No, I was in the transit visa category of the program, and it still wanted the name of a sponsor. Maybe if we are already in Dubai it's a simple thing, probably so to just get one at the consulate, or the bus company will take care of it. But my friend now says he doesn't want to go into Saudi, so that's that.
As posted in the CONCACAF forum El Salvador will not be allowed to have fans in their stadium during the final stage of Qualifying due to COVID restrictions. There are rumors that they may play in the USA instead.
Let me specify after 90 days they may lift some restrictions but knowing how things are in Latin America I think it is safe to say they should just play all their home matches in the USA.
Qatar actually looked impressive last night against Panama like I'm shocked because I was expecting them to lay an egg but they definitely didn't. I'm even amazed. They managed to draw with Panama who was at the last World Cup in Russia and Qatar are trying to get tournament experience winning the 2019 Asian Cup, played at Copa America 2019 and now here at the 2021 Gold Cup. They look good.
Qatar are Asian Champions and got through their WC/Asian Cup qualifying group only dropping one point. I'm not sure why you expected them to "lay an egg" in a CONCACAF Gold Cup. The qualifying group was admittedly a lower standard but the Asian Cup isn't a weaker tournament than the Gold Cup.
They also held their own in the '19 Copa America as well. Add in a favorable Group and some refereeing home cooking and They have a chance to make a decent run in the World Cup.
They have been working on their football the right way since 15 years. They humilated japan in Asia Final. I was at this game. They were impressive. Stability in the management, amazing football pitches,..all you need to progress
Actually, Saudi Arabia relaxed their visa requirements a year before the pandemic hit. They are starting to promote international tourism. It seems they have an e-visa now for many nationalities, but I think that you can only enter the country at certain locations, mostly the international airports. Now that they have normalized relations with Qatar, maybe they will open that land border to tourists. I am not sure about crossing the U.A.E./Saudi Arabia land border. It would make sense for them to open those land borders before the World Cup if they really are serious about international tourism.
Does anyone have any ideas on good stopover flight destinations to/from Qatar (coming from the USA)? The flight options seem to be pretty limited now due to the lingering pandemic travel issues. I am thinking that pre-pandemic information/knowledge might be most useful in predicting the flight routing options available in late 2022. My guess is Europe (if flying east), but not ideal there since it will be late fall/winter, or maybe somewhere in the Asia/Indian Ocean region (if flying west)?
Doesn't make sense to fly west. Way further / longer unless your starting point is Guam. Also, not sure I understand your question. There are several direct flights from USA to Doha. But maybe you want a stopover (?) and follow some of the World Cup from another country. If that's the case, it still makes way more sense to fly east since the kick-off times will be at pretty awkward times in east Asia. I would recommend Madrid or Istanbul. Lots of direct flights from US to both of those cities, as well as direct flights from those 2 cities to Qatar. Nice weather also.
indoor stadiums sound very strange to me, too. Why is their plan to come up with them instead of normal stadiums? I really don't understand this.
It's not difficult to understand. We'd be able to have WC 2022 in June-July if Qatar fulfilled their promise to have them. But they should be used as a last resort - in places where the weather is really bad for playing 90 minutes of high-level football during the summer (or winter if we are thinking about New Zealand).
But even if they have to close the roofs for some reason it is not like it is the first time teams have had to play indoors.
Thanks. Yes, I am looking for a stopover to make it more of a complete vacation since there is not much to do in Qatar. Good ideas on stopovers, but I am looking for something more exotic since I have already been to Madrid and Istanbul. Just to clarify, coming from the West Coast of the USA, it is nearly the same distance flying east or west to Qatar. But maybe prevailing headwinds make the flight times longer when flying west?
I've attended matches in roofed stadiums before (USA v Argentina in NRG in Houston). Like I've said before, it's sort of strange when you first walk in, but once the match started I didn't even notice it. On Sunday I'll be at the USA v Mexico/Canada Gold Cup Final match in the brand new roofed Death Star (Allegiant Stadium) in Las Vegas. So I'll get another chance to evaluate what it's like. One thing I do know, if it ends up being USA v Mexico it's going to be LOUD inside.
Indoor stadiums - or stadiums with roofs - used in World Cups. 1994 - Detroit, Silverdome 2002 - Sapporo, Sapporo Dome 2006 - Gelsenkirchen, Arena aufSchalke 2006 - Frankfurt - Waldstadion (Commerzbank Arena) - Can't recall if the retractable roof was closed during any matches.
You are correct, sir. It was also closed for South Korea v Togo. It was open for the other three matches they hosted... England v Paraguay Netherlands v Argentina Brazil v France
I was at the Gold Cup Final in the indoor Allegient Stadium yesterday and promised my impressions. First I thought the stadium was incredible. It's so huge and the roof is so high I never gave it a second thought. It was way over 100F (about 40C) and blazing hot under the Las Vegas sun. It was perfect inside. The sheer massiveness of the stadium interior makes it not even feel like you're indoors. It's just my opinion and I suppose others who went may have felt differently but once the match started it's unnoticeable except for the fact you're in room temperature comfort. Also my opinion is that it's almost tragic that the Death Star, or more accurately the city of Las Vegas, is not on the list of venues for WC26.