It could have been the Estadio Azteca or the Rose Bowl, thanks to the large and passionate traveling fan base at Mexico’s first World Cup game.
— Halfway across the globe from North America, a small mariachi band begins to play.
It’s the day before Mexico’s first match in the 2022 World Cup, and hundreds of fans, possibly even in the thousands, have assembled in the Katara cultural village. Surrounded by a lavish shopping mall, museums and art galleries, El Tri supporters have turned the once tranquil and quiet plaza into a raucous party.
Costumes ranging from calavera-inspired outfits to luchador masks pack the area that is filled with banners, flags and, most importantly, music. Wandering through the crowd, the melodies quickly change from the mariachi playing to a large section of fans to others belting out Cielito Lindo, while another group emotionally sways and sings along with a speaker that is blaring Vicente Fernandez.
“Mexico has one of the loudest fan bases in Qatar. We rival the Argentinians and Brazilians,” said Zargento Tinoco, a Mexico fan from Phoenix, Arizona, who was at the event. “What sets us apart is we are also admired by other nations because we bring color, life.”
3 hours to go until Mexico v Poland, already plenty of El Tri fans here at Stadium 974. #ElTriEng #ElTri pic.twitter.com/vRH60KMvon
The party continued into the late afternoon as a sea of green kits began to spread and swell in the plaza.
It was an unmistakably boisterous event — and one that almost seemed to compensate for the concealment and lack of comments from the national team they’re all there to support.
In a miniscule World Cup where most squads have put base camps in or near Qatar’s capital of Doha, Mexico have made an effort to literally distance themselves.
