Daniel Sumalavia couldn’t fall asleep Friday night. Instead, he re-watched key moments from Peru’s World Cup qualifying games. He’s 34 years old, and his country had never qualified for the World Cup in his lifetime.
The next morning, Sumalavia planned to watch Peru’s game against Denmark with friends at a bar near Dupont Circle in Washington. Before Sumalavia left his home in Bethesda, Md., about two hours before the noon kickoff, he touched the Peruvian flag hanging from a shelf in the corner of his room.
At the Metro station, Sumalavia saw the next train would arrive in 11 minutes.