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Scenes and Soul From Saudi Arabia After a World-Famous World Cup Upset

The Saudis’ upset of Argentina in neighboring Qatar sent shockwaves globally, and locally it birthed a national holiday spent, in one town, embracing even more soccer and dreaming big.

This story was originally published on Nov. 23, 2022. It was included in a year-end list of SI’s best stories of 2022.

AL HOFUF, Saudi Arabia – Inside what natives refer to as The Kingdom, two hours by taxi from the eastern border of Qatar, there’s a place not far from the World Cup that can also seem like it’s located a world away. Visitors will find a city of 150,000; an agricultural center that claims status as the date capital of the globe; and ancient souks, or bazaars, that peddle everything from spices to gold to handwoven textiles.