Friday 25th November 2022 4pm – The FIFA World Cup – The Al-Thumama Stadium, Doha
Having started the day of football with a simple journey west to the Ahmad Bin Ali, game two was going to be a bit of a trek thanks to the location of the Al Thumama Stadium. It wasn’t that it was remote (the joys of the trek to the Al Bayt would be coming later), but it was so poorly served by public transport.
I’d headed out of the Wales game when Iran scored their second in the 11th of nine minutes of injury time. Despite the stadium being opposite the Mall of Qatar, and the metro stop that served Qatar’s biggest emporium of very expensive items being sold in very empty shops. Of course, entering the metro meant a tortuous walk up and down empty queuing rows. Post World Cup Qatar is going to have 90% of the world’s steel fence barriers.
Nine stops to our good friend at Msheireb and then a change onto the red line for 4 stops. Simple. Except if you fall asleep on the eight minute journey and you end up at a deserted station down the line. Bollocks. Of course the next train going back up was 10 minutes away.
Back to Oqbal Bin Nafie Stadium and onto a waiting stadium transfer bus. There was ten minutes to kick off. Alas, the route to the stadium essentially took us back past the station I had just come from and finally dropped us off some 1.45 miles away from the ground. You start the romp full of energy and high spirits, hoping that Google Maps is wrong. It wasn’t. 30 minutes later and the stadium was finally in front of us. Before I could enter I had to make way for a group of locals, about 40 in number, who were heading out of the stadium, complete with FIFA gift bags…but, of course this game was sold out.
The official description of the stadium was that “Al Thumama Stadium’s dynamic and imaginative shape celebrate local culture and traditions just as much as it does a new era for stadium design. This particular venue also has a significance that is close to the hearts of locals and resonates across the region.
“Its bold, circular form reflects the gahfiya – the traditional woven cap adorned by men and boys all across the Arab world. An integral part of family life and central to traditions, the gahfiya symbolises the coming of age for youth. A time of emerging self-confidence and ambition that marks the first steps into the future and a realisation of dreams, it is a fitting inspiration for this one-of-a-kind stadium.”
Or you could say it just looked like a white tire on its side, or a polo covered with soft meringue.
Surprisingly, the game was still 0-0. Qatar were poor which was a real surprise considering how long they had to prepare for the tournament – the squad had been together for over six months, and their recent success in youth tournaments. But then this was a patch on the Senegalese sides of the past, especially the one that had reached the quarter finals back in 2002. But Qatar had the unwanted opportunity to be the first team to be eliminated from the tournament if they didn’t win. In fact they should they fail to make the knock-out stages, it would only be the third time that had happened (1982 Spain and 2010 South Africa previously).
The noise in the stadium was deafening. Just behind the Senegal dug out was a group of “sponsored fans” – they did not let up on the drum banging and rhythmic dancing, never letting up even when Senegal took the lead in the 40th minute, Dia pouncing on Boualem Khoukhi’s defensive error to rifle in the opener at the near post and in the process becoming the first goal I had seen in the opening 45 minutes of a game at the tournament.
Half-time saw another major exodus of fans from the VIP section opposite and any of them that had stayed would have still been tucking into their 5-course feast when Diedhiou brilliantly glanced in from a corner in the 48th minute. Qatar were out – whilst there was 40 minutes left in the game, they had yet to record a shot on target. In fact it took another 15 minutes before that happened, with Chelsea’s keeper Mendy getting down low to palm a shot around the post from Ali.
But then the unbelievable happened. In the 77th minute a raking ball found Mohamad on the right and his accurate cross was headed down and firmly to the right of Mendy and into the corner by Muntari. Hope springs eternal…except when Senegal virtually went up the other end and scored a third, Dieng scoring after a good interchange between himself and Ndiaye. And that was it. It had been a decent end to end affair in the end, although you’d have never guessed it was the hosts playing, with all the noise coming from the African fans.
Five games down, one to go…unless I could make it to the Al Khalifa Stadium in less than 30 minutes and somehow grab a ticket for a decent price from the resale website. I set off on the long trek back to the bus park, deciding to flip a coin when I got there to determine my next course of action.
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