WATCH: Indian fans drown out Argentinians with drums for Lionel Messi's arrival

The Indian drum drowned out Argentina's diehard fans as they waited hundreds of hours for a glimpse of a bus carrying Lionel Messi outside its World Cup team base in Qatar.

The Indian drum drowned out Argentina's diehard fans as they waited hundreds of hours for a glimpse of a bus carrying Lionel Messi outside its World Cup team base in Qatar. Drummers and Indian beat dancers again showed how Qatar 2022 is going to be a different experience for players and spectators. Supporters from the subcontinent outnumbered England fans as they cheered on Harry Kane's side on Tuesday.

The crowd of more than 500 who waited until around 4:00 pm (0100GMT) to see their heroes arrive was evenly split between Indian fans from Argentina and South American nations, many of whom had spent thousands of dollars. In the World Cup.

The team flew in early Thursday from Abu Dhabi, where they beat the United Arab Emirates 5-0 in their final World Cup warm-up match on Wednesday night, with Messi, 35, scoring his 91st international goal.

One of the favorites for this year's World Cup, the South Americans open their campaign on Tuesday against Saudi Arabia in Group C, which also includes Mexico and Poland.

Members of the Argentina Fan in Qatar club, which claims more than 5,000 members, brought drums decorated with portraits of "Leo" Messi to the team base at Qatar University.

"If this is going to be Leo's last World Cup, there couldn't be a better place for it," said Munish Sharma, who recalled Messi's winning goal as Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in a friendly in Doha in 2010.

Indian fans have already made their mark by marching in thousands wearing the jerseys of top footballing nations including Argentina, Brazil and England.

"They make a lot of noise," said Laura Valero, who arrived from Buenos Aires on Tuesday. "If these drums keep beating here every night, the team will never sleep," he said.

'We wanted to see Leo'

Valero, 24, said he borrowed about $8,000 from his parents to pay for the World Cup trip to Qatar, and that was also a concern.

"All my friends are here so I couldn't say no," she declares.

Two groups of fans battled to see who could make the loudest noise. Silvia Perla, 68 years old from Argentina, had her picture taken with Hakim Salih and others among the Indians.

"I tried to teach them what we were singing and they tried to teach me some words," he said.

The night's wait became interminable for Messi's fans behind the wire fence, 100 meters away before the Argentina bus sped off.

"We wanted to see Leo, it's a shame," said Diego Cordovez, whose voice cracked after hours of singing.

"But he needs rest, that's more important," he added.

Messi, 35, won the Copa America last year but the Qatar tournament is likely to be his last chance to lead his country to World Cup glory alongside Argentine great Diego Maradona.

The 1978 and 1986 World Cup winners extended their unbeaten run to 36 matches against the UAE.

Messi is also cautious about the team's prospects in Qatar.

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"We have a very good group who are very interested, but we think about moving forward little by little. We know that World Cup groups are not easy," the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner told South South Africa in an interview. American Football Federation.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)