By Ben Church, Patrick Sung, Matias Grez, Alasdair Howorth, Aditi Sangal and Mike Hayes, CNN
The Argentine fans are in fine voice as the referee gets the match underway, signaling the beginning of Lionel Messi's final World Cup.
Argentina is the overwhelming favorite for this match and it will take something extraordinary for Saudi Arabia to come away with anything.
From CNN's Ben Church in Doha
The Lusail Stadium is one of the most striking stadiums at Qatar 2022.
It’s located just out of Doha city center and its design was inspired by the region’s iconic lantern.
It’s also the biggest at the tournament, able to accommodate 80,000 people and will play host to the final on December 18.
All four sides are very steep and very close to the pitch, creating a cauldron of noise as players finish their warmup.
It’s a perfect day in Doha, as well. Not a cloud in the sky and the temperatures have dropped slightly to a more manageable level.
The stage is certainly set and seats are being filled as we approach kickoff.
From CNN's Ben Church in Doha
Just from traveling to the Lusail Stadium by Metro, you get a sense this match will have one of the best atmospheres of the World Cup so far.
It’s no surprise that Saudi Arabia’s fans are here in force, given the short distance between the two countries, but their numbers seem more than matched by those in Argentina shirts.
For the last week, the iconic blue and white jerseys have been spotted all over Doha and you get the sense they're all here for one man: Lionel Messi.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is likely playing his last ever World Cup in Qatar and people have come from all over the world to see him play.
CNN spoke to fans from South Kerala, India, who have come to Doha to support the South American side purely because of the draw power of the diminutive Argentine.
“His posters are everywhere, he’s the best,” one said.
Messi led his team out for the warmup and those already in their seats erupted with applause as the 35-year-old waved to the crowd.
They’ve been singing his name ever since.
Saudi Arabia:
Manager: Hervé Renard
Goalkeepers: Muhammad Al-Owais, Muhammad Al-Yami, Nawaf Al-Aqidi
Defenders: Ali Al-Bulaihi, Hassan Al-Tambakti, Abdulelah Al-Amri, Abdullah Madu, Muhammad Al-Breik, Yasser Al-Shahrani, Sultan Al-Ghannam, Saud Abdulhamid
Midfielders: Nasser Al-Dawsari, Ali Al-Hassan, Abdulelah Al-Maliki, Mohamed Kanno, Riyad Sharahili, Abdullah Otayf, Sami Al-Najei, Salman Al-Faraj, Salem Al-Dawsari, Hattan Bahebri, Nawaf Al-abed, Abdulrahman Al-Aboud
Forwards: Saleh Al-Shehri, Firas Al-Buraikan, Haitham Asiri
Argentina:
Manager: Lionel Scaloni
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martínez, Gerónimo Rulli, Franco Armani
Defenders: Nahuel Molina, Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Germán Pezzella, Nicolás Otamendi, Lisandro Martínez, Marcos Acuña, Nicolás Tagliafico, Juan Foyth
Midfielders: Rodrigo De Paul, Leandro Paredes, Alexis Mac Allister, Guido Rodríguez, Alejandro Gómez, Enzo Fernández, Exequiel Palacios
Forwards: Ángel Di María, Lautaro Martínez, Julián Álvarez, Nicolás González, Joaquín Correa, Paulo Dybala, Lionel Messi
From CNN's Matias Grez
After what has been one of the most glittering careers in football history, Lionel Messi will have one final attempt to win the only trophy that has so far eluded him: the World Cup.
On Tuesday against Saudi Arabia, Messi will begin his fifth World Cup campaign — and, at 35 years of age, it will almost certainly be his last.
Messi — considered by many to be the greatest football player of all time — and Argentina came closest to winning international football’s most coveted prize in Brazil eight years ago, but agonizingly lost to Germany in extra time.
Messi ended his international hoodoo with the Albiceleste back in 2021, beating Brazil 1-0 in the Copa Ámerica final to win his first major tournament with the national team.
That victory was masterminded by manager and former Argentina international Lionel Scaloni, who has transformed the team’s fortunes since taking over as head coach in 2018.
Argentina’s style is unrecognizable when compared to the dismal performances in the previous World Cup cycle — a tournament they may not even have qualified for had it not been for Messi’s heroics — and the Albiceleste go into the tournament in Qatar among the favorites to lift the trophy.
From CNN's Ben Church
As fans gather in Qatar, they’re understandably in holiday mode as they look forward to the prospect of a desert World Cup.
But where best to stay in a country that is geographically on a peninsula smaller than Connecticut and is the smallest World Cup host in history?
The scramble for accommodation is likely to be heated given Qatar is set to welcome an estimated 1.5 million fans over the month-long tournament, which began Sunday.
Jimmy and Kennis Leung were among the very first fans to arrive at the Fan Village Cabins Free Zone, one of the largest sites available to supporters, checking in on Thursday.
“They’ve built this in a desert,” Jimmy Leung told CNN Sport, as he scanned his accommodation space, which he was impressed by. “It is too expensive to stay in a hotel or AirBnB in Doha so this was a great option.”
The Free Zone fan village is around 20 minutes by metro from downtown Doha but at the moment it’s a bit like entering a dystopian world.
There is precious little else around the village – one or two building sites and a main road – so staff quickly direct you to the reception, which is a 10-minute walk across a vast car park.
There is an endless line of portacabins, organized into different colors and mapped in alphabetical order, stretching into the distance, with large gazebos containing hundreds of empty tables and chairs.
To read more, click here.
From CNN's Ben Church
The accommodation is in tents or prefabs, there's no beer in the stadiums, the temperatures are uncomfortably hot and the whole event is mired in controversy over alleged human rights abuses.
While that's not enough to deter hardcore football fans from traveling to Qatar to support their national teams in the World Cup, more surprisingly, it hasn't been enough to deter even those whose country teams aren't even in the competition.
Walk around the narrow streets of downtown Doha and you can't help but get caught up in World Cup fever, with fans from all four corners of the globe meeting in squares and restaurants to celebrate their cultures with one another.
The evenings are particularly busy, with groups gathering together by country, singing their hearts out to the seemingly constant rhythm of drums that reverberate through downtown Doha.
One of the loudest groups in the days running up to kickoff was a pocket of England fans from India.
The group is fully coordinated, wearing the same shirt with the name of England captain Harry Kane on the back. They proudly sing songs associated with the English national team but they mix them with traditional chants from back home.
The supporters went viral last week, with people accusing them of being "fake fans," used to create the impression of people enjoying a World Cup that, thanks to the controversy surrounding its Middle Eastern hosts, may lack the usual pizazz of the tournament held every four years.
Qatar 2022 organizers, as well as FIFA, rubbished the claims and a member of the group told CNN that he was surprised to see the headlines.
"We are a fan group from Kerala, in South India," he said, too busy singing and dancing to give his full name.
"India is not in the tournament and we have always loved England. We used to watch David Beckham play so we are passionate about England in Qatar."
To read more about the fans, click here
