England v Iran
FIFA World Cup 2022, Group B
Khalifa International Stadium
Al Rayyan (Doha), Qatar
21 Nov 22
There was no official programme for the WC but they did produce an excellent 129 page Fan Guide which included all of the information that a visiting fan would require.
Tickets for England's World Cup opener in Qatar against Iran were initially undersubscribed at Category 2 and 3. The initial allocation were 100 x Cat 1 , 595 x Cat 2 and 1785 at Cat 3; a total of 2489 tickets. At 250 QAR (£53) for the cheapest tickets it was a no brainer which category I would be applying for!
The front cover of the 175th version of the Free Lions had a mugshot of Harry Kane sporting a 'One Love' armband. He was supposedly going to wear it alongside the skippers of Wales, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and Switzerland for the duration of the tournament. Sadly, they all bottled it when FIFA threatened to issue yellow cards to the wearer.
The Khalifa International Stadium has a capacity of 45,857 and is located in the Aspire district in Al Rayyan, 5 km west of central Doha. The stadium received a complete refit and reopened in May 2017, with its famous dual arches now boasting a widened canopy. The stadium was built in 1976 and previously played host to England in a friendly against Brazil in 2009.
England 6 Iran 2
Attendance: 45,334
Six goals from England, including a brilliant guided header by Jude Bellingham, a great team goal finished off by Raheem Stirling, a brace from Saka, a great individual goal from Marcus Rashford and a break away goal involving 3 of the subs, finished off by Jack Grealish. TBF the Iranians scored a great goal on 65 mins from Taremi but their penalty was another joke of a decision, albiet well despatched by Taremi.
After a long flight from London Heathrow (via Cairo) we arrived at our destination in Doha at 0320 on 19 Nov. After clearing customs we made a dash for Caravan City at Messila, this turned out to be our best value for money accommodation option at a meagre £102 a night.
After a few hours sleep we were on our way to a Desert Safari
Camel Whisperer - The movie
The Grantham Rams on tour
My birds
Our guide 'Assa the Arab'
Death defying dune bashing at the Inland Sea (Khor Al Udaid)
Arriving at our Bedouin camp on the edge of civilisation
After an Arabian dinner it's swim time
Watching Sue swim to Saudi Arabia whilst chilling with a
strawberry flavoured Shisha - 😎
Sunrise in paradise
After returning from the desert we head out to Souq Waqif and the first landmark we see is the 'Spiral Mosque'. It is actually not a traditional Qatari mosque but a replica of the Great Mosque of Al-Mutawwakil in Samara, Iraq
One of the main pedestrian arteries through Souq Waqif
Le Pouce (the giant thumb) by French artist Cesar Baldaccini commemorates Qatar's victory at the Asian Cup in 2019. Tonight is the night that Qatar start their world cup campaign with the opening game against Ecuador.
After watching the opening game it is time to hitch a ride across the golf course at Doha Golf Club for a date with the 'Black Eyed Peas'
Up close and personal with Will-I-am of the BEP
Will-I-am, Apl-De-Ap, Taboo and J. Rey Soul
Taboo got emotional when he was passed a Mexican flag
After returning to the cruise ship from the BEP concert at 0300 hrs we are back in the pub to meet Charlie Mellor and the Cricket gang at 1130 sharp for lunch in the Swiss Belinn hotel.
A decent priced Happy Hour at £23 for 5 beers.
Then a former oppo, 'Raymando', now a resident of Qatar turns up out of the blue. Not seen this 'ledge' since 2007.
Meanwhile the Bahrain lads are held up at the
Saudi-Qatar border in Salawa
After bagging a lift with Ray in his swanky 4WD MG we get dropped off outside the stadium
The WC is on! Come on England
Panic at the turnstiles as the FIFA ticketing app goes down and affects many English fans, but luckily our tickets work.
England v Iran, lets bring it on
"There's Cat 1 to the left....
....and Cat 1 to the right.....
...but we are Derby County and we don't give a shite"💩
Six goals from England, including a brilliant guided header by Jude Bellingham, a great team goal finished off by Raheem Stirling, a brace from Saka, a great individual goal from Marcus Rashford and a break away goal involving 3 of the subs, finished off by Jack Grealish. TBF the Iranians scored a great goal on 65 mins from Taremi but their penalty was another joke of a decision, albiet well despatched by Taremi.
The Khalifa Stadium in lights with the Torch Tower to the left
Me and La'eeb having a kick about
Outside in the stadium's fan zone the party is coming to life
The BEP are everywhere
Sue auditioning for Good Morning Britain
The Torch Tower is a 300m tall 5 star hotel in Doha
boasting a 360 degrees panoramic view
Sue has located the Neddies
Steve has located the Iranians - well actually I was asked for my photo by the lady to my left. All the girls were Iranians living in Qatar and were protesting against their government.
On the journey home we see yet
another attention seeking knight
We take the metro on the gold line from the Sport City Metro Station to Msheireb and pass some really interesting places:
the Royal Stable at Souq Waqif,
a Bedouin tent,
the corniche,
the World Cup by drones
the Pearl Monument which is a tribute to Qatar's history
of pearling, the primary industry before oil. Now time for bed
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