No matter the score, one World Cup fan is already a winner
Most soccer fanatics pick one favorite in a World Cup game and go all in.
That is not the case for Mohammed Missouri, executive director of the Office of Neighborhood Services for the city of Boston. Being Iraqi-Norwegian turned Bostonian means today he is living the best of all worlds.
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“It’s a good day for me no matter what,” he said.
Missouri, 42, was born in Baghdad, Iraq, and moved to Norway as a result of the Gulf War when he turned 8 years old, he said.
“Norway was the first country to accept Iraqi refugees at the time,” Missouri said, recounting the connection between both countries that are playing against each other today at Boston Stadium in Foxborough.
After his time in Norway, Missouri came to the United States to study at Suffolk University and has lived in Boston since, coming up on almost two decades as a Bostonian.
“I definitely am a mix of all three backgrounds — I feel a little bit of each,” he said.
After the announcement that the game would be held at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, it became a family inside joke. He and his wife immediately decided to get tickets and use their vacation money this year for it, he said. “I was just genuinely elated,” he added.
The decision to bring his 4-month-old son along was made after much thought.
“We thought he has to experience this. He is not going to remember anything, but we know he’s going to see the pictures one day,” he said.
Mixed feelings are held in his family today, he said. His mom is rooting for Norway, while his dad switches sides multiple times in a day.
His expectation and hope going into the game is that Norway will win, he said. Going into the tournament without a jersey, he hopes to buy a Norwegian one, he said, while already wearing a cap and socks stamped with the Norwegian flag.
Still, Missouri said he is proud of Iraq.
“I want them to be really good, I want them to succeed, I want them to win against Senegal and France, but I’ve lived my teenage years … my youth in Norway,” he said.
For both countries, he said, simply getting to the World Cup is a win, as both cultures value soccer and have not been to the official tournaments in many years.
“I think a lot of people are just genuinely happy to be here, treating it like a huge party,” said Missouri.
Norway has returned to the FIFA World Cup after 28 years away, while Iraq ended a 40-year absence from the tournament.
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