PULLING DOUBLE DUTY

Qatar’s size offers unique chance to see two live matches in one day

AL RAYYAN, Doha — With all eight stadiums located within a 35mile radius of downtown Doha, the 2022 World Cup is the most compact in history. During the group stage, that makes it possible to attend four games a day.

Possible, but it’s not permitted. To avoid congestion and make more tickets available to more people, FIFA has limited fans and the media to two games a day, with a four-hour window between kickoffs. But that’s still pretty good, right? Watching four of the best teams in the world on the same day?

And with public transportation, free to World Cup visitors, serving all eight stadiums, it’ll be a breeze, the Qataris said.

But then the Qataris have already reneged on everything from human rights and beer sales to bus schedules and the menu in the media cafeteria. So maybe this was another empty promise.

I decided to find out. Armed with nothing more than a media credential and no familiarity whatsoever with Qatar’s Metro system, I set out Wednesday to see Germany play Japan at Khalifa International Stadium at 4 p.m., followed by CanadaBelgium less than 12 miles away at Ahmed bin Ali World Cup, B9]

Hassan Ammar Associated Press MICHY BATSHUAYI celebrates his first-half goal for Belgium, which was all his team would need for a 1-0 victory over Canada in Group F.