The moment football prodigy Lionel Messi was making history during Argentina’s World Cup match with Austria in Dallas Stadium on Monday night, the Latin American country’s ambassador witnessed the madness from Muhsin Hall field at the University of Dhaka.

Ambassador Marcelo Carlos Sessa was accompanied by Argentine travel writer and cultural ambassador Dan Lande, popularly known as Rulo, who arrived in Bangladesh on Sunday to experience firsthand the passion and euphoria of Bangladeshi supporters of the Argentina national football team, Bangladesh Jatiyotabadai Chatrodal’s Dhaka University unit secretary Nahiduzzaman Shipon said.

“They arrived at Dhaka University at around 9:30 pm, and enjoyed the whole match from there”, Nahid told Daily Waadaa.

Rulo, who specializes in documenting grassroots human connections around the world, also helped initiate a wave of reciprocal support for the Bangladesh cricket team during the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Argentina enjoys immense popularity in Bangladesh, where thousands of fans gather to watch the team’s matches on giant screens and celebrate its successes with remarkable enthusiasm.

Live screenings of matches involving Latin American football giants Argentina and Brazil, along with the exuberant celebrations of their supporters, have captured the attention of the global football community during recent FIFA World Cups.

According to a press release issued by the Argentine Embassy in Dhaka, the visit by Rulo and his team is a sincere gesture of gratitude from the people of Argentina toward Bangladesh’s football supporters.

“It honors the multi-generational, deep-rooted love, unparalleled excitement, and unwavering devotion that the people of Bangladesh have consistently shown for our national football team,” the embassy said.

Lionel Messi broke the World Cup scoring record with his 17th goal and then added an 18th in stoppage time helping defending champions Argentina secure a 2-0 victory over Austria.