\n <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a tiny restaurant in the Little Morocco neighborhood of Queens. But throughout this World Cup, it has swelled with pride, song and beating drums as the Moroccan national team has pushed its way deep into soccer\u2019s biggest international tournament. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a scene that has been echoed across the United States \u2014 in a multitude of languages and colors, as soccer fans from all over the world, many now making their homes in America, have packed bars, restaurants, living rooms and concert venues. <\/p>\n
No matter where they came from or where they gathered, they all sought the same experience: a chance to watch their nations compete while surrounded by others who share passion and pride for the country they or their ancestors once called home. <\/p>\n
Together, these fans have brought places throughout the United States to life.<\/p>\n
Bosnia<\/span> vs<\/span> Qatar<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Visuals by<\/span> David Robert Elliott<\/span> <\/p>\n Thousands of Bosnians settled in the St. Louis area during the 1990s, as war and genocide ripped their communities apart. The city is now home to more than 60,000 Bosnians, scores of whom gathered at Bevo Caffe Lounge on June 24 to watch Bosnia and Herzegovina play.<\/p>\n This is only the second time the team has qualified for the World Cup \u2014 and the first time it has reached the knockout round. Its reward: Meeting one of the hosts, the United States, on Wednesday in Santa Clara, Calif. <\/p>\n Haiti<\/span> vs<\/span> Brazil<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n More than 100,000 residents of Miami-Dade County, Fla., are of Haitian descent, and the Little Haiti neighborhood of Miami has long been their central hub. <\/p>\n During the World Cup, fans of Haiti\u2019s team have flocked to the neighborhood, packing restaurants, bars and even parking lots to watch the action. Many have come wearing jerseys, while others simply dressed in the red and blue of the Haitian flag.<\/p>\n Haiti ended up in a tough group, losing all of its matches, including a 3-0 defeat to Brazil on June 19. But for some fans, the fact that the team had qualified at all was its one victory. Before this year, Haiti had played in only one other World Cup, in 1974.<\/p>\n Morocco<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Todd Heisler\/The New York Times<\/span><\/p>\n Touria Lamtahaf worked as a chef four years ago at a restaurant in Astoria, Queens, in the heart of an enclave on Steinway Avenue known as Little Morocco. <\/p>\n After the Moroccan team upset Portugal in a World Cup quarterfinal, Ms. Lamtahaf remembers hundreds of Morocco fans surging onto Steinway Avenue, setting off flares and red smoke bombs to celebrate.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a good memory for all of us,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were very proud. You just needed something to be happy. After Covid, this was amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n The neighborhood has long been a hub for immigrant communities from North African countries, including Egypt, and is also home to a large Greek community. <\/p>\n Many settled in Astoria decades ago, drawn by low rents and a neighborhood that could feel calm compared with other bustling parts of New York. Ms. Lamtahaf, who moved to the United States in 2007, said that she originally lived in Ridgewood neighborhood of Queens, but word of mouth led her to Astoria, where she now runs her own restaurant.<\/p>\n The restaurant, Dar Lbahja, is just a few blocks from where she used to work. Ms. Lamtahaf said that when she opened it just over a year ago, she wanted to create a space where people could not just eat, but also gather to watch soccer, like she did growing up with her father in Morocco.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was only one TV, and we had to watch with him,\u201d Ms. Lamtahaf said. \u201cSo we grew up with the soccer.\u201d<\/p>\n During this tournament, Morocco fans have packed into Dar Lbahja on game days, with many in Morocco\u2019s red jersey, and others in the team\u2019s white kit. They were rewarded with a berth in the knockout stages, and then again on Monday when their team won a tense matchup with the Netherlands in a penalty shootout. <\/p>\n Fans took to the streets in jubilant celebration, just as they did in 2022.<\/p>\n Kacem Ettahali, 19, of Houston, is spending the summer in New York for an internship and watched the first Morocco game of the tournament on June 13 at the restaurant. <\/p>\n After the team scored, Mr. Ettahali received a flurry of texts from his friends. \u201cWhen they think of Morocco, they think of me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He wasn\u2019t the only Texan in the joint. Jori and Ahmed Lamghari traveled from the Dallas area because Ms. Lamghari, 43, wanted her husband to experience the city during the tournament. \u201cI wanted him to get the New York World Cup vibe,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Mr. Lamghari, 33, said that \u201cMoroccans make their own ambience,\u201d adding, \u201cWe want to live it.\u201d<\/p>\n France<\/span> vs<\/span> Norway<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The French love a good outdoor drinking venue. For the country\u2019s June 26 match against the rowing Norwegians, fans gathered on the outdoor patio of Soccer House in Chicago, a city whose deep French roots stretch back to the colonial days. <\/p>\n France is widely considered a tournament favorite, potentially giving its fans several more opportunities to celebrate. <\/p>\n Argentina<\/span> vs<\/span> Austria<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sporting the colors is intergenerational in Provo, Utah. Luis and Lidia Peve moved there 25 years ago, following a son who emigrated first, and decorated their home with small Argentina flags ahead of the team\u2019s match against Austria on June 22.<\/p>\n As game time approached, about a dozen members of the family painted their faces with the sky blue and white of Argentina\u2019s flag. Together, they sat around the TV with their eyes trained particularly on Lionel Messi, the team\u2019s star, who is likely playing in his last World Cup. <\/p>\n He finished the game with three goals \u2014 a hat trick \u2014 and a new generation of fans in the Peve household.<\/p>\n D.R. Congo<\/span> vs<\/span> Colombia<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Visuals by<\/span> Salwan Georges<\/span> <\/p>\n Congolese fans in Silver Spring, Md., belted out their national anthem in a veterans hall, hands over their hearts, ahead of the country\u2019s match against Colombia on June 23. <\/p>\n Refugee aid programs have resettled many Congolese families in the suburbs north of the nation\u2019s capital, as their nation has been rived by war, unrest and now an Ebola outbreak. <\/p>\n The Congolese side lost its match to Colombia on that day. But the team managed to advance out of the group stage for the first time in its history. Before this World Cup, the country had been to the tournament only once, in 1974, when it lost all of its matches.<\/p>\n Portugal<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n Visuals by<\/span> Adrienne Grunwald<\/span> <\/p>\n The go-to drink special last weekend in East Providence, R.I., was a vodka cocktail called the CR7. And you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find a resident of the region who didn\u2019t know it was in honor of Cristiano Ronaldo, the 41-year-old Portuguese striker who is playing in his sixth \u2014 and likely last \u2014 World Cup, wearing his famous No. 7.<\/p>\n The drink was served at the Portuguese restaurant O Dinis, a neighborhood staple. A large number of Portuguese immigrants settled in this corner of Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts during the Industrial Revolution, finding work in the textile, whaling and manufacturing industries.<\/p>\n \u201cLife is beautiful in Portugal,\u201d said Natalia Paiva-Neves, who moved to the United States when she was 16 and now runs O Dinis, which was founded by her father. \u201cBut at the time, there was a lot of poverty, because there were no jobs, and there was no tourism. There was none of that stuff going on, so you had to find a means to provide for your family.\u201d<\/p>\n After pre-gaming over CR7s, along with beer, wine, meats and shrimp, some fans walked from O Dinis to a watch party that stretched for two blocks, from a screen in the parking lot of nearby Cafe Alma to Campino\u2019s, another Portuguese restaurant.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just a great feeling,\u201d said Kevin Matos, the cafe\u2019s owner. \u201cEverybody\u2019s enjoying themselves. It doesn\u2019t matter the result on the screen.\u201d<\/p>\n Some fans might not have agreed, though a scoreless draw sent both teams through to the knockout stage. <\/p>\n The block party, with hundreds of fans lining the streets, was in part the brainchild of East Providence\u2019s mayor, Roberto DaSilva. \u201cWe had no idea that it\u2019d be this many people showing up,\u201d he said. \u201cWe thought we got a good crowd, but this is much more than than I ever expected.\u201d<\/p>\n Some had to stand on their tiptoes see the screens. Others packed into shops to sit down and watch the game, while others pulled out their phones as they stood in line to buy beer and snacks from food trucks and vendors.<\/p>\n Mexico<\/span> vs<\/span> South Korea<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Visuals by<\/span> Gabriel V. C\u00e1rdenas<\/span> <\/p>\n Roughly four out of five residents in the Texas border town of Weslaco are of Mexican descent, making the country\u2019s June 18 match in Guadalajara feel like a home game. <\/p>\n For a youth soccer team, it was a chance to watch their heroes take another step toward the knockout rounds. <\/p>\n Under the night sky, they watched anxiously, breaking into dance after Mexico won.<\/p>\n Uruguay<\/span> vs<\/span> Spain<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Visuals by<\/span> Scott McIntyre<\/span> <\/p>\n Uruguay needed this one. The nation that hosted the first World Cup in 1930, winning the tournament that year and again in 1950, was on the brink of elimination last week against Spain \u2014 considered one of the strongest teams in the tournament.<\/p>\n Fans at Do\u00f1a Paulina, a Uruguayan restaurant in Miami, anxiously watched their team fight for a chance to stay in the competition. <\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t to be. Spain emerged victorious, 1-0.<\/p>\n Japan<\/span> vs<\/span> Tunisia<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Their team is called the Samurai Blue, and the many Japanese fans living in Southern California \u2014 a diaspora that first settled there in the late 19th century as farmers and fishermen, and endured harsh incarceration during World War II \u2014 made their blue kits prominent as the team played its way through a so-called group of death. <\/p>\n They eventually earned a second-place finish to reach the round of 32. The result was a Monday matchup with Brazil, in which Japan fell 2-1. <\/p>\n Iran<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n For Americans from Iran, supporting the Iranian national team has been a thorny issue. <\/p>\n Some have refused to even watch the matches. To them, the team feels like an extension of the government, whose persecution drove many to flee the country. It\u2019s especially difficult as their new home, the United States, and their old home are at war. <\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a little conflict for me,\u201d said Roozbeh Farahanipour, who helped lead an Iranian student uprising in 1999 and fled the country the following year, seeking political asylum in America. \u201cI am a little different from other fans, because no way I can cheer or stand for either Islamic Republic of Iran\u2019s national anthem, nor for the flags.\u201d<\/p>\n He added, \u201cI am American now. My flag is the U.S. flag.\u201d<\/p>\n Others of Iranian descent have eagerly backed the national team and bristled at its travails, especially in Southern California, which was host to the team\u2019s first match and is home to the largest diaspora of Iranians outside Iran. Many live, shop and eat in the Westwood area of Los Angeles, where an enclave has become known as Tehrangeles, after the Iranian capital.<\/p>\n Still, compared with those of other diasporas, gatherings to back the Iranian team have seemed smaller and more muted. Only a handful of fans gathered at Attari Sandwich Shop, a Persian eatery in the heart of Tehrangeles, during Iran\u2019s June 21 match against Belgium at SoFi Stadium in nearby Inglewood, Calif. <\/p>\n Inside the restaurant, some fans anxiously watched the game over kebab plates and pastries. Others outside proudly waved their flags on the neighborhood thoroughfare, Westwood Boulevard.<\/p>\n Bijan Bahmani, who lives in Los Angeles, took his 2-year-old son to Iran\u2019s match against New Zealand on June 15 in Inglewood with his father-in-law. While he opposes the Iranian regime and hopes for democracy one day, Mr. Bahmani said he still wanted to cheer to the national team.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s complicated, because we have feelings a lot of different ways, with the complicated politics,\u201d said Mr. Bahmani, 41, who moved to the United States in 2001. \u201cI am definitely rooting for Iran because they represent Iran, not the government.\u201d<\/p>\n Even as he took in the game with this family, Mr. Bahmani said the war was on his mind.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope this peace lasts,\u201d he said, referring to the current fragile cease-fire. \u201cEvery day, we\u2019re worried.\u201d<\/p>\n Cape Verde<\/span> vs<\/span> Saudi Arabia<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Every tournament has a surprise underdog. This year, it\u2019s Cape Verde, a small island nation off the western coast of Africa. Its team had an opportunity on Friday to become the smallest country by population ever to advance to a World Cup knockout round. <\/p>\n The pivotal match drew people of Cape Verdean descent to a veterans hall in New Bedford, Mass., about an hour drive south of Boston. Like Portugal and Brazil, whaling and related industries brought a sizable population of immigrants from Cape Verde to southeastern New England. <\/p>\n A scoreless tie with Saudi Arabia was all it took for tears and roars to erupt in the veterans hall. Their team would keep playing, for at least one more game. <\/p>\n Brazil<\/span> vs<\/span> Haiti<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Massachusetts has a long history of Portuguese-speaking settlers, making Brazilians feel welcome in the Boston area. That\u2019s especially the case in the southwest suburb of Framingham, Mass., where the Brazilian-born population rivals that of Boston. <\/p>\n They packed into Tropical Cafe, a Brazilian restaurant in Framingham, gathering around hightop tables as their team played Haiti on June 19. After Brazil secured a 3-0 win, fans made the restaurant an impromptu dance club to celebrate.<\/p>\n Germany<\/span> vs<\/span> Cura\u00e7ao<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Bratwurst and steins of beer accompanied the match at Bavarian Grill in Plano, Texas, a Dallas suburb, as Germany played Cura\u00e7ao in Houston on June 14. But perhaps the city\u2019s most important fan of the German team was not there.<\/p>\n J\u00fcrgen Mahneke, who was born in Braunschweig, Germany, immigrated to the United States in 1984, and worked in hotels across the country before settling in Plano. <\/p>\n He opened the restaurant in 1993, and died at age 67 on June 10, a day before the World Cup began. <\/p>\n His restaurant went on with the planned festivities. One of the managers said Mr. Mahneke would have wanted them to. His team won its opener, 7-1, but went home on Monday, falling to Paraguay in a heartbreaking penalty shootout \u2014 the opposite of Morocco\u2019s elating win hours later. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s a tiny restaurant in the Little Morocco neighborhood of Queens. But throughout this World Cup, it has swelled with pride, song and beating drums as the Moroccan national team has pushed its way deep into soccer\u2019s biggest international tournament. It\u2019s a scene that has been echoed across the United States \u2014 in a multitude<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[130,456,1561,1905,3677,550],"class_list":{"0":"post-50801","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-crime-justice","8":"tag-cup","9":"tag-home","10":"tag-states","11":"tag-team","12":"tag-united","13":"tag-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/50802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Bosnians Rejoice in St. Louis, Mo.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
In Miami, Little Haiti Comes to Life<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Moroccan Joy in Queens, N.Y.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
In Chicago, Hope for Another French Title<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
In Provo, Utah, Messi Mania Is a Family Affair<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
In Silver Spring, Md., a Happy Return to the World Cup<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
A Block Party of Red and Green in Rhode Island<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
A Backyard Party in a Texas Border Town<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Elimination Brings Anguish to Uruguay Fans in Miami<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
In San Diego, Fans Cheer the Samurai Blue<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
In Los Angeles, Mixed Feelings About the Iranian Team<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Celebrating the Small but Mighty in New Bedford, Mass.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
A Brazilian Dance Party Near Boston<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
In Texas, German Fans Root, and Eat, to Honor a Neighbor<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n