here. With all these expenses, we did not get the answer to the question whether Qataris like the World Cup at all or not.
Now we have to wait for the next few days and see what happens.
Morteza Zahiri – correspondent of Tasnim News Agency from Qatar