Argentina vs Brazil Fans in Lyari 💥

Lionel Messi etched his name in the history books as he led Argentina to World Cup glory on Sunday, scoring twice against France in one of the all-time great finals that was decided by a penalty shoot-out.
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Messi finally clinched football's biggest prize with a performance worthy of the occasion, scoring a first-half penalty and netting again in extra time.
France had fought back from 2-0 down in the last 10 minutes as Kylian Mbappe scored twice inside two minutes to level the scores and force extra time in a match watched by an 89,000 crowd in Lusail Stadium.
Messi seemed to have decided the match in extra time with his second goal of the game before his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Mbappe completed only the second World Cup final hat-trick to make it 3-3 and force penalties.
Thereafter, Argentina aced the shoot-out while France missed the mark as Gonzalo Montiel swept home the decisive spot kick to win the shoot-out 4-2 for Argentina.
Flags of some nations competing in football’s World Cup fluttered overhead as boys in a dusty alley in Lyari kicked a ball around in a fever of excitement.
The football-crazed neighbourhood is also known as “Mini Brazil”, and this year a mural featuring the game’s stars, from Argentina’s Lionel Messi to Brazil’s Neymar Da Silva Santos Júnior and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, is taking centre stage.
“The football frenzy here is so great that it feels like the World Cup is being played not in Qatar, but in Lyari,” Waseem Sarbazi, a member of a nearby football coaching academy, told Reuters.
Pakistan has never qualified for a World Cup tournament, but many young people still enrol in football academies to train for hours each day in Lyari, one of Karachi’s poorest areas, hoping to take to an international pitch one day.
“We want FIFA to get involved in football activities in Lyari,” Sarbazi added. “They should have an event here because there is an uncountable number of players and spectators here.”
Thousands turned out in “Mini Brazil” last Monday when Brazil played Switzerland, sporting the classic yellow and green colours of their favourite team as they gathered in front of large television screens to the sound of raucous music.
“Very powerful matches and the Brazil match,” said Ashiq Hussain, one of the young players from the academy, adding that he found the matches inspiring.
“I think my favourite team is Brazil. I like the goalkeeper Ederson [Santana de Moraes].”
The fans erupted into wild cheers and danced when Brazil sealed their entry into the knockout stages with a 1-0 win over Switzerland.
“I went to my job wearing the Brazil shirt, and now at night, I am still wearing the shirt during the match,” said another fan, Mohammad Yasin.
“I am going to keep wearing this shirt, whether they lose the match or win. I am not taking off this shirt at all.”
Brazil’s success in that match will draw out thousands more in “Mini Brazil” on Friday when the team face off against Cameroon. If they draw or win, Brazil will top Group G.
If they lose and Switzerland win against Serbia, the goal difference will decide the top spot.
“The people here love football,” said Lyari resident Tahir Khan. “Every
four years, this excitement flares.”
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Brazil fans back home shocked after World Cup elimination
By MAURICIO SAVARESE
December 10, 2022
Brazilian fans react on the tribune after losing the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Croatia and Brazil, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, Qatar, Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
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SAO PAULO (AP) - Brazil soccer fans were shocked into silence back home after the national team was eliminated by Croatia from the World Cup on Friday.
The mood in Sao Paolo and Rio Janeiro was festive at first after Neymar put Brazil ahead in extra time. But then it quickly turned somber after the Croatians equalized and then won a penalty shootout in Qatar.
Wearing a giant hat in Brazil’s yellow and green colors, 34-year-old engineer Sergio Faria watched the match at a bar in downtown Sao Paulo. He said he was calm at kickoff, certain that Brazil and Argentina would face off in the semifinals.
“It is the most awkward feeling. Croatia shot on goal once, Brazil wasted so many opportunities. It is the strangest Brazil elimination I remember,” Faria said. “But I still don’t understand why our coach Tite took Vinicius Junior for Antony, I don’t know why Neymar was not the first to take a penalty in the shootout, I can’t see why Brazil was not more aggressive.”
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