All day long, from the Doha Corniche to the city of Al Khor where the match was played, 50 kilometers further north, tens of thousands of supporters, Qataris and Ecuadorians but also Mexicans wearing their traditional sombreros , or Argentinians, enlivened the host country with their colors and songs.

Although, by scoring two goals in quick succession, Enner Valencia significantly lowered the volume in the stadium.

Around the enclosure which hosts the first match of the competition, located in the middle of the desert and whose architecture evokes a Bedouin tent, thousands of supporters strolled in family, jerseys in the colors of Qatar, Ecuador, England, Wales or Croatia on the back.

The routing of the supporters, by metro then by bus, in this stadium, the most remote of the eight planned enclosures, worked well, in a fluid way, with a large number of shuttles.

Even if the security forces have sometimes seemed tense, no doubt aware that this is one of the crucial issues of the organization in this tiny country of three million inhabitants.

"We are advancing, we are advancing, we are not stopping," a police officer urged a group of Ecuadorians.

"Empty infrastructure"

"It's the first World Cup in the Middle East, it's historic, and Ecuador is here for the opening match," said Carlos Alvear, an Ecuadorian living in California.

"I arrived on Saturday morning and honestly it's a bit weird. It's a bit quiet, although there are more Ecuadorians than I thought. But there's all this infrastructure that looks like empty."

In front of the stadium, armed men on camels and horses form a guard of honor and spectators enter the enclosure in small groups, many men and women wearing traditional outfits, most with a Qatari flag by hand.

Souhail Saidi, a Tunisian, also came especially for the World Cup.

He admits to being "impressed" and believes that the competition is "very well organized".

"But for the athlete, I think it will be completely different, there is no sportsmanship," he tempers.

Ecuadorian supporters at the Al Khor stadium, November 20, 2022 MANAN VATSYAYANA AFP

The daily life of the small and wealthy Gulf emirate was turned upside down by the arrival of the supporters.

And suddenly the authorities did an about-face and banned the sale of alcohol near stadiums.

A blow for Leopold Fes, a 65-year-old Belgian: "I don't think it will be like the other World Cups. No alcohol, it's special. Football and alcohol go hand in hand for many people", he regretted.

At the Msheireb station, the meeting point of the three lines of the local metro, many volunteers in blue jackets and equipped with megaphones are busy directing the few tourists who are a little lost, in particular a dozen Germans, wearing Mannschaft jerseys on the back and Hayya card, entry permit to Qatar during the World Cup, on the neck.

300 air-conditioned buses

For these tourists, the journey is made by public transport, with shuttles set up between the Lusail metro station and the stadium, more than half an hour away.

In the air-conditioned mini-buses, the atmosphere remained calm, with a few rare "Olé olé olé, Ecuador!".

To enter the stadium on Sunday, no notable difficulty noted by AFP journalists, with only a few traffic jams and limited signage defects.

The stadium was three-quarters full for the opening ceremony, unlike the Champions League final fiasco at the Stade de France in Paris when Liverpool supporters remained at the door.

And at the start of the match, everyone was in their place.

Qatar supporter in Doha on November 20, 2022 Philip FONG AFP

According to a logistics officer on site, more than 300 buses shuttled between the metro station and the stadium.

In the center of Doha, the security forces however closed the entrance to the fan zone during the match after a slight stampede which did not cause any injuries, according to witnesses.

Monday, with three matches on the program in Doha, will be an even tougher test for the organization of public transport in Doha.

© 2022 AFP