Socceroos “stuck” in Beijing bunker ahead of showdown with Messi’s Argentina as football fever sweeps China’s capital

That Australia is participating in the most hyped sporting event in China since it ended its Covid border ban is a mark of the improvement in the relationship. But strains have also been on display.

Chinese fans react after they catch a glimpse of the Argentine national football team outside a hotel where the team is staying in Beijing.

Hundreds of international-soccer starved Chinese fans have surrounded the Socceroos leaving them “stuck” in their Beijing hotel, according to Australia’s national coach.

World Cup champions Argentina, the Socceroos opponents on Thursday night at Beijing’s Workers’ Stadium, are bolted up in another hotel — which is now reportedly surrounded by 150 security guards after a wave of “fan fever” swept the capital when their superstar captain Lionel Messi arrived in China. Organisers said one of the Argentine team’s training sessions had been cancelled because of “outrageously passionate” fans.

Tickets for the first international game to be played at the recently revamped 68,000-capacity stadium were originally sold for between US$82-US$680 ($120-$1,000). They are now trading at even more obscene prices.

“It’s been amazing. The game sold out in one minute,” Socceroos head coach Graham Arnold said on Wednesday in a patchy interview with media over Zoom, a platform banned in China.

“The respect that we’re getting here from the Chinese football fans has been quite incredible, with hundreds of people outside the hotel every time we try to go outside the hotel to go to training.

“We’re pretty much stuck in the hotel until we go to training because the hype is so big … It’s a terrific occasion for the boys,” Mr Arnold said.

Lionel Messi along with his teammates leaves the Olympic Stadium after a training session in Beijing.

That the Australian team is participating in the most hyped sporting fixture in China since it ended its Covid border closure in January is a mark of the improvement in the bilateral relationship.

However, the strains between Beijing and Canberra have also been on display — despite the best efforts of the Football Australia to downplay them.

No Australian media have been allowed to enter China to cover the game. That has jarred with claims by Chinese diplomats that the occasion was a showcase of Australia’s improved relations with China.

“That’s why the (Australian) national team has been invited,” one told The Australian, days before China’s authorities blocked our visa request.

Even Messi, the greatest soccer player in the world, struggled to enter China because of what party state media described as a “passport incident”.

After flying in on his private jet, Messi was detained at Beijing airport for “a few hours”.

“Holding both Spanish and Argentine nationalities, Messi forgot to bring his Argentine passport on his Chinese journey. This was a problem because the team’s visa was only good for Argentine passports,” the Global Times reported.

Earlier today at the Beijing airport, Leo Messi faced some issues with his passport. pic.twitter.com/rLNwI3W4nJ

— Leo Messi 🔟 Fan Club (@WeAreMessi) June 10, 2023

The Australian squad had its own difficulties with China’s finicky visa bureaucracy back in Australia in the weeks leading up to the game.

But coach Arnold told The Australian there had not been any Messi-style hold ups in China.

“No, absolutely zero … We arrived here in Beijing and we were well respected and looked after and brought to the hotel,” he said before a training session at the Worker’s Stadium on Wednesday.

Xiao Sha is one of the Chinese super fans, who has been following the Australian team in Beijing.

“I will cheer for you in front of the TV screen,” the young fan, who had failed to get a ticket, wrote in a letter addressed to Socceroo Harry Souttar. “Australian athletes! You are not alone!”

Xiao Sha, a superfan of Socceroo Harry Souttar, waiting for a glimpse of the Australian team as they shuttle between their Beijing hotel and training venue.

But for most the Argentine superstar is the main attraction, so much so that several planned activities, including a fan meet-up in Beijing’s Sanlitun area, have reportedly been cancelled due to security concerns.

Messi on Tuesday night appeared for a mere 50 seconds in an almost hour-long livestream hosted on China’s Kuaishou platform. It had over 190 million views.

On Wednesday evening, he was scheduled to appear on Alibaba’s online shopping platform Taobao. He will reportedly beam in to speak to his Chinese fans from his heavily guarded room in the Four Seasons Hotel.