By Ray Roberts
The controversy over the treatment of migrant workers, LBGT rights and the banding of beers and other alcoholic products during the matches of the 2022 Qatar World Cup football is behind us.
Grabbing attention are the winning performances of Saudi Arabia and Japan. They shocked all and sundry, defeating highly fancied former World Cup Champions Argentine and Germany.
It’s an ecstatic celebration in both countries but sadness on the faces of their losing opponents. They are seriously challenged and cannot afford to lose or even draw in any of their remaining qualifying matches. Any other result than victory could mean elimination in the first round of the tournament.
The trend during the first week of World Cup football is unbelievable. All credit to the lesser-known teams for making their presence felt in a big way. They were up to the challenge. The takeaway from the two matches is the determination, the awesome energy exerted in battling seasoned and more experienced campaigners and the confidence exhibited in playing their game, even when their more illustrious opponents were enjoying greater ball possession.
The Germans could feel they were hit by bad luck. They controlled much of the 90-minute encounter but failed to capitalize on their pressure. Japan, ranked 23rd in the world, got a saviour in substitute Takuma Asano to exploit a moment of opportunity from a tight angle to make it 2-1 and a historical triumph.
Few, if any, would have predicted the brilliance of Lionel Messi and Argentina, ranked number 4th in the world, crashing to a two-one defeat against 53rd-ranked Saudi Araba, Like the Germans, the Argentine footballers enjoyed a 70 percent position on the field of play.
The defeats of the two giants in their opening fixtures put them under severe pressure to advance from their respective qualifying groups. Poland and Mexico are in the same Group “C” as Argentina and Saudi Arabia. Another defeat and both Germany and Argentina are kicked out of the tournament.
Japan and Saudi Arabia do not look like world champions in the making; however, goal-scoring is what counts and they are inspired. Time will tell if these and other minnows can shock the world with more upsets of the highly favoured.
World Cup Favourite Brazil played a beautiful game, defeating Serbia two goals to nil. Unfortunately, star player Neymar is ruled out of Brazil’s next two World Cup games after sustaining ligament damage in his right ankle. With so many talented players they should be Switzerland and Cameroon in their remaining two matches.
England, also a highly favoured team, was impressive in beating minnows Iran six two, however, was lucky to survive a drawn game against the USA. The Americans played the better football in the first half and created many scoring opportunities
Spain’s strikers were goal-hungry in demolishing weak Costa Rica seven-nil and ought to fancy their chances of beating Germany on Sunday, which will eliminate their great rivals from the World Cup. Germans are well known for their awesome fighting spirit. They never say die until it’s over.
Japan could seal their place in the knockout phase with a victory over Costa Rica on Sunday and if Spain wins, the battle for the two qualifying spots in Group E is all over. Both Japan and Spain will be on six points.
Finally, defending World Cup Champions France even without Kareem Benxima and Paul Pogba is a magnificent efficient machine. In their opening game, aggressive Australia took the lead and pressured them early in the first half, but once the French men lifted their game their opponents became all defenders battling to avoid humiliation
Let’s see how the defending champions match up with Denmark on Saturday. Recent fixtures in the European Nations’ Cup resulted in wins for Denmark. Plenty to play for in this second game against a country that is well-known for a tight defence but capable of maximizing scoring opportunities.
The World Cup excitement is sure to intensify with every round of competition. I love it!
