No more Samba Parties in Qatar
As tears of joy filled eyes on the streets of Buenos Aires and Zagreb, a contrary mood hugged the blocks and alleys of Sao Paulo and Amsterdam.
The crystal cluster of stars at Tite’s disposal made the Selecao tournament favourites. The talented trio of Neymar, Vinicus Jnr. & Richarlison reeked of the “triple R threat” of 2002.The difference, however, is that Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho danced less and scored more to ensure glory at the Korea/Japan showpiece!
20 years after the Iconic ‘R’ trio dazzled the world with unstoppable magic, the 18 carat gold plated World Cup trophy continues to elude the Samba Boys. In Qatar, the Brazilians had danced all the way to the quarter-finals but it all ended in tears despite scoring a sublime team goal in the 106th minute. The mentally strong minds of Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic and Bruno Petkovic should be applauded for engineering a late equalizer after Neymar’s moment of magic.
The extra-time specialists from Europe intelligently slowed down the pace of the game, so they played with greater concentration and composure. As a result, the 5-time world champions were becoming frustrated and mentally distracted. In their quest to speed the game up in their minds, the Samba boys became more anxious and often made bad decisions.
Tites men found it difficult to break down their defensively disciplined opponents who sat behind the ball for 90 minutes and dragged the game to extra-time. The hard, gritty, nail-biting 120 minutes of pure action was eventually decided from the penalty spot where ‘lady luck’ was smiling down on the courageous Croats. Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic saved Rodrygos penalty before Paris Saint-Germain defender, Marquinhos hit the post to end all fantasies of a feisty South-American semi-final showdown between Brazil and Argentina.
Messi Shows No Mercy
As Neymar recovers from the pain and agony of elimination, his former Barcelona teammate, Lionel Messi shone bright like sun rays on summer days in Doha. The six time Ballon d’or recipient was on fire in Argentina’s flaming hot quarter-final clash with The Netherlands.
Nahuel Molina put La Albiceleste ahead in the 35th minute of the match after a jaw-dropping assist by Messi. The defence splitting pass was redolent of the biblical story of Moses parting the Red sea. The 170cms tall 34year-old football genius then tucked away a penalty in the 73rd minute to equal Gabriel Batistuta’s goal scoring tally in world cup matches.
Like the Brazilians, the Argentinians soon learnt what the idiom, ‘It ain’t over till it’s over’ meant. Substitute Wout Weghorst scored two late goals, including a stoppage-time leveller from an ingenious free-kick routine. As The Oranje started to capitalize on their height advantage and become more physical, tempers started to flare. The match was eventually settled by a shoot-out. Twin saves by star goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez ultimately set up Argentina’s semi-final clash with Croatia. As Louis Van Gaal reflects on what might have been, Croatian coach Zlatko Dalic inherits the headache of thinking of ways to stop Messi.
Moroccan Manganese Shimmering under Al Thumama Stadium lights
Messi’s Ballon d’Or rival for a decade, Cristiano Ronaldo, left the World Cup stage teary eyed and heartbroken, following Portugal’s shock 1-0 loss to Morocco. The 2016 European Championship winners were knocked out by the superhuman athleticism of Youssef En-Nesyri who rose to an incredible 9ft 1inches to head home the winner.
Despite wave after wave of attacks by Ronaldo & co. in the 8 minutes added to the second half by Referee Facundo Tello and a red card shown to Walid Cheddira, the 10 Atlas Lions held on to give the Arab World a moment that they will forever treasure.
Wild celebrations echoed through the African continent as the final whistle was blown. From boulevards in Rabat and Cairo to ghettos in downtown Lagos and Soweto, Africa was entangled in a beautiful web of love!
Joyous scenes of winger Sofiane Boufal dancing on the side of the pitch with his mother to coach Walid Regragui being thrown up by his players in Doha are golden memories that will forever be attached to the day Africa broke a 92-year jinx!
On Saturday, the 10th of December, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. Central African time, Morocco made history by becoming the first African nation to qualify for the last four of a FIFA World Cup! What a proud moment!
The Three Lions of England are coming home but the World Cup Trophy is staying put
In the words of the late Queen Elizabeth II, “Grief is the price we pay for love”
As Moroccan celebrations continued long into the night, English fans were left distraught after watching their dreams of a first world cup since 1966 dramatically dashed at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Striker Harry Kane was the shiniest jewel in England’s crown before a dreadful penalty miss reminiscent of Roberto Baggio’s decisive penalty in the 1994 World Cup final and Asamoah Gyan’s crucial spot kick against Uruguay at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Despite being on the scoresheet on the 2-1 loss to the world champions, France, the weight of a nation’s hopes was certainly too heavy for the shoulders of the Tottenham Hotspur hit man.
England supporters were particularly critical of manager, Gareth Southgate’s decision to take off Bukayo Saka who was a menace to the French defence all evening. In spite of England’s dominance for long stretches of the game, Didier Deschamps side were as cool as cucumbers. Antoine Griezmann’s cross from the left was converted by Olivier Giroud with 11 minutes left which symbolized the end of the road for the English Premier League stars.
Four years on from lifting the trophy in Moscow, Les Bleus now switch their attention to the current Kings of Africa, Morocco.
28 teams gone, 4 teams still standing but only one will wear the crown!