'Home' hordes inspire Argentina

Argentina's bid for a third World Cup crown is being boosted by hordes of traveling fans that have transformed each of their matches in Qatar into virtual home games.

Argentine soccer venues are renowned for their seething intensity — iconic Buenos Aires cauldrons such as the Bombonera or Monumental tremble with passionate ferocity.

Those kinds of scenes have been recreated regularly at Doha's Lusail Stadium, where tens of thousands of Argentine fans have created a raucous wall of blue-and-white-shirted sound.

Argentina has already played three games at the glittering 88,966-seat arena, where Lionel Messi and his teammates will battle Croatia, aiming to book a place in the World Cup final.

After most Argentina games, the "Albiceleste "have lingered on the pitch long after the final whistle, sharing a moment of emotionally charged communion with their supporters.

"We like to take advantage of these moments with the people who are here and in Argentina, where everyone is euphoric," Messi said following Friday's quarterfinal win over the Netherlands.

According to the Argentine embassy in Qatar, between 35,000 and 40,000 fans have traveled to the World Cup to support the team, one of the largest contingents of overseas supporters at the tournament.

That sizable support has been augmented by thousands of Qatar-based migrant workers from India and Bangladesh, where Messi and Argentina enjoy widespread support.

"Compared to France, Argentina aren't quite at the same level as a team — but they are a team who are benefiting from the support they have here," the Argentina-born former France striker David Trezeguet told AFP.

At the end of each of their victories at the World Cup, after joining supporters in postmatch singing, Argentina's players will repeat the line that they are playing for "45 million" of their compatriots.

"What I do, I do for the 45 million, They are going through a bad economic period. Giving people joy is the best thing that I can do at the moment," said Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, the hero of Friday's penalty shootout win over the Netherlands.

Trezeguet believes the bond between Argentina's players and their supporters has been forged by the economic crisis battering the country, where inflation has skyrocketed.

"My first memories of the Argentina team were in Mexico in 1986. It was crazy back then, but nothing like as crazy as it is now," Trezeguet said. "The socioeconomic situation in Argentina at the moment has made the support for the team more passionate than ever."

According to reports, many of the fans who have traveled to Qatar have spent years saving up to make the trip, diligently converting their Argentine pesos into US dollars in order to avoid the ravages of inflation.

Others such as Beto — a fan in his 60s interviewed by AFP as he walked through Doha's Souq Waqif — have traveled to Qatar from the United States or elsewhere after emigrating.

The passion, however, remains as intense as ever.

"Even though I've lived in the United States for a long time, if you cut my wrist, I will bleed blue and white," Beto told AFP.

"We have an immense passion for soccer. We suffer a lot on a daily basis because there are problems in our country, the economy is not doing well. But soccer gives us this energy which allows us to go from nothing to everything."

AFP