In cafés at night, Iraqis were glued to their television screens. Their istikanat of cardamom tea cold, forgotten beneath the undulating smoke of the night’s thousandth cigarette.In living rooms, mothers’ hands were raised in prayer. In Mosul, Basra and the faraway corners of exile, Iraqis’ hearts raced to Moroccans’ chants as Walid Regragui’s Atlas Lions forayed into hitherto uncharted World Cup territories and conquered them in style.Spain, Portugal and Belgium were undone by Morocco, and France by Tunisia. The “scrappy” Saudis, as The New York Times’ lexicon defines them, scored one of the tournament’s finest goals against a bewildered Argentina, now crowned world champion over France.
Load More
Load More