Surprises and shocks are dominant flavours of Qatar 2022
Augusto Rodrigues
A week of the Qatar World Cup and the football world still awaits the unexpected from the best, representing their country through ninety minutes of sweat and tears. The World Cup has finally come upon us with a basket of unexpected goodies.
Round one was a round that saw Asian football on a high, European football stuttering and South America caressing the ball ever so tenderly.
And, it is the way the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) has been adopted that will be the cynosure of discussion at the end of Qatar 2022.
Teams from Asia added glitz to a World Cup subdued by societal restrictions in Qatar by throwing unexpected results, showing that football in the continent is being propelled by desire.
The Asians ran, passed, shot at the goal and thwarted attempts from opponents but, most of all, they showed the desire to play good football and that desire translated into shock wins.
Many are still aghast at how Argentina lost, how Germany was shocked or how teams that should have won, ended up sharing points.
These are examples of the vagaries of football that left many in shock, and in awe of the fluid beauty and unpredictability that is football. It is the exquisite legwork and strategising of world-class players that let a river of emotions flow without impediment.
Spain, Brazil and now Germany – after last night’s game against Spain – are the stars that shone the brightest.
Argentina has proved that they can come back or that their performance is far stronger when Messi and di Maria decide not to mess around, while Portugal needs to curb the stuttering lack of confidence and be more assertive.
If there were some shocks in terms of results, there have been quite a few shocks in regard to refereeing, and Portugal appears to have benefitted the most in terms of these momentary lapses of concentration or momentary flickers in the use of VAR.
Portugal, or Ronaldo rather, was lucky to have escaped the blank eye of TV technology when a penalty was earned, which resulted in their first goal of Qatar 2022 – which was far removed from the callout ambit.
In short, Ronaldo dived and got away without a card, and Ghana had the first goal scored against them.
If Portugal was lucky, some other teams were as well and others were not, because at the end of the ninety minutes of play, the call of the referee on the pitch is final, and he decides the winning team.
Refereeing and the use of VAR will be much debated and perhaps fine-tuned after Qatar 2022.
Messi, Ronaldo, Lewandoski and Mbappe have scored, which was but expected. What does stand out as one of the best goals of the tournament so far is the one by the eighteen-year-old Spaniard Gavi.
Gavi did not just break the record set by Cesc Fàbregas, who scored when he was nineteen for Spain, but his goal will go down as the finest by a youngster on the world field.
Every World Cup has been a platform where the East not only meets the West, but the confluence leads to camaraderie and good cheer.
World Cups have been the best melting pots for cultures to merge and for emotions to flourish but that stirring of emotions has been missing beyond the football grounds as dogma in Qatar puts a damper on any sort of entertainment.
With television channels covering the World Cups, you would expect fans to be relishing the culture of the host country visiting eating and drinking places where the football is being telecast.
Such pictures have sadly not surfaced from Qatar. Fan zones are no indication of any country’s way of life and that could also be because Qatar is a country of expatriates with the few locals mostly probably shying away from the glare of cameras.
Whatever happens beyond the ground in Qatar is stage managed because the indigenous Qatari is too shy to face the camera or is finding it difficult to come away from behind the curtains to welcome the West.
Qatar 2022 has been a gift that has given many football lovers from Goa a chance to get a firsthand glimpse of their favourite game. Goans from Goa, the United Kingdom, Canada, Portugal, the USA and many other countries have made it to Qatar – a rainbow opening for many.
Thirty-two countries started the World Cup carnival and soon sixteen teams will make it to the round of 16.
Qatar 2022 has taken a different hue with the flourishing of social media and attendees forwarding different colours and emotions. Those colours will become clearer and emotions more intense as the knockout rounds begin.