To the game of FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar

Opening ceremony

Q atar opened the gates to the sporting cornucopia last Sunday with a delicately crafted opening ceremony. Bringing out the core essence of Arabian culture and the warm sense of hospitality, generosity and the fusion of art and culture that it embodies, the panels and pieces of the entire act were pieced together to bring out the central message.

Under a tent, which signified the smorgasbord of cultural elements, the visuals of the opening ceremony strongly reflected the heritage of the Gulf and Arab region. Ghanem AlMuftah, a young Qatari philanthropist with regressive caudal syndrome, delivered the opening message calibrated around the lines of diversity, love and peace. The ceremony lit up with Morgan Freeman walking in and conversing with Ghanem.

In his signature baritone he spelt the message out: “What unites us here in this moment is so much more than what divides us. How can we make it last longer than just today?” As the familiar tunes were sounded and the flags fluttered bathing in the glory of the moment, BTS’s Jungkook took to the stage to blast out an impressively toned rendition of Dreamers, the official song which is a part of the FIFA 2022 soundtrack. With the Emir of Qatar delivering the welcome message, the official logo floated in air, flagging open another edition of the biggest show on Earth, with the Al Rihla rolling out on the greens.

Records

Records did not shy away from ushering in this edition of the World Cup with the first week peppering quite a few over the stretch of the fixtures. In Portugal’s opening match against Ghana, Cristiano Ronaldo scored Portugal’s opening goal from the penalty spot, making him the first person in history to score in five World Cup finals. The talismanic scorer opened his World Cup diary back in 2006 in Germany, against Iran. Extending his international goal record to 118 and eight in World Cups, Cristiano also became the second oldest goal scorer in FIFA World Cup history, behind Cameroon’s Roger Milla.

Although Lionel Messi’s campaign began with a shock defeat in the hands of Saudi Arabia, he scripted history again by becoming the fifth player in history to score in four editions of the FIFA World Cup and the first Argentine to do so, extending his tally to 92. 2010 was the solitary forgettable campaign in his bag, where he failed to scalp a goal to his name.

France’s Olivier Giroud knew he had to rise to the occasion, something he has always embraced with elan, after Benzema’s exit. Scoring a brace in the Les Blues’ opening fixture against Australia, Giroud equalled Thierry Henry as France’s all-time leading goal scorer with 51 goals to his name.

Spain’s 18-year-old prodigy Gavi became the third youngest goal scorer in the history of the World Cup, and the youngest since Pele. The Barcelona prodigy and winner of the Golden Boy 2022 who was an integral centrepiece in Spain’s 7-0 battering of Costa Rica in their opening fixture, etched his name on the pages of footballing heritage with a lethal volleyed shot into the net. Luis Enrique’s men toyed around with Costa Rica with an unflinching possession game, holding around 81.8 per cent, which stands to be a World Cup record. The team strung together 1,043 passes in the game, which fell short of their own best of 1,115 in Russia, drifting the viewers back to the days of bonafide tiki-taka. The scoreline also stands to be significant because it is the record number of goals Spain has scored in a single World Cup match.

On the other side, Qatar broke a 92-year-old record, becoming the first hosting nation in the history of the World Cup to lose the opening match. In the bland draw which Uruguay and South Korea played out, FIFA recorded zero shots on target through the course of the entire game, the only time it has happened in this century.

The other record which infamously started the talks around the quadrennial extravaganza is that the 2022 World Cup in Qatar becomes the most expensive World Cup till date, with an expenditure of around $200 billion, a staggering 15 times of what Russia spent in 2018. The total prize pool for this year stands at $440 million, up from 2018’s $400million.

HIGHLIGHTS

The first week was loaded with characteristic thrill and action with a generous helping of goals, goalless draws and certainly, additional injury time. Setting the mood with a fantastic brace was Ecuador’s captain Enner Valencia in the opening match against Qatar. Calm and collected, Enner scored again in Ecuador’s brave performance against Netherlands, which ended 1-1. All of Ecuador’s last six goals in the World Cup have been scored by Enner Valencia.

England danced the tango in their opening match as well, routing Iran 6-2 in what was vindication for the prodigious Bukayo Saka. With him netting two in his World Cup debut, the English forward line brought the party to Qatar with unmatched intent and attacking prowess. With impressive performances from Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling and the defense line held by a freshly conditioned Harry Maguire, England shut critics up with beautiful camaraderie on the pitch. Belgium and Netherlands opened their accounts as well, with hard-fought victories against Canada and Senegal respectively. Defending champions France looked shiny and placed with Mbappe, Griezmann and Giroud connecting effortlessly as they led them to a 4-1 victory over Australia.

Portugal versus Ghana saw a thrilling encounter where despite inching back closer to the game and giving it all out on the field, Ghana failed, but their grit and determination was praised by the fraternity — pushing a game of 0-0 during the break to the final scorecard reading 3- 2 . Rafael Leao’s goal in his World Cup debut was the ultimate decider bringing in the crucial three points for his country. While the underdogs pulled off a few surprises against Argentina and Germany, Brazil walked into the first fixture with the world rooting for the strongest roster on paper. Despite a gritty display from the Serbian side, Brazil shifted gears with a Richarlison brace, the second of which came off an outrageous volley, certainly standing as a contender for the best goal of the edition. Jogo Bonito it was with an enviable squad strength bringing the samba rhythm to the field. And certainly, like always, the first week had some goalkeeping displays which changed the course of the matches. Netherlands’ towering goalie Andries Noppert dropped a brilliant performance on his Holland debut against Senegal, while World Cup’s favourite man, Mexico’s fabled Guillermo Ochoa showed what the hype was all about in a strong display against Poland, saving a Robert Lewandowski penalty.

However, the highlight stands to be Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Alowais who stood to be the difference between theSaudis and the mighty Argentines, ensuring nothing breached the wall.

Minnows at it

There is always a sense of satisfaction which germs out of watching the supposed minnows get better of the giants of the game. The underdog saga has forever been the one that lives, that comes back and that is dearly cherished. The first week in Qatar quite expectedly added to the book of surprises with Saudi Arabia stunning favourites Argentina in a shocking 2-1 win over them. Ending the Albicelestes’ 36-match unbeaten streak walking into the World Cup, the Falcons led by their coach and master tactician Herve Renard sent shockwaves around the world. Trailing at half time, the Saudi team walked into the pitch with unfazed conviction and executed the off-side trap to ultimate perfection, trapping the Argentine forwards in most of their charges. With heavy man-marking and employing the mid-block, the men in green took the opportunity to edge past the giants with a worldie from Al-Dawsari and script a historic win.

The second shock was Japan beating four-time winners Germany 2-1. Similarly trailing in the first half, the Japanese side looked spirited walking into the second. The party started with Doan slotting one into the net, shaking a few German nerves, but the ultimate move came with Asano taking a run down the right flank and blasting it past Manuel Neuer from the tightest of angles to carry the Samurai Blue past the line. Although Canada and Ghana could not bring home the three points in the first fixture itself, both the teams were lauded for the tenacity and quality that they brought to the field. Canada, coming back to the World Cup after 36 years, were clearly the better side on the field against World No. 2 Belgium with an xG of 3.35, the best among all the opening fixtures. Losing 1- 0, the loss was heartbreaking after Ghana made it difficult for Portugal, with their pressing and counter-attacks throughout the game. Despite getting two back, glory eluded them, but Ghana will certainly be the side to challenge the other teams in the group in the upcoming fixtures.

Iran won the hearts of the footballing fraternity across the world, as the team stood in solidarity with message of ‘Women, Life, Freedom’, protesting against the theocratic regime, by refusing to sing their national anthem. Thrashed by England in the opening fixture, a resilient Iran beat Wales 2-0 to keep their knockout hopes alive, buyoed by the love and support from across the world.