| Host nation: Qatar Dates: 20 November-18 December Coverage: Live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app. Day-by-day TV listings – Full coverage details |
An Argentine pop song has become the unofficial World Cup anthem for Lionel Messi and company.
“Muchachos, ahora nos volvimo’ a ilusionar” – a song by Argentine nine-piece band, La Moscas – has been ringing out in stadiums across Qatar during the tournament and it’s caught fire in the dressing room too.
The band’s signature sound is a heady mix of ska, rock and pop and the title of their hit roughly translates as “Boys, We Have Our Hopes Up Again”.
It has become a rallying cry for the two-time World Cup-winning nation and their 40,000-strong following in Qatar.
According to AFP news agency, Argentina’s embassy in Doha reported that between 35,000 and 40,000 Argentines have travelled to Qatar in the hope of seeing their team lift the World Cup for the first time in 36 years, in what may also be 35-year-old Messi’s last tournament.
Along with South American rivals Brazil and fellow semi-finalists Morocco, Argentina’s fans have helped to create a carnival atmosphere throughout the tournament.
The anthem that has become their rallying cry is actually a re-work of a 2003 song that was originally titled “Muchachos, Esta Noche Me Emborracho” (“Boys, Tonight I’ll Get Drunk”). That version was all about heartbreak. Not so rousing.
However, the band’s lead singer, Guillermo Novellis has explained that a fan called Fernando Romero wrote new lyrics celebrating Argentina’s road to the final of the 2021 Copa America. Novellis and his band then recorded that version and released it before the World Cup.
The opening line in the new edition explicitly references Argentina’s two biggest footballing icons: “I was born in Argentina, land of Diego and Lionel, of the kids from the Falkland Islands, whom I’ll never forget.”
It’s no wonder then that Messi and his team-mates are fans. Messi himself claimed earlier this year on Argentine television this was his favourite football chant.
Following Argentina’s victory over Mexico in Group C, the squad were captured dancing around the dressing room, chanting La Moscas’ anthem at the top of their lungs.
When Argentina subsequently progressed past Australia in the last 16, La Moscas posted a video to their own Instagram account, showing fans at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium blaring out their song.
And these were the scenes in the Argentina dressing room after that fixture.
It’s a bona fide hit.
Argentina face Croatia on Tuesday for a semi-final tie at the Lusail Iconic Stadium. They haven’t won a World Cup since Maradona inspired his nation to victory in 1986.
If they do manage to go all the way this time, we already know what the soundtrack will be.
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