Shirt and it was just joyful’

Sion with a new friend from Ghana tells me as we part.

Then there was the employee on the Metro system who randomly shouted “Cymru” at me. Not Wales. Cymru. There are countless nods and smiles and the odd thumbs-up or a handshake. Some simply say “Wales” to which I enthusiastically reply “yes, Wales”.

Say what you want about this country, the hosts and the organisers. There’s plenty to say. But the atmosphere among real people, the fans, is already a bit magical. Outside the Qatar Convention Centre, where visitors are picking up various accreditations, you can already find nations embracing, laughing and joking, kicking a ball on the street together.

I saw a Japanese man and an Argentinian swap shirts. The football shirt is a wonderful thing here. It’s a marker, it’s a name badge. It is forging friendships and sparking conversation.

Later that day I saw the former Welsh international Iwan Roberts, who spotted me before I spotted him. Thanks to a shirt. I don’t know him and he didn’t say a word to me, just presented a massive thumbs up and a set of pearly whites. A look on his face that said everything. How amazing is this. To be here, on top of the world experiencing this. Ahhhh Gareth Bale.