(AFP) International football stars continue to flock to the Qatari capital, Doha, to participate in the first World Cup finals in the Middle East and an Arab country. After the arrival of the stars of the French and Argentine national teams on Wednesday, their German and Spanish counterparts landed on Thursday, amid an enthusiastic reception by fans from all over the world.
In the wake of the arrival of the 2018 World Champions led by star Kylian Mbappe, and "Albiceleste" with his legend Lionel Messi on Wednesday, the international teams participating in the Qatar World Cup continued to flock to Hamad International Airport and their camps in Doha.
International fans await the arrival of Belgium and its star Eden Hazard, Croatia and its playmaker Luka Modric, who is expected on Friday, as well as Portugal and its star Cristiano Ronaldo, who will play their last preparatory match against Nigeria in Lisbon on Thursday, while Brazil and its star Neymar will be the last to arrive on Saturday at the end of its preparatory camp in Turin, Italy.
The delegation of the German national team, which achieved a hard-won victory over its Omani counterpart (1-0), arrived Wednesday in its last preparatory match, Thursday noon, to stay in Al-Ruwais, in the Zulal health resort, at the northern tip of the Gulf peninsula.
As for Spain, which faces Jordan in Amman on Thursday evening before heading to Qatar on Thursday night into Friday, it is preparing for a very difficult match against Germany in the second round of Group E competitions on November 27.
Waiting for that, and in the shadow of the skyscrapers of Doha, where the pictures of the main stars of the tournament are displayed, fans flock from all over the world to attend this great global event, the first in the Arab world, which is surrounded by many non-sporting problems: the human rights of migrant workers, and the issue of LGBT discrimination or even the environmental impact of heroism.
Dozens of fans, most of them residents of Doha from Lebanon, France or India, equipped with flags, shirts, trumpets and drums, accompanied the French team to camp at the end of Wednesday, six days before they faced their Australian counterpart in the first round.
The French enter the tournament with many doubts about their chances of defending the title after a series of injuries that hit their ranks, the latest of which was German Leipzig striker Christopher Nkunku (knee), and he was replaced by Randal Kolo Mwani, who joined his ranks on Thursday morning.
France is facing strong competition for the title from Brazil, ranked first in the world, and its neighbor, Argentina, which crushed its host, the UAE, by five goals on Wednesday, including a double by Angel Di Maria and a goal by Messi, expanding the number of consecutive matches without losing to 36, and is one match away from the record number of matches. Without losing, which is 37, which Italy achieved in 2021.
There is also the Netherlands, runner-up three times (1974, 1978, 2010) and the eternal contender for the world title.
Its coach, Louis van Gaal, who is known for his frankness, did not avoid the differences that accompanied the World Cup in Qatar. He said Wednesday that fans who do not want to come to Qatar or even follow the 2022 World Cup are "right" if that is their conviction.
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron considered the politicization of sports "a very bad idea."
"These questions must be asked when you are given the honor of hosting," he said on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Summit in Bangkok, rejecting calls to boycott the world championship.
Some fans said they were hesitant to travel to Qatar, between the non-sporting controversies and the cost of the several thousand euros for a month's trip.
However, excitement is beginning to build around the main World Cup fan zone, located in Al Bidda Park, in central Doha which is set to officially open on Saturday, on the eve of the opening match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.
Some of the volunteers present at one of the entrances to the area Wednesday, during a test event in the evening, confirmed that it "was full."
The first scenes of jubilation also appeared with the arrival of players from England, France and Argentina with many fans, some from the Indian subcontinent, who competed over drums, songs, shirts and flags.
Indians in Qatar expressed their dissatisfaction with media reports and posts on social media that talked about "fake fans" in Doha.
"Absolutely not," fans told AFP, considering the doubt "very insulting and frustrating".
In a video broadcast by the Qatar News Agency, Nasser al-Khater, CEO of the World Cup, denied "baseless" and "defamatory" rumors that Qatar paid foreign workers to play the role of "fake fans".
He also confirmed that "3.1 million tickets have been sold," that is, all available tickets, and promised an "extraordinary tournament."