Saturday 4 February 2023

England v Senegal, Al Bayt Stadium, FIFA World Cup Qatar, 4 Dec 22



England
 v Senegal

FIFA World Cup 2022, 

Round of 16

Al Bayt Stadium

Al Khor, Qatar

4 Dec 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 Round of 16 game against Senegal were initially undersubscribed but eventually sold out as interest grew. The allocation was 100 x Cat 1, 725 x Cat 2 and 2175 at Cat 3; a total of 3009 tickets. The cost of the Round of 16 tickets were quite a bit more expensive with Cat 3 tickets priced at £81, Cat 2 tickets at £173 and Cat 1's at £231

Marcus Rashford is deservedly featured on the front cover of the 178th edition of the Free Lions following his scintillating performance against Iran and Wales


England 3 Senegal 0

Attendance: 65,985

Over the course of 90 minutes, the Three Lions proved far to strong for the current African champions: better equipped defensively, calmer and more composed, and boasting a sharper cutting edge in attack. England didn't get it all of their own way as Senegal put them under intense 1st half pressure with their pressing game and they could have took the lead when Boulaye forced a fine save out of Jordan Pickford. After that England woke up and duly took control, with precocious midfield talent Jude Bellingham leading the way with his box to box brilliance. England's first goal came in the 39th minute when Harry Kane slipped a ball to the on rushing Bellingham who penetrated the Senegalese red zone to pull back for Jordan Henderson to sweep home. During 1st half injury time Bellingham is involved in the 2nd goal when he wins possession in England' s half and advances rapidly before feeding Phil Foden to his left. Fodens switches it immediately back to Harry Kane who laces it passes the hapless Edouard Mendy. The winner was scored on 57 mins when Foden works some silky magic on his left to leave two opponents for dead, then delivers a cross to Bukayo Saka who supplies the coup de grace with a delicately dinked finish

The Al Bayt Stadium has a capacity of 68,000 and is located in the north of Qatar at Al Khor, 35 km north of central Doha. The stadium design was inspired by the the traditional nomadic tent, the 'bayt al sha'ar' tents. The stadium will host 9 matches in total, 6 group stage matches (including the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador), a Round of 16 match, a Quarter Final match and the second Semi Final

This Round of 16 match is my third game here and hopefully will not be the last. Unfortunately our row J seats are close to the pitch and we have this annoying camera in front, very similar to when we played Slovenia in Euro 16 at St Etienne

The day before the game we left the cruise ship and moved in with the Bahrain lads. Kev had booked a massive 3 bedroom flat in central Doha at the Fereej Abdel Aziz Apartments near the Msheireb metro station

A huge place we shared with Kev, Sara, Shane and Harry

Prayer time in the city

Stocking up for some provisions

The fridge is looking healthy😏

Get the rave on!

You would be hard pushed to get a better location for the metro considering that all metro lines link through to Msheireb which is only a 5 minute walk from the digs

First stop is the DECC on the red line. As we alight we are greeted by the ginning image of Shaqiri, probably the most unpopular guy in  Serbia right now

Then off the Gate Mall in the West Bay area to pick up our copy of the Free Lions. Then we headed back to the apartment to meet the Bahrain lads before they headed off to the USA v Holland game at the Khalifa International stadium. Before they left, Kev asked me if I could arrange for a table at the Red Lion - literally the best gig in town . No probs!

Using an old email reservation I managed to jump the queue and blag my way in, much to the annoyance of the big queue which had assembled outside the Al Mansour Suites Hotel

That's just the way I roll baby 😎


Please don't take me home!


Three Lions - Baddiel and Skinner


I've got a feeling - BEPs


Making friends and influencing people


Argentina are playing Australia and nobody cares😁


The Pies are in town


Live entertainment with Amie Winehouse


Harry is in the Red Lion. A dream come true!



It is matchday, the Bahrain lads are off to the National Museum of Qatar but we opt to explore the Pearl Qatar


Today I am sporting England's Euro 20 away kit - considered by me as quite a lucky top💫



It is a manmade island sitting on 4 million square miles of re-claimed land. Known for its plush hotels, restaurants, cafes, shops and marina 


This is serious money


We arrive at the Manos Greek Fish Taverna on the St Regis Marsa Arabia Island 


Catch of the day, for me can only be the Sea Bass


Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine😂


Sue is in her element about to tuck into her Red Mullet


"It's totally Never never land"


Fed and watered, its time to catch up with the Bahrain lads


As usual the venue is the Belgian Cafe at the InterContinental Doha Beach and Spa Hotel in West Bay


Shane 'the special one', Kev and me 


Big Harry and Sara of Arabia


When you've got it, you've just got it


Brothers in Arms💪

 

On the way to the metro station at Al Qassar




вы говорите по-русски? Talking to the Kazaks in Russian


At last Kev bags himself a Mexican happy snap


The Al Bayt Stadium in all of its glory 


A welcoming sight 


England v Senegal street art


Following the herd 


🎵Ole, ole, ole, ole, stadium this way🎵


The Bahraini Barmy Army


Sue doing some gold digging


I don't care, I love it


Suzie getting loud💃


Sadly our Hungarian escort from hospitality at the last match is not working



Heading to the gate 


Then we got ambushed by this Senegalese witch doctor who was bewitching the England team with some voodoo magic. I had to sacrifice Sue to lift the curse


Flags ready to roll


Lights dimmed


Flags out

Selfie taken


Anthems


Let's do this


The Senegalese dance troop did not stop singing, dancing and banging that bloody drum 😠


There couldn't have been more than 70 of them but they didn't half make a din


Celebrations after Jordan Henderson bags England's first goal on 37 minutes


1-0 to the Ingerland


Saka is substituted on 65 minutes for Marcus Rashford after scoring England's third and final goal on 57mins


The match attendance is a whopping 65985, but still slightly down on our two previous matches here (England v USA and Germany v Costa Rica).


The match ends 3:0 to England and the Three Lions march on to a showdown with the World Champions in this stadium in a meagre 6 days time 


On top of the world




























































 
















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