The FIFA World Cup 2022 edition is set to get underway on November 20 in Qatar. Ahead of the World Cup, a lot of updates from Qatar have made the headlines. On Thursday (November 17), a new development has come forward that Lionel Messi and his Argentina team mates have said no to five-star luxury and will lodge at student halls at the Qatar University, Doha. They have done so to enjoy the traditional beef barbecues during the showpiece event in the Middle East.
While players from other teams checked-in in city's expensive hotels, Messi and his teammates have headed straight to the student halls of the Qatar University, as per a report in Daily Mail. It is to be noted that the decision was taken after the Argentine football officials came to a conclusion that living in student halls will enable them to organise mouth-watering asados, traditional barbecues, etc. In addition, a special asado chef will be available for the players to ensure that beef and other preferred meals are cooked as it would be in Argentina.
'We want to make them feel at home while they are in Qatar'
In this regard, a source from the Argentina Football Association told Mail Online, "We visited the campus several times and chose it because not only does it have great facilities but it also has open air space for asados. This is very important to the players and Argentines in general, it’s part of our culture. We want to make them feel at home while they are in Qatar and the best way to do this is to make sure that they get a taste of home while focusing on the football."
He added: "You could say other teams have opted to stay in more luxurious accommodation but our team is the best in the world which also deserves the best beef. Our focus is to win the World Cup, not the quality of the hotel we are staying in."
Argentina will begin their campaign in the forthcoming Qatar World Cup versus Saudi Arabia on November 22 (Tuesday). They are placed in Group C along with Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland.
Emiliano Martinez, Franco Armani, Nahuel Molina, Gonzalo Montiel, German Pezzella, Nicolas Otamendi, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Tagliafico, Marcos Acuna, Juan Foyth, Guido Rodriguez, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez, Alejandro Gomez, Leandro Paredes, Lionel Messi (c), Nicolas Gonzalez, Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala, Julian Alvarez, Joaquin Correa, Angel Di Maria