Why can’t we? Why can’t our players dream? You have to dare to dream. You have to have that ambition.
– Walid Regragui, Moroccan coach
When a former secondary school classmate whose father, an expatriate Indian teacher teaching in Sibu in the early 60’s and 70’s, predicted that my perennial all-time favourites Brazil would bite the dust in the quarter-final stage of the twenty-second edition of the World Cup, I shrugged off his forecast and told him to go fly a kite.
As if his prediction was not annoying enough, the soccer crazy ex-classmate – who returned to India after his dad’s teaching stint – went on to forecast that several big names would fall in the group stage.
“Mark my word, Qatar 2022 is going to be a weird World Cup. Many hearts will break and established teams will fall … anyway, I didn’t like the idea of Qatar hosting the tournament …,” he said.
Come to think of it, what Giri (that’s his name) said is turning out to be true.
By the way, Giri’s resentment over the choice of Qatar as the World Cup host, is understandable, I think.
First, FIFA’s choice of awarding the oil-rich state as the 2022 host four years ago, sounds a bit weird. With hardly any footballing pedigree, and having a population of only slightly over 3 million, and with a very hot and humid climate, the question of how to expect the player to give their best was a key issue.
The World Cup is traditionally played during the months of June and July. But because of the extreme heat during these months, the matches had to be moved to November and December.
According to reports, in April, 2020, the US Department of Justice filed an indictment, accusing FIFA of taking bribes to support Qatar’s hosting bid.
Then the issue of migrant labour exploitation, mainly workers from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, surfaced. Qatar’s ultramodern stadiums were built by labourers whose working conditions were likened to modern slavery.
Humanitarian groups and journalists have put South Asian migrant worker deaths at an estimated 6,500. This could have riled up Giri, who himself is a staunch human rights activist; hence his bitter indignation at Qatar as World Cup host.
So much for the weird part of Qatar 2022.
Let’s come to the ‘crazy’ part which I believe most fans will find it hard to fathom.
Several established teams, including past World Cup winning nations, were surprisingly knocked out in group stage. The opening match saw Qatar unceremoniously beaten when they went down 0-2 to Ecuador. Then they lost 1-3 to Senegal and in the last group match they were hit for 2 by the Dutch. That was the end of the journey for the hosts.
Crazy isn’t it? After spending as much as $220 billion (RM968 billion) since being chosen as the hosts in late 2010 – more than 15 times what Russia spent in 2018 – Qatar had to make an early exit.
Past winners that didn’t make the round of 16 are Uruguay (1930, 1950) and Germany (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014). Denmark (1998 quarterfinalists) also exited the tournament in the group state.
Germany’s exit from the second round is also one unimaginable situation. They lost the first match 1-2 against Japan.
Surprisingly, Brazil lost to Cameroon 0-1 in the group stage. Another crazy result!
And who could forget the never-say-die South Koreans who defeated Portugal in Group H? The Asians beat the Portuguese 2-1.
However, the South Koreans lost to Ghana 0-2 in another Group H match.
Another crazy moment was Tunisia’s 1-0 defeat of France. But France proceeded to the round of 16 and went on to defeat England 2-1 in the quarter-final.
Remember the group stage match between Saudi Arabia and Argentina? That was another crazy result where the Arabs edged the Argies 2-1.
Meanwhile, the Moroccans are indeed a surprise this tournament. They beat the 2010 champions 3-0 on penalties in the round of 16 to send the Spaniards packing.
Another shocking and crazy moment was Brazil’s defeat in the quarter-final against Croatia. The Selecao, five times champions, went down 2-4 to the Croatians, the 1998 third-paced and 2018 runners-up.
In my opinion, the craziest result should be Portugal’s defeat to Morocco in the quarter-final. The Africans edged the Portuguese 1-0 to become the first team from Africa to make the semis. Congratulations!
There was little favour or fortune in their victory – this was a win of sweat, belief, bravado. They ended the game with 10 men but it barely mattered.
Enroute they had overwhelmed – apart from France – Europeans Belgium and Spain.
In their journey to the semi-final, they conceded just a goal – that too an own-goal.
Hope their fairy tale run continues against France in the semi-final.
There was also a controversy. Japan’s highly controversial goal scored by Ao Tanaka in the 51st minute against Spain with the ball appearing to go out of play at the line to the naked eye prompted accusations of bribery.
Replays during the game were inconclusive and after a lengthy VAR review, the goal was given.
More surprises might be in store in the semi-final matches. Let’s wait and see if the crazy moments will continue.
The views expressed here are those of the columnist and do not necessarily represent the views of New Sarawak Tribune.
