Qatar to open Mideast’s first World Cup before leaders, fans

Qatar prepared Sunday to open the Middle East’s first FIFA World Cup before global leaders and soccer fans now pouring into this energy-rich nation after being battered by a regional boycott and international criticism.
Regardless of the outcome of Qatar versus Ecuador on the pitch, Doha already has drawn Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the opening ceremony and inaugural match of the tournament.
That Prince Mohammed, whose nation had closed Qatar’s only land border to the world through the kingdom over a yearslong political dispute, will attend shows how far the rapprochement between the two nations has gone.
Newspaper columns during the crisis had even suggested digging a trench along the 87-kilometer (54-mile) border and filling it with nuclear waste at the height of the conflict. While rhetorical bluster, it showed how deeply the anger ran in the region amid the dispute — which Kuwait’s then-ruler suggested nearly sparked a war.