São Paulo – The Saudi Arabia national soccer team didn’t win the opening match of the FIFA 2018 World Cup against host country Russia, but it had support from fans in Brazil. There were many fans of the Saudi team in São Paulo, at the Soccer Museum in Pacaembu stadium, which showed the game in a large screen this Thursday (14). There were also fans cheering for a Russian victory, which came in a five to nothing rout.
Journalist Gilberto dos Santos, 56 years old, was cheering for Saudi Arabia, despite being with friends from Peru and Chile who were cheering for the Russians. Santos told ANBA that he has a Saudi friend that is going through a health problem, so he wanted to see a win by the national Arab team to cheer his friend up. “I want to see him happy,” he said before the game.
Teacher Camila Alves, 33 years old, went to see the game with her student of Portuguese, Syrian Kinan Swaf, who was rooting for the Saudi team. Swaf is a dentist and arrived in Brazil 40 days ago to take a doctorate course in his area. “They’re good,” said the Syrian about the Saudis before the game, mentioning by name the star of the team, Osama. But with a caveat: among the Arab teams competing in the World Cup, Swaf believes that Egypt and Tunisia are the most qualified teams.
Retailer Lupércio Bertoluci, 39 years old, came to the museum to watch the game with a friend who is of Arab descent. He works in the Brás district, where there are many Arab retailers. Near the end of the match, Bertoluci’s conclusion was that it was an uninspiring game. “Saudi Arabia doesn’t have much experience at the World Cup,” he said. Even so, he mentioned the team’s good points. “They re-set on defense quickly,” he said.
Some schools were at the museum at the beginning of the game and part of the kids wanted the Saudis to prevail. That was the case of 10-years-old Philipe do Nascimento and Miguel Adeildo. Both didn’t know much about the two countries but were rooting for Saudi Arabia. Teenager Hendril Mendes, 13 years old, was positive about a Saudi victory at the beginning of the game. “They have better stamina,” he said.
Some staff of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce were in attendance, among them CEO Michel Alaby. The Soccer Museum will show all of the World Cup games that occur during opening hours, from Tuesday to Sunday, and has a partner in the Arab Chamber to gather the Arab community in the place in the days featuring games by Arab teams. From the Arab world, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia are competing in the tournament.
In the opening game, the Arab Chamber offered to the fans some snacks, some of them from the Arab cuisine, such as fatayers, kibbeh and falafel. Snacks will also be served during the game between Egypt and Russia, next Tuesday (19), 3 pm, at the Soccer Museum. For the games between Morocco and Portugal, on June 20, at 9 am, and between Tunisia and Belgium, on June 23, at 9 am, the place will serve breakfast to the fans.
Alaby wasn’t pleased with the score of the game. “We feel for the score, but the important thing is to take part,” he said. The CEO pointed out, however, the integration that occurs in an initiative such as this one from the Soccer Museum, of showing the games to different communities of immigrants living in Brazil. “It’s valuable for the integration of Arab and Brazilian cultures,” he said about this Thursday.
Russia scored twice in the first half and three times in the second half, with two goals during injury time. Russian player Gazinsky scored the first goal in the 12th minute of the first half and, just before halftime, at the 43-minute mark, Cherayshev scored the second. In the second half, at the 26-minute mark, Dzyuba scored Russia’s third. Cheryshev scored again, in the 46th minute, and Golovin scored the fifth goal in the 49th minute. The stadium had a small Saudi group but was packed with the Russian crowd.
Sport commentators pointed out that the Saudis spent much of the game on defense. The coach of the Middle East team is the Argentina-born, naturalized Spaniard Juan Antonio Pizzi.
Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammad bin Salman, watched the game at the stadium, next to Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, and Gianni Infantino, president of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). Among the national teams competing in the tournament, Russia has the worst FIFA ranking, showing in 70th place. Saudi Arabia appears at the 67th position.
Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
