Argentina fan Matias Antelo is hoping to witness World Cup triumph in Qatar — eight years after missing out on his first finals after the death of his father.
He had match tickets booked for Brazil in 2014 but cancelled the much-anticipated trip to support his mother.
His father, Gustavo Antelo, was 53 when he died, six days before his birthday.
Gustavo was the first Argentine to die in the Falklands Islands since the 10-week war with the UK in 1982.
On March 13, 2014, he was accompanying a group of war veterans who returned to the islands and was caught in a blizzard driving his truck, it crashed and he was killed.
Weeks later at the Brazil World Cup, the South American side went on to reach the final, being edged out by Germany after extra time.
They will be among the favourites again as Mr Antelo, 30, makes his World Cup debut in what is set to be footballing great Lionel Messi's last appearance at the showpiece event.
He has flights booked into Doha to follow the Copa America winners for as long as they remain in contention and expects it to be the experience of a lifetime.
Mr Antelo, who works in education, will fly in from Buenos Aires next month for a tournament he is quietly confident his team can win.
“This will be my first World Cup, I was close to going to Brazil in 2014 but my father died shortly before so I had to cancel all my plans,” he said.
“My soul and energy was very down at the time and it was a really difficult time for me so I was not in the right place to enjoy football.
“I have no siblings, so decided to stay at home with my mum instead to support her so I gave up my ticket.
“Qatar will be my first World Cup experience so I am very excited. Not just going to the World Cup, but also it will be my first trip to the Middle East.”
South American fans usually travel in huge numbers, despite the high costs of getting to the region. The cheapest flights into Doha from Buenos Aires are currently priced around Dh10,000.
The enduring magic of Messi means fans like Mr Antelo can dare to dream, although the trip will cost him around $10,000 after saving for two years.
“We feel a big advantage with Messi in our team, we are capable of anything,” said Mr Antelo, who also works with Club Atletico Excursionistas in the Belgrano neighbourhood of Buenos Aires that plays in Argentina’s fourth tier.
“It is a long time since we won the World Cup, in 1986, so we are anxious but hopeful of this being our time.
“People say we are one of the favourites, but many Argentinians like me are staying calm.
“It would be amazing to win after waiting so long in the World Cup.”
Saudi Arabia lie in wait
One of Argentina’s opponents in the group stage is Qatar’s neighbours, Saudi Arabia.
The two-time World Cup winners will take on The Falcons on November 22 at the Lusail Stadium.
Another fan hoping to attend is Mohamed Naif, a Saudi citizen who has lived in Dubai for three years.
“Despite our group being tough, and we will face Messi and his team, I’m optimistic we can qualify for the knock-out stage,” said Mr Naif, 35, an investor.
“We have a strong team this year and it will receive big support from the nation.”
Although he is yet to secure match tickets, Mr Naif hopes to pick up two so he can travel to Qatar for the game with his son.
“I will wear my Saudi jersey and support the team with my children,” he said.
“My best memory was when Saeed Al Owairan scored one of the best goals of the 1994 World Cup with a mazy run through the Belgian defence to deliver the winning goal.
“That was an unforgettable memory as we qualified for the next stage.”
The World Cup stadiums — in pictures
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Day 2, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.
Stat of the day – 139.5 Yasir Shah has bowled 139.5 overs in three innings so far in this Test series. Judged by his returns, the workload has not withered him. He has 14 wickets so far, and became history’s first spinner to take five-wickets in an innings in five consecutive Tests. Not bad for someone whose fitness was in question before the series.
The verdict Stranger things have happened, but it is going to take something extraordinary for Pakistan to keep their undefeated record in Test series in the UAE in tact from this position. At least Shan Masood and Sami Aslam have made a positive start to the salvage effort.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 6 (McTominay 2', 3'; Fernandes 20', 70' pen; Lindelof 37'; James 65')
Leeds United 2 (Cooper 41'; Dallas 73')
Man of the match: Scott McTominay (Manchester United)
The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
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