So this will be a shorter entry than the others, so please don’t expect too much from us. (Or so we thought).

Today is the third place game, Morocco – Croatia! Hopefully it is another good atmosphere with a packed stadium in favour of Morocco. Let’s see! 

The reason this is shorter is because today is our first game that begins at 6 pm our time. This means that the area around the stadium opens at 2 pm, and the stadium itself at 3 pm. So with that, we headed out of our Caravan City and went downtown. We didn’t do much, just walking around seeing the usual sights before hopping back onto the metro and heading to the stadium. You will likely recognize it from yesterday. Khalifa International Stadium, we’re here again! At least this time we will make it through security. 

Since we arrived so early we were able to enjoy what is called the Cultural Mile, where different groups from around the world perform traditional performances (dance, songs, etc.) for our entertainment. We saw Syrian Aradha, Colombian singing, and Kenyan dancing, among many other things, like this samba band. They look like the same band we saw the other day at another stadium. 

And, maybe they do this all the time, maybe it was special for today, a Moroccan folk band. 

Then we crossed security to enjoy the atmosphere inside the stadium grounds. Of course this meant taking the requisite pictures with the stadium again, this time from closer. 

But there was also A LOT going on. The usual photo ops with La’eeb and the cup, but also these shiny characters. 

The funniest thing was the “Hype Tent” with La’eeb. A bunch of people went inside the booth to get “hyped up” by La’eeb… and La’eeb was extremely energetic. However… no one in the crowd was. La’eeb tried to get us to scream, and yell, and cheer.. but not a single person did. But La’eeb was programmed to react as if we had all screamed a lot, haha. So, it was a funny experience seeing the programmed La’eeb not react to what the crowd was actually doing. 

Then we decided to enter the stadium. Definitely a little early. For sure. But my partner got us tickets up that tower…

So we had to get going. At least the views from the top weren’t too bad! And we got to see the museum we came for yesterday from the outside and above!

Then it was into our seats and ready for the game. Since we were so early we talked to another fan that was sitting close to us. And he had quite the story. He quit his job in China to come to the World Cup. What did that let him do? Today was his 35th game of the World Cup. 35th!!! We were happy at it being our third! He explained how he had become a vlogger while at the World Cup through Chuck’s Vlog. Quite an interesting fellow, and lucky as well. 

Since we were so early we were able to watch the entire warm up with all of the players, and then it was time for the main event!

Again, the atmosphere was amazing for the Moroccan team. 99% of the stadium was for Morocco. But, as you may know, Croatia won. We saw the ceremony and the celebration, and then it was time to leave the stadium. Our last World Cup experience! Waiting so long for these moments, and it seems like it was over in a heartbeat. 

As we were leaving the building with 2022 had changed to display the result of the game. A nice little touch. 

And even from up here you can see that the “metro!” is “this way!” Hehe. 

And those aren’t the only things that have changed since entering the stadium. The stadium itself looks pretty different at night. You can see it in the background as we enjoy the concert area. 

And with that, we were done and headed to the metro along with everyone else. So different to be done at a reasonable hour of the day. Although it was already dark, we don’t plan on getting home after 2 am this time. 

We went straight from the stadium to Souq Waqif to see if anything was going on, and of course there were lots and lots of people. We visited the Souq Waqif Art Centre, which was beautiful in itself, but also had World Cup themed art, of course. 

And then saw this interesting side of the Souq that we had not seen before. It appears as though the women just show up at night and congregate in this area to make something that looks like a crêpe. We’re not sure what it is called, but you can put a million different toppings on it. And there were A LOT of people lining up to get them. We weren’t sure what they were made of, so we didn’t get one just in case. The troubles of having a weak stomach..

Then we decided that it was late enough to head home. We exited the Souq through the south, walking by another Souq Waqif Mosque and the Al Koot Fort again. 

But this time instead of walking along the main street to Msheireb Station, we walked along a pedestrian area towards the same metro station. Luckily we did! We walked by the Conmebol booth. They are the South American organizers of football, you can think of it as the regional FIFA. And what a booth. Unfortunately for us it was closed, but here are loads of pictures from the outside. If only it had been open!

We saw the current greats, the past legends, and the King, Queen, and the Golden Boy of football. Cool fact, we’ve actually seen Marta play at a World Cup before! 

And then a message of hope for Argentina!

As you can tell, we were very excited. And sad that it was closed. Tomorrow we will try again in the morning before the final. Hopefully! 

Then we continued walking and saw a few more sights before entering the metro station. An installation celebrating the flamingos that flocks to Qatar every year, and another Al Jazeera exhibit, but this time for their digital platform, AJ+. 

And then we saw this PSG billboard (they are owned by the Qatar Sports Investments) and the final thing we saw was this sign for the World Cup. 

And then it was onto the metro and home where we finally ate our supper that we had bought way back in Souq Waqif. Seems forever ago now! Good night from Doha!