2022 World Cup Diary – Part Six (Iran v USA, Al Thumama Stadium)

Al Thumama Stadium – Giant basket theme   

Imperialist Dogs eliminate local favourites   
Tuesday 29th November 2022   

So the first of the final round of group games, and the move to two matches played concurrently to avoid any funny business. However, let’s start with a little description of life in the Clusters, AKA Barwa Barahat Al Janoub – a mass of accommodation where I am staying with the Mrs. The accommodation buildings are uniform, three storeys high, with 12 rooms per entrance. You get your own shower and toilet, and share a tiny kitchen room that has a microwave, fridge and iron/ironing board. It’s $87 a night, which compared with the rates in hotels is cheap for two people, even if the room is very basic – 2 steel beds, 2 tall lockers and no other furniture of any description. It’s a place to sleep and wash. However, the problem is that it is such a trek into Doha – even with the buses laid on to the nearest metro (Al Wakra) at the end of the line (and the Clusters is so big, that's a five minute walk for us and longer for those in other parts of the site) – you generally don't bother leaving the site unless you have a match to attend. The place seems to be dominated by south and central Americans – especially Mexicans and Argentinians. Nothing wrong with that, but it is a reflection of how many of them are here. The Argentinians set up a barbecue area where they cook their meat and put their banners out for display. There are poorly paid security guys who just sit on chairs all day and look at their phones to pass the time. There are a number of places to get cooked food as well as supermarkets. The food outlets vary greatly in quality and price, with the cheapest being in established shop units which I assume serviced the workers that stayed here before us (as opposed to pop up wooden huts where prices are like London). So for example, you can buy 4 decent sized samosas for £1 at the restaurant we tend to use. There is a large enough outdoor screen to watch the matches, and a feeling of community and buzz around the area where the buses come and go, and where the majority of the shops and eateries are. 

However, it is significant that, on a general level, the cheaper accommodation options tend to be in the middle of nowhere – transport links are provided – some are near metro stations where there is nothing else but roads. But naturally, these are mostly temporary (the portakabins for example). The Clusters is more permanent because it is used for workers and presumably will return to that function once the World Cup rolls out of town. And the point is that Qatar doesn’t want visitors on a budget. Not everything is expensive here, but accommodation is, and alcohol – served in hotels – certainly is. Beach clubs are the norm if you want to go to the beach although there are some free areas. Ultimately, this is a World Cup in which they have bitten the bullet and welcomed swathes of less affluent people than their target market to get the profile their money is buying them. However, the way people are treated in terms of the control and hassle of getting into a match – right down to the ridiculous restrictions on what you can take into the ground – is the subtle way of saying – don’t come back. A Danish fan attending the Brazil v Switzerland game had a plastic lightweight World Cup trophy replica taken off him. It was about 10 inches tall. The people on security are so in fear of taking a chance (presumably fearing the consequences) that there is no room for genuine assessment of something that isn’t on the banned list – which is restrictive enough anyway. 

So back to the match on the day I am writing about – USA v Iran. A bus took fans from the nearest metro and then another long walk – although at least through a residential area – to reach the stadium. This one had a giant woven basket kind of feel. I have not visited a stadium in daylight, having only had games that kicked off sometime after dark. As the Mrs came along to this one (I am reselling some of her tickets as she does not want to do every game), we decided to queue up and see exactly what an attraction called the La’eeb Hype Show was before the game. La’eeb is the spirit like mascot of these finals, with Arab headdress. It was a cartoon that lasted a couple of minutes and featured mascots going back to about 1974. With cheering corralled by the staff. Oh well. It was that or watch the goalkeepers warm up. 

The stadium was another in the 40,000 odd bracket, and again, no issues with sightlines. What was a bit special was the atmosphere created by those supporting Iran. A good number of Iranians had doubtless travelled. But they were also backed by pretty much everyone else of an Arabian bent. The Americans were very much in the minority and the USA are not a popular bunch here for obvious reasons. So would the imperialist dogs get their comeuppance? Iran, after all, had beaten Wales. The noise backing Iran was something else and a welcome experience after the often flat atmosphere when those locals who bought tickets attended other matches, and there weren’t enough actual supporters to make a substantial noise. They had horns of some kind that reminded me of the glorious din of vuvuzelas from South Africa 2010. Yes, I know most people hated them, but for me, inside the stadium whilst the game was in progress, they really created an atmosphere. 

As you know, the USMNT as they seem to be called (Men’s National Team), spoilt the party by going and scoring – Christian Pulisic getting injured in the process. I was keeping tabs on the England v Wales game, and that looked comfortable enough given the margin of victory the Welsh required and the apparent lack of goal threat. As for the game I was watching, spirited as the Iranians were, the US created the greater danger and were worth their win, however badly that went down in these parts. After the earlier group matches, it meant they knew immediately that their opponents in the first knockout round will be Holland. 

So USA, Holland, Senegal and England qualified after Tuesday’s matches – a decent mix. Tomorrow, I’ll write about another play off between Denmark and Australia. Sorry this is a day behind, but it takes time to write this stuff!