Win calms Argentine nerves Big crowd for Messi
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Luciana Medina was so nervous that she could barely sleep the night before Saturday’s match between Argentina and Mexico which could have all but knocked the soccer-mad South American country from the World Cup.
After the game, she couldn’t stop smiling.
“I’m so proud. I truly loved the match,” Medina, a 23-year-old communications student, said while wearing an Argentina jersey. “I’m so happy.”
Argentines breathed a collective sigh of relief Saturday afternoon as the country obtained a decisive 2-0 victory over Mexico dissipating doubts that had emerged about Lionel Messi’s team after the shock loss against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. That loss had sent the country almost into a state of national mourning.
María del Carmen Martínez, 60, said she was “very tense” when she arrived at a plaza in Buenos Aires to watch the match on giant screens.
“I’m happy now,” the retail worker said with a smile. “It’s as if the players finally woke up.”
Manuel Gauto, 21, agreed he saw a different team on the field. ■
LUSAIL, Qatar — Lionel Messi played in front of 88,966 spectators on Saturday when Argentina beat Mexico 2-0, the largest attendance at a World Cup match in 28 years.
The Lusail Stadium north of Doha, which will stage the final on December 18, hosted the most people at the World Cup since the 1994 final in the United States, according to FIFA. There were 91,194 people at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, to see Brazil beat Italy in that penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw.
Qatar’s attendance figures do not rank in the top 30 of all-time World Cup matches. The largest crowd was 173,850 inside the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro in 1950 for Uruguay’s 2-1 victory over host Brazil in the final game of that tournament.
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