NEW DELHI (AP) — Soccer fan Gazi Jahidul Haque has struggled to hide his concern ahead of the Argentina-Croatia World Cup semi-final at Qatar’s Lusail Stadium.
Haque was watching the match in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.
“This World Cup is not only important for Argentina, but also for Messi,” said 35-year-old lawyer Haque before the game, his voice barely audible as thousands crowded behind him to watch the game ahead to a giant screen television at Dhaka University in the center of the capital.
It was midnight on Wednesday in Dhaka and by the time the final whistle blew as Argentina beat Croatia 3-0, Haque’s worries were long gone. Argentina were in the World Cup final, one win away from winning the biggest prize of the game.
The win meant Haque would see Messi – a player widely regarded as one of the best in the game – once again at the World Cup. The festivities have begun.
Fans flocked to the streets of Dhaka waving Argentine flags and wearing the team’s blue and white jerseys. Amid blaring trumpets, they chanted Messi’s name and embraced. Some have organized motorcycle rallies. Others began to sing and dance. A young man is mounted on a rickshaw, his body painted in Argentine colors.
Argentina’s victory was also celebrated in neighboring India, where it is cricket that is generally revered with almost religious fervor.
In the city of Calcutta, where even children are named after footballers of previous generations, Argentine fans marched through the streets singing songs for Messi’s team. It is a city where murals of Messi adorn the walls and Argentine flags fly from balconies with houses announcing their support.
Argentina has had a legion of passionate super fans in Bangladesh and India since the days of Maradona, one of the greatest players and an icon to fans around the world. Already thousands of them have traveled to Qatar to see Messi and his team play.
Seeing his team receive huge support from the South Asian country, the Argentine football federation praised the Bangladeshis on social media earlier this month.
“Thank you for supporting our team. You are as crazy as we are! the federation said in a Twitter post with photos showing Bangladeshi fans wearing Argentina shirts.
Those who are not in Qatar show their loyalty by following the matches with utmost devotion on home soil.
In the coastal towns and villages of southern Kerala, where the flags of Argentina and Brazil hang from shops, buildings and trees, people have erected huge foam cutouts of their favorite players. Messi – and Brazilian Neymar – are the favourites. Open spaces were used in villages for match screenings, with thousands of people flocking to watch the matches on giant screens.
On Sunday, Argentina will face either France or Morocco in the final. Fervor is said to be peaking in India, and Aditya Shriram awaits a fairy swan song for Messi.
Shriram, a 33-year-old digital marketer in New Delhi, has been supporting Argentina since the 1998 World Cup. He will watch the final on Sunday with a group of nearly two dozen friends who he grew up playing football in the Indian capital.
Shriram said Sunday’s match will see Messi play to seal his legacy, as the all-time greats – Pele and Maradona – have both won the World Cup, an accolade that has so far eluded the Argentine superstar.
“It will complete it,” Shriram said. “If you don’t win the World Cup, you can’t be counted among the best of all time.”
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Associated Press writer AL-Emrun Garjon contributed from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/world-cup
Cheikh Saaliq and Aniruddha Ghosal, The Associated Press
