Lionel Messi
Watch: Soccer Fans Around The World Cheer As World Cup Kicks Off In Qatar Photo by Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images

A group of Argentina and Mexico fans clashed against each other after Mexico fans chanted "f*** Messi" at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar on Wednesday, Nov. 23 night.

Mexico and Argentina fans came to blows against each other at the Al Bidda Park in Doha on Wednesday, Nov. 23 night, ahead of their much-anticipated match in the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022. Al Bidda Park in Doha, one of FIFA's fan zones in the Qatar capital, is designed to encourage different teams to come together to mingle at the World Cup, the Mirror reported.

Video footage of the brief fight between the rival sets of fans has gone viral on social media platforms. In the viral video footage, Mexico fans can be heard chanting "f**k Messi" while fighting with a group of Argentina fans. Several individuals were reported to have suffered minor injuries in the fight.

Argentina and Mexico will face each other at the World Cup on Saturday, Nov. 26 night. The ugly fan fight scenes in Doha came just ahead of Argentina's match with Mexico and just days after Argentina suffered a shocking 2-1 defeat against Saudi Arabia in their opening match at the World Cup.

Meanwhile, Mexico faced Poland in their opening encounter which ended in a goalless draw. Saturday night's clash between Argentina and Mexico is a crucial match for both sides. A defeat in the match will leave the losing team on the brink of elimination with one full round of games remaining. Meanwhile, the winning team could potentially transform their tournaments, WION reported.

Group C, which consists of Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Argentina, and Poland is now firmly in the balance with all four sides believing they have an opportunity to advance to the Round of 16 after the opening set of results.

Even though the episode of violence was an isolated incident, the clash between the fans was an indicator of a degree of tension ahead of the clash between Mexico and Argentina on Saturday.

Argentina's defeat against Saudi Arabia ended their run of 36 matches unbeaten and will go down as one of the biggest shocks in the history of the World Cup.

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