The $675m stadium that Qatar will use for this year’s World Cup final was put through its first test with a match between the Egyptian and Saudi champions.
Seventy-two days from the start of the tournament, organisers said that more than 77,000 fans were inside the 80,000-capacity Lusail Iconic Stadium for the pre-match concert by Egyptian superstar Amr Diab and the game in which Al Hilal beat Egyptians Zamalek on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Lusail Stadium is the last stadium to host a competitive fixture and is at the heart of a new city being built north of the Gulf state’s capital Doha.
It will host 10 World Cup matches, including the December 18 final.
The game was a test run for security, the border immigration system and the Doha Metro as well as crowd management.
Hundreds of Saudi and Egyptian fans crossed the Abu Samra border in buses, after leaving their cars on the Saudi side.
FIFA says that 2.45 million of the three million World Cup tickets have been sold and that a final round of online sales will be held later this month.
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Aljazera
