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KARACHI: The 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup may well have different features this time: 48 teams competing against each other instead of 32, and the event held for the first time jointly by three countries — Canada, Mexico and the United States played across 16 various cities — the enthusiasm among football fans in Lyari’s Ali Mohammad Mohalla is as lively as ever without an ounce of change in football frenzy.
If you are a lonely fan of any other country not Brazil, a slogan in support of your favourite country will invite countless Brazilian fans surrounding you, asking questions while drawing comparisons from friendly internationals or qualifying round matches when low-ranking teams heralded defeats on your favourite team. And if you are lucky enough to be joined by another supportive fan of your team, the argument turns rather interesting.
A similar troubling situation emerges when 16-year-old France fan Ghulam Rasool finds himself in until his colleague Naveed reaches and raises slogans ‘France will win’ to support him when he is silently surrendering to questions and counter-question by Brazilian fans.
“The French squad is inimitably strong this team. I don’t claim this. Fabulous strikers such as Mbappe and his many fit comrades are enough to tell us about the team’s strong position in the tournament,” Rasool, mustering up courage after Naveed joined him, replied to one of the Brazilian fans.
