Lionel Messi - considered by many to be the greatest football player of all time - is two wins away from finally winning a World Cup. And though much of his native Argentina is behind him - they are not the only ones. Continents away, in parts of India and Bangladesh, Argentina and Messi superfans also hope to see him lift the cup. So what’s behind the Messi mania in South Asia, and what does it say about the soft power of ‘the beautiful game?’

In this episode: 

• Somdutta Bhattacharyya, Argentina superfan in India
• Tamjidul Hoque (@TamjidulH24v2), Argentina superfan in Bangladesh
• Jasmine Garsd (@JasGarsd), Host, The Last Cup

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Ashish Malhotra with Chloe K. Li, and our host, Halla Mohieddeen. It was fact-checked by Ruby Zaman.

Our production team includes Chloe K. Li, Alexandra Locke, Ashish Malhotra, Negin Owliaei, Amy Walters, and Ruby Zaman. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Aya Elmileik and Adam Abou-Gad are our engagement producers. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio.

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