One of the most-watched sports events in the world, The World Cup started a week ago.
At the start, I was not very excited about this particular World cup in Qatar due to various reasons.
The social reasons include the appalling conditions of stadium workers and the farcical,
arcane state rules against certain communities of visiting fans.
In as much as sporting reasons go, conducting an international tournament inthe midst of a domestic season was not exactly ideal either. Finally, the Infantile President got the ball rolling with his now infamous speech.
Soon it became clear that this world cup was one of the upsets and exciting results.
In the early group stage results, minnows Saudi Arabia shocked mighty Argentina
by keeping its magical talisman Messi largely quiet. Not only that, their goals were scored
with some style after quick counterattacks. Once they got the lead they defended it doggedly,
with every player giving his best. Unfortunately, the Saudis fizzled out in the other group games
and did not advance.
Asian and African teams enjoyed a fantastic ride in a Worldcup
that was a “home” world cup for the former.Morocco stunned the "golden generation" Belgium team
to eventually book their place in the Knockout rounds. This was a historic achievementfor the North African team, as it was the first time in 26 years they qualified for Knockout Rounds.
Morocco combined the defensive grit of players like Saiss and Amrabat with the offensive flair of
Ziyech, El-Nesseyri and Hakimi to stifle the Belgians and make the most of breaks.
This strategy ensured KDB and co. could not break through. Eventually, Belgium failed
to clear the group stages. Belgium should be called nearly generation, not the golden generation-so much talent but still trophyless as a team.
However, the most drama was in Groups E and F. Prior to the tournament, Germany and Spain
were the heavyweights in Group E with Japan and Costa Rica rounding off the group.But Japan, the land of rollercoaster anime storylines had a surprising script of their own to write.
Fighting to protect every blade of grass and attacking with gustolike the legendary samurais fighting in the animes, Japan shocked Germany in the opening group
game. Scarcely remembered ex-Arsenal striker Takuma Asano scored a stunning goal from
a tight angle to bring an underperforming Germany to its knees. The initial shock proved to be
unrecoverable for Germany, as they went out AGAIN in the group stage. A win against
Costa Rica preceded by a well-fought draw with a swashbuckling Spain side was not enough
for them to qualify. On the other hand, Japan had the upset medicine handed to them
by Costa Rica in a shock loss. Spain had started their campaign inswashbuckling style by thrashing Costa Rica 7-0.For their last game, they faced a Japanese side intent to recover from their own loss.
It did not start well for the Japanese, as an unusually clinical Alvaro Morata handed Spain the lead.
It seemed like the game was heading Spain's way, with Japan at risk of not qualifying.But the Japanese have an undying fighting spirit to recover from
disastrous situations,as history has shown.In this match, recover they did.Doan, the electrifying midfielder smashed in a left-footer from range to make it 1-1.
Then came the crucial and controversial moment of the match, the winner.
It looked as if the ball had crossed the line as the Japanese player cut it back for Tanaka
to bundle it in. However, goal-line technology showed a tiny millimetre of the ball was
still on the line, meaning the goal stood, and Japan qualified! On the same day, Uruguay and Koreavied neck to neck for the second qualifying spot,via their respective games vs. Ghana and already qualified Portugal.
Ghana themselves could have cemented qualification with a win. However, missed chances
by Ghana were punished with the clinical finishing by Uruguay
This placed the latter on the brink of qualification. Their qualification hinged on Portugal beating
Korea. But the efficient Asian side had other ideas.
Rallying from a goal behind, they incredibly snatched a win and group qualification at the death
with a goal from Hwang!Uruguay was literally minutes away from qualification until the Korean winner went in!
The absolute drama made for an exciting end to group stage.Another “unheralded” team which defeated a more fancied opponent
to go through group stages was Australia. The Socceroos have always been considered
a world-class team in cricket but in football they are minnows.
However beating a solid Denmark side was no mean feat.
This win ensured Australia qualified for the KO round for only the second time in their history.
Unfortunately, with Messi in sublime form,there efforts went in vain.
Still, as an Asian myself, it was great to see two of the Asian teams qualifying for Knockout rounds this world cup- a rare occurrence!
Lesser fancied African teams also did better this time, with Morocco and Senegal going through
from difficult groups. A common theme which unified all these "smaller" Non-European teams
is a strong defensive ethic combined with good counter-attacking playJapan’s great run, unfortunately, came to an end through a penalty loss to Croatia in RO16.
They gave everything but the penalty pressure proved too much.Japan missed several penalties
while the Clinical Croats succeeded with theirs to end Japan’s thrilling World Cup ride.
Japan was not only had a hard-working team, but their fans also did their hard yards
for the environment in this world cup, cleaning up the stadium after the game.
Their Asian counterpart Korea was decimated by the devastating forwards of a Brazilian side
that rubberstamped its world cup credentials. However, even though they did eventually bow out,
these Asian sides have won many hearts with their against-the-odds results. One side which was not decimated was defensive stalwart Morocco vs Spain.
A sturdy defence which had conceded the least goals(just one!!)
this World cup was able to hold Spain to a goalless draw after ET.
It was certainly a “beautiful day” for Morocco Goalkeeper Bono, the namesake of the Irish alternative rock singer. The goalkeeper put on a masterclass as he pulled out several superb saves to ensure Morocco won on penalties and dumped the ex-world champions out of the World Cup!
For centuries, the splendid bazaar and delicious food aromas of Marrakesh in Morocco attracts millions of tourists to the country. In the World Cup, Morocco was an enthralling breath of fresh air, exciting fans the world over with their heroics and pluckiness.
In the quarter-finals, the Atlas Lions fought their toughest battle against Portugal.
Morocco had taken the lead with a springbok antelope-like leap of their striker El-Nesseyri for
the header. Morocco lost 2 first-team defenders including their captain Saiss to injury mid-game
amidst some consistent Portuguese attempts at their goals.But they held on steadfastly to their lead, defending till the dying seconds.
With the 1-0 result, Morocco made history as the first African country to reach the World Cup
semifinals. For several years, African nations had not qualified for the advanced stages
as many players migrated to European countries. Morocco bucked this trend
with Madrid-born superstar right back Hakimi scoring a calm winning penalty for Morocco.
Unfortunately, in the semis, Morocco went down battling a clinical France side which was one
of the favourites. The game did not follow the pattern which has been usually observed
in Morocco’s game-unlike previous games.Morocco dominated possession in this one. However, they could not find a goal inspite of their
efforts. France relied on the uncanny talents of Kylian Mbappe to shoot from impossible situations
within a crowd to score and win this game. Morocco may have exited the WorldCup, but they
gave fans an enthralling ride.
Image Gallery(Images from Reuters)
1.El Neseyri’s thumping header vs Portugal
2.Japan’s winner vs Spain was a close call of "outside"
No comments:
Post a Comment