It is monsoon season in Bangladesh, with rains and stifling temperatures for fans, but no heat can dampen Bangladeshi passion for the Albiceleste. Since the last World Cup, the Asian country has become the main stronghold of support for Lionel Scaloni’s team and its talisman, Leo Messi. It would be difficult to quantify how many Argentina supporters there are in this country of some 177 million inhabitants, but Bangladeshi writer and sports commentator Rajib Hasan tells EL PAÍS that there are some “120 million fans who watch football every four years when the World Cup comes around” and that of those “more than 60%” support Argentina. That is, 72 million people, around 26 million more than the entire population of Argentina itself.

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