Monday 15th November 2021
Because Messi meets Neymar
Queuing four kilometers for a football ticket
While Brazil has already qualified for the World Cup, Argentina is still fighting for a ticket to Qatar. Now it comes to the meeting of the two teams. Because of this, many people in South America go crazy – ticket sales for the game have to be managed at great expense.
Argentina’s oasis province of San Juan is completely upside down because of the Clasicos against Brazil. Overcrowded hotels, fully booked flights to the western border with Chile and, above all, a four-kilometer, multi-lane line of cars on a dusty road in front of the barrier for ticket issuance testified to the heated climate on Sunday two days before the Eliminatorias duel between friends Lionel Messi and Neymar.
Due to the rush of fans who have been waiting in their cars and tents for the most part since Saturday, the opening of the ticket booths originally planned for Monday morning has even been moved forward. When the last cordon was lifted around 8 p.m. on Sunday evening, a wild rush of thousands began, many with folding chairs under their arms for the waiting time, for the almost 25,000 tickets.
It is the top duel of the reigning South American champions Argentina against the only nation on the continent of Brazil that has qualified for the 2022 World Cup, which was canceled after five minutes in São Paulo at the beginning of September for violations by Argentinian professionals against coronavirus restrictions. With a current twelve-point lead over the tied teams in positions four to six, Argentina could now purchase one of the four direct tickets to Qatar with a maximum of twelve points to be awarded with a win against their arch-rivals.
And it’s about series. Brazil is still unbeaten in the current Eliminatorias, under national coach Tite even for 24 World Cup qualifiers in a row. Argentina, on the other hand, has not been defeated for 26 appearances, broke rows of successes of their arch rivals with the 1-0 final victory at the Sugar Loaf. He had always won a South American championship at home before, never lost with Neymar in the Maracanã and with Tite on home soil.
Behind Brazil (34 points) and Argentina (28), third-placed Ecuador (20) and fourth-placed Chile (16) want in a direct duel, Colombia (16) at home against the stumbling Paraguay (12) and Uruguay (16) in the amount of Bolivia (12) improve their starting position tomorrow, Tuesday. And Peru (14) could have a say again about the World Cup tickets with a victory in the bottom group Venezuela (7).