Sunday night never came to an end. Not for friends and Lionel Messi; not for their supporters; not for football fans
Probably not for the entire nation and the crowd that gathered here. The crowd held on even after the game was over, slowly realizing what had happened and continuing to do so. Some people remained in the stands to process the chaos they had witnessed, while others continued on to celebrate and possibly catch a glimpse of Messi or Mbappe one last time.
In order to fully appreciate what they had witnessed, thousands of people gathered in the vicinity of the Lusail Stadium to take in the atmosphere. The majority of Argentinian fans were crying on each other’s shoulders, and some of them appeared truly stoned. Antonio Lopez asserts, “I am 62 and have witnessed Diego Maradona and Mario Kempes winning the World Cup.” However, this is the best football game I’ve ever seen. Additionally, this may be the greatest football match I’ve ever witnessed. I have no idea what to say. He continues, pausing and struggling for words, “I cannot explain what I am going through.”
The energetic rendition of Messi’s song “Muchachos, esta noche me emborracho” could be heard blaring out of subways, buses, streets, and alleys. Marianna remarks, ” It declares that we will get drunk tonight. However, where is the booze? She inquires, and then adds, We were whisked away by the game itself. The music and dancing never ceased; It wouldn’t for quite some time. However, in the midst of the exuberance, they did not neglect to console French fans if they discovered any. A French fan in an Antoine Griezmann shirt was sulking near a metro station’s exit, inhaling thick e-cigarette smoke. After comforting him with his arms around him, an Argentine switched their jerseys. As Qatar reacquaints itself with life after the World Cup, such moments will be missed when the World Cup hangover wears off. a life that is tedious and boring.
The nation has also captured the hearts of some of the tourists.
Mateo Perez from Rosario has been expanding his knowledge of Qatar over the past two weeks. He arrived in Doha in time to watch Argentina play in the round of 16, but the more time he spent there, the more interested he became in the city’s culture, cuisine, and history. He would go to the national library and museum in his spare time, taking in the old-world splendor of Souq Waqif and Msheireb. It turned out to be a cultural journey rather than a footballing pilgrimage.
He claims that the trip opened his eyes. Back home, you were worried about watching the game with military force looking over your shoulder because CIDs might sniff behind you and put you in jail if you wore shorts and t-shirts without sleeves. I was even advised to cancel my trip by the church vicar due to the grave violation of human rights. I felt a little uneasy. Pack of rubbish, I feel now, he says.
However, he and thousands of others would depart on Tuesday, leaving the nation alone. After a night that would live long in their memories, the nation awoke late—later than it had ever been. They were still intoxicated by the magic they had witnessed on Sunday night, even though it was the beginning of the week. On the seafront, the only busy highway is the one that leads to the two airports, where tourists tearfully and reluctantly rush back to their homes with a treasure trove of memories they will cherish for a lifetime.
The Qatar World Cup was entertaining, thrilling, and beyond their wildest expectations despite the fact that it was not what they might have imagined Qatar to be. After a month-long football festival with all its raw thrills, the nation would gradually fall into a suffocating silence, engulfed in nostalgia for a while, and then into an emptiness prior to the World Cup.It would be a sudden vacuum. They were in a state of dreaming for a month;
The eyes of the world, the color of the world, were situated on the tiny peninsula.
Despite not being a popular tourist destination, the nation was home to millions of people from Ecuador, Mexico, Cameroon, and Serbia. You could hear and understand the majority of the world’s languages and dialects, see a variety of costumes, and tap your feet to the most indigenous percussion instruments. A nation of fewer than three million people and roughly the size of Mumbai saw three times as many people.
However, they would stumble into nothingness in a matter of days. There would be just as much room for football to be played in the metro, which is where tourists gather to socialize and get their energy from. Souq Waqif’s cobblestoned alleys would no longer be crowded. The World Cup had filled the Corniche like never before. The fan parks are currently being taken down. You could pay attention to the spluttering cranes. Prior to the World Cup, Qatar slowly returns to normalcy. to the monotony of daily life. Football served as a haven. It is no longer present.
What about the other eight stadiums?
They would be the most alone. They were abuzz and lively for a month. The players’ joy and blood, sweat, and tears would be recorded in the sand beneath the concrete structure. Some of them would be dismantled and reassembled in Africa, while others would wait for their next moment of glory when the region once again becomes lively. Some of them would be turned into offices and leased to local clubs. Some would remain as mementos of Qatar’s World Cup hosting days.
The music, the players, and the fans would all be missed. The stadiums, perhaps more than the nation, would weep over the glory that has passed and the magic that was. How many years or decades would pass between their next meeting and the return of the World Cup or another event of this magnitude to the nation? Additionally, the following days and nights will be long and monotonous. It also said goodbye to the fans and the football with tears in its eyes.