2022 World Cup Diary – Part Seven (Denmark v Australia, Al Janoub Stadium)


Al Janoub Stadium – Spaceship feel   


Denmark sent packing by spirited Aussies   
Wednesday 30th November 2022   


So three full days left of the trip, and another effective winner takes all clash was on the agenda at the nearest stadium to my accommodation at Barahat Al Janoub (aka the Clusters) – and being called Al Janoub, you’d imagine it would be. However, it was still a 30 minute bus ride. And an unusually brief walk of under ten minutes at the other end to reach the security gates. There was a wonderful moment when our coach pulled up and let us off. Ahead of us, another coach was depositing a large number of Australians who had evidently a) been drinking and b) been on their coach for a while. And they needed to have a pee. This meant jumping over a 4 feet high crash barrier and then doing their business against the canvas of a much higher barrier that formed the edge of the car park. The first guy off the coach was trying to persuade the steward to let him do what nature demanded and let him get to the barrier out of sight (he ran behind a building in the end) that he could pee against. The steward said no, so the Aussie just vaulted it and ran to relieve himself. That’s when it got really wonderful, as he was followed by hoards of his fellow countrymen. It was anarchy, saying no to the rules en masse and so refreshing to see. A steward higher up the chain was rushing towards the scene and shouting into his walkie-talkie to someone to close the door of the bus and stop letting people off. I think the horse had well and truly bolted by this time. The power of numbers. There will be another example of this in the next blog of my trip. 


Anyhow, back to the matter in hand and the Al Janoub stadium, which looked like a spaceship from the outside. The one thing that you have to say about the eight grounds they are using here is that they have made a fair effort to make them distinct from each other, even if inside, there is an identikit feel to some of the 40,000 plus ones. I was going to make a point in yesterday’s blog when I wrote “I have not visited a stadium in daylight, having only had games that kicked off sometime after dark.” I must have lost my thread, but I was going to mention how I suspect these grounds all look better lit up under the cover of darkness. 


I got in quickly enough, and was thankful the climb up stairs did not compare with those of my first three matches, in terms of training for an ascent of Everest. It’s a welcome thing that all my allocated tickets have been in the upper tier, which is always my preference with my love of seeing the patterns of play. It was another very decent view from my seat, which has always been the case. However, there were a lot of empty seats for this game, and the atmosphere at times so quiet that I thought I heard the players on the pitch a couple of times. The Aussies had a contingent of fans, so did the Danes, but they didn’t seem to be able to rouse themselves very often. It reflected the reality that a lot of people (and I have to include myself here) were at the game because it was a World Cup match rather than any huge interest in the teams, something that is also reflected in the mass exodus that begins after the 80th minute. There was an attempt to get a Mexican Wave going at one point but the crowd were not even motivated enough for that. 


As for the game, Australia may not have shown as much quality as the Danes, with Eriksen doing his usual thing of pulling the strings. However they were more spirited, and defended like tigers. Denmark, in spite of plenty of possession in the opposition half, failed to create many chances and Australia made the most of theirs. It was a nice goal from Mathew Leckie. With the two hour gap between games that came in now we only have two kick off times, I made it back to the Clusters in good time to watch Argentina v Poland. Strange to think that there were three former Arsenal keepers in the four matches today (the Aussies’ Matt Ryan is the less obvious one). Fortunately for Poland, Mexico failed to score enough goals to usurp them in second place, so at the end of the Argentina game, both teams were able to celebrate. I’m not really sure how much Poland are bringing to the party, and they certainly don’t give Robert Lewandowski much service. The winners of their match with France will face the winners of the England v Senegal clash in the quarter finals. Much as I’d like England’s progress to be as smooth as is possible, it would be a big surprise – should they beat Senegal – to see them facing Lewandowski in their next game. However, one thing this tournament has reminded us is that you can’t take anything for granted. 

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