After much build up, full of controversy, the Men’s football World Cup in Qatar got underway on Sunday, and that hasn’t gone away despite FIFA wanting focus to stay on the football.
Not the start they wanted
First, back to Sunday, when Qatar faced Ecuador in their first ever World Cup match. Ecuador captain Enner Valencia had the ball in the back of the net inside three minutes, but the Fenerbahçe striker’s header was ruled out for offside by VAR after a lengthy stoppage. It wasn’t long before the deadlock was broken though, Valencia scoring from the spot after being brought down by Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb, and netting a powerful header in the 31st minute.
The second half atmosphere was as dull as the hosts’ performance, many fans leaving at half time. The Asian Cup holders never really getting going against a much stronger Ecuador side and become the first host nation to lose the opening game of a World Cup ever. With The Netherlands and Senegal on paper stronger opposition than Ecuador, Qatar will now face an uphill struggle to get out of the group. South Africa are the only host nation to fail to do that back in 2010. Meanwhile Ecuador will hope to kick on from here, but will need their captain, who went off injured in the second half, to be fit again if they are to reach the knockout stage.
Youngsters star in dominant Three Lions win
Over to Group B now for Monday’s first game, England starting they’re campaign against Iran.
England, alongside Wales and five other European nations, had planned for their captain to wear a OneLove anti-discrimination armband, but this had to be abandoned hours before kick off after FIFA threatened to sanction players for doing so.
The Iranian players didn’t sing when the National Anthem was played in the wake of the protests against the regime across the country triggered by the death of 22 year old Mahsa Amini in police custody in September. Many in the crowd showed support for the players’ stance.
Carlos Quieroz’s Iran set up to be tough to beat, and they were for the first 35 minutes, including 10 in which play was stopped due to Iran keeper Alireza Beiranvand suffering a head injury, and eventually going off despite trying to play on.
The scoring was opened by 19 year old Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, his glancing header fantastic, and his first England goal. To think he was 14 when the last World Cup began, and is now opening the scoring for England.
The second came six minutes later through Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, who hit a sumptuous volley into the roof of the net.
Raheem Sterling made it three in the first of fourteen minutes added on at the end of the first half, also scoring his first World Cup goal, albeit at his third tournament, after a great ball into the six yard box.
Saka made it four, and in the 62nd minute, becoming the youngest Englishman to score a World Cup brace, before Porto striker Taremi pulled one back with an thunderous, instinctive finish.
England weren’t done there though. Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, scoring with just his third touch moments after replacing Saka as part of a quadruple substitution to make his first England appearance since the Euro 2020 final in which they both missed penalties. And for the sixth, a link up between two more subs, Callum Wilson unselfishly squaring the ball to Jack Grealish, his celebration done at the request of a young Manchester City fan called Finlay, who, like Grealish’s younger sister, has Cerebral Palsy.
Taremi got another consolation for Iran, converting a penalty awarded after a VAR review in the 103rd minute (yes, really).
England boss Gareth Southgate came away from the game disappointed with his side’s defending in the latter part of the game, but says they’ve put down a ‘great marker’. Their next two games will surely be more difficult, but that was a superb start for England, especially important after their Nations League woes earlier in the year. Anyone who hadn’t yet has surely now realised just how good Jude Bellingham is, and why Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Real Madrid are all reportedly after him.
A bit lucky?
Back in Group A, the Netherlands made their World Cup return having missed out on qualification for the 2018 tournament, led by Louis Van Gaal: the man who guided them to a third-placed finish in Brazil in 2014, during his second spell in charge of the Oranje.
They faced the champions of Africa, Senegal, missing their talisman, former Liverpool and Southampton forward Sadio Mané, who got injured in Bayern Munich’s final game before the tournament.
Going into the last ten minutes, neither side had really done enough to deserve the win, although both sides had had chances at points. But with six minutes to play, PSV forward Coady Gakpo, the top goalscorer in the Dutch Eredivisie beat Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to the ball and headed home, before Davy Klaassen added a second in the 99th minute to seal the win.
The Dutch had a chance of winning the tournament according to their manager before the game, and whilst they didn’t show too many signs of that, they should comfortably progress to the last sixteen, and made a good start to what will be Van Gaal’s last hurrah before retirement at the end of the tournament.
Bale-d Out
Finally, Wales made their return to the World Cup, 64 years after their only previous appearance. Facing the USA, a Wales side captained by Gareth Bale, a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid, who now plays Stateside for LAFC, were pretty lifeless in the first half, dominated by a young, energetic American side.
The US took the lead after 36 minutes, Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic driving forward and playing the ball through to Timothy Weah, the son of former Ballon d’Or winning AC Milan striker George, who is now president of Liberia, who’s run was perfectly timed before a neat finish.
Rob Page’s Cymru were much better after the break, buoyed by the half time introduction of striker Kieffer Moore, who wasn’t far away from equalising.
That equaliser eventually came with nine minutes to play, Walker Zimmerman recklessly and unnecessarily hacking Bale down in the box, and Bale scoring the spot-kick. The Welsh side then looked the more likely to win the match, but will be happy with a point.
They now face Iran on Friday, whist England play the USA, before the big clash between the home nations represented at the World Cup four days later.
It was an action packed day of football, with lots of history made. Wales returned to the world stage after more than six decades, and Gareth Bale got his first ever World Cup goal, as did all five players who scored for England in their biggest opening game win ever. If the first four games are anything to go by, long periods of stoppage time look set to be a theme of the tournament too as FIFA look to crack down on time wasting.
Off the pitch, things haven’t been smooth, with another last minute U-turn over the OneLove armbands, issues with the FIFA ticketing app meaning some fans struggled to enter stadiums, and some fans and journalists were not allowed to do so wearing rainbow clothing.
A final thought: tonight on ITV’s ‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!’ Euros winning former Lioness Jill Scott said “Now football is for everyone.” Huge strides have certainly been made, particularly with the brilliant growth of the Women’s game. But after the events in Qatar over the past couple of days, some will fear that that is not the case.
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