Better known for its love of cricket, every four years India and the wider region are gripped by World Cup fever
Last modified on Sat 17 Dec 2022 05.47 GMTn one village, dozens of houses have been painted white and blue. In another, vast 10-metre statues of football star Lionel Messi have been erected in rivers and along roadsides. But this is not Argentina proudly supporting their national team ahead of Sunday’sSupporters of Argentina in Kolkata, India celebrate in the street after the semi-final win over Croatia.
“Argentina is the land of Messi and Che Guevara. Whether it wins or not in the final, I will continue to be a diehard fan,” said TM Thomas Issac, an economist and member of Kerala’s ruling Communist Party of India . In football-obsessed Pullavoor village in Kerala’s Kozhikode district, competing fans of Portugal, Brazil and Argentina had all installed cutouts of their favourite players in the middle of the local river at the beginning of the tournament. But as the others were knocked out, cutouts of Brazil’s Neymar and Portugal’s Ronaldo were removed; now only Messi remains.Such was the dedication to the tournament for a group of 17 Argentina-supporting friends in Kerala’s city of Kochi, they spent 2.
Pragnan Saha, 17, is a member of Kolkata’s Argentina football fanclub, which was established by his father Uttam Saha in 2002, who is such a huge fan he has travelled to Qatar in the hope of seeing Messi finally lift the World Cup. “For us diehard fans, watching every match of the Argentina national team fills us with great joy and excitement,” said Saha.
For the World Cup this year, the Saha family and their Argentina fan club said they had “taken things up a notch” and covered their whole neighbourhood in Argentina flags, colours and huge photos and cutouts of Messi and other members of the team as well as customising their car in blue and white. They have also set up a “fan park” where they and other football devotees have been watching all the matches.
The Argentina World Cup fever was so palpable that it even caught the attention of Argentina’s national football team’s official Twitter account, who recently tweeted at Bangladesh fans: “Thank you for supporting our team!! They are crazy like us!”
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
France tackle virus before World Cup final; Fifa to revisit three-team groups – liveJoin Luke McLaughlin for updates as we build towards Sunday's final between Argentina and France
Read more »
The Northern Territory opened its first Islamic school this year. How did it go?A tiny school in Darwin is celebrating its first year of teaching. Its mission? To build 'better Muslims and better Australians'.
Read more »
Bon voyage for Portside Hamilton as Brisbane’s cruise ship terminalBrisbane’s old cruise ship terminal at Portside Hamilton closes its doors after 16 years and 1250 cruise ships as it eyes better use of the river in a $20 million refresh.
Read more »
Everything you need to know ahead of the FIFA World Cup finalFrance and Argentina meet in the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar at the Lusail Stadium on Monday morning AEDT. Here's everything you need to know.
Read more »
Messi the magician or Mbappe the machine? The final within the World Cup finalIt’s France versus Argentina, sure, and there’s a supporting cast who will have a say, but the battle within the battle is unavoidable: the king of football, looking for his crowning moment, against the heir to his throne, and the potential spoiler to this global sporting fairytale.
Read more »