FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 (Promo)
The video include Football Skills, Tricks , Highlights , Dribbling & Goals , from Cristiano Ronaldo , Neymar Jr , Lionel Messi , Paul Pogba , James Rodríguez , Luis Suarez and more…
FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 (Promo)
The video include Football Skills, Tricks , Highlights , Dribbling & Goals , from Cristiano Ronaldo , Neymar Jr , Lionel Messi , Paul Pogba , James Rodríguez , Luis Suarez and more…
After winning the rights to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup in 2010, it quickly became clear that Qatar would have to pull a rabbit out of its hat to successfully stage football's showpiece event. The largest concern at the time was whether players could even perform in the searing summer as the Middle East prepared for its first World Cup.
It took half a decade to addresss those concerns. Finally, in February 2015, FIFA broke 92 years of tradition and moved the World Cup to winter for the first time, not wanting to deprive football lovers in the Middle East based solely on the weather.
That is the aspect that could define the World Cup, with the timing also meaning that it will be held in the middle of the European footballing season. Having players come to the World Cup with roughly 15 games under their belt should mean that they are fresher, which promises high-quality encounters compared to when they have already played 60-70. It also promises to turn the usually underappreciated January transfer window into a feeding frenzy.
But although that unprecedented change to winter set the tone for the hosts, they still had plenty to do. For starters, the Gulf state with a population of three million would have to calculate how to deal with an influx of approximately two million tourists.
Those computations ended up costing the nation $220 billion, making it the most expensive World Cup in history by a long shot. The next most expensive, Brazil 2014, had cost $15 billion. 20 years before that, the USA had staged the 1994 World Cup for just $500 million.
But Qatar also built roads, highways, the country's first rapid transit system and the world's largest electric bus depot alongside hotels, sporting facilities and the eight stadiums that will play host.
A total of 2.89 million tickets for the 64 matches had already been sold before the final batches were made available, with Qataris buying the most. Fans from the USA are second for tickets bought, followed by those from Saudi Arabia and England and Mexico.
Argentines and Brazilians will also feature in droves, and they will have the chance to see their heroes up close, with the nation's relatively tiny size meaning that 24 teams will be staying within 10km of Doha.
The Argentines have chosen the simplest of surroundings for their base camp, which nevertheless features five-star amenities alongside one of 32 dedicated training pitches and FIFA-provided on-site referees. Lionel Messi and his cohorts will stay at the Qatar University campus in Education City while Brazil have opted for the slightly more comfortable surroundings of The Westin Doha.
The Americans chose the most luxe setting, located in the heart of The Pearl, a man-made island home to a long list of designer hotels. Meanwhile, the Germans have chosen the seclusion and serenity of the country's largest wellness resort. Belgium will also be located far away from the action -- a sacrifice the team is making for a 3.5km private beach.
But some fans will perhaps have a hotel experience superior to any of the players, with the Al-Bayt Stadium offering five-star rooms, meaning fans can literally step out onto the balcony and cheer.
That is one among a host of unique architectural and design features specific to each stadium, but one thing they all have in common is the 'Advanced Cooling Technology', which will ensure the optimal temperature in the stadiums for players and fans.
A further piece of technological ingenuity lies inside the official match ball. Al Rihla, which is said to travel faster in-flight than any other ball in history, relays real-time data to facilitate the implementation of the semi-automated offside technology, the first time the technology will be used.
Another first will be the inclusion of women referees at the men's World Cup, with Yamashita Yoshimi, Salima Mukansanga and Stephanie Frappart set to make history.
Despite all that, there has appeared a darker cloud. Qatar's human rights record, an issue that has led to the nation making widespread reforms since being awarded the World Cup, has been constantly criticised -- even by footballers.
Others have pointed to larger trends, opining that labour exploitation of migrant workers is pervasive. "I could show you lots of pictures like that in lots of countries, even in some not far from [France]," France Football Federation president Noel Le Graet said in an interview when shown pictures of a labour camp.
While highlighting its reforms and praising the Australian players for speaking out, a spokesperson for Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy said: "No country is perfect, and every country -- hosts of major events or not -- has its challenges."
While football provides temporary relief from life's imperfections, World Cup glory can soothe spirits for four years, if not longer. Fans will be hoping that it is their team that triumphs and their stars that shine brightest.
But they will also be relishing every match featuring stars such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thomas Mueller, Karim Benzema, Luis Suarez and Luka Modric, all possibly playing in the last World Cup of their careers.
After cruelly being denied in the 2014 World Cup final, will Lionel Messi lift the World Cup? Will Cristiano Ronaldo pull off the miracle of all miracles and spearhead his team to glory? Will it be Neymar who leads Brazil's exciting young team to glory? Or will the star-studded French retain the title? Which underdog will make a deep run?
These questions will be playing on the minds of all supporters, but only time will tell. The biggest question will be answered at the Lusail Stadium on December 18. All we can do till then is sit back and enjoy the ride.
Lionel Messi wasn't available at the pre-match press conference for Argentina's World Cup semifinal against Croatia on Monday. He wasn't, in fact, expected to be; the PSG talisman hardly ever attends a press conference.
But that doesn't mean he is shying away from the focus or trying to steer off any controversy he caused during and after the game against the Netherlands.
We've already seen how Messi led his team against the Netherlands, with his skill and with his words, even turning violent at times. That is something Argentina team is apparently comfortable with – the feisty Messi, the Messi that rallies his team and teammates.
Lionel Scaloni, the Argentina coach and Nicolas Tagliafico, the midfielder, voiced their support to this new avatar of Messi, and they apparently want more of it.
"I am not surprised because I know him," Scaloni said of his talismanic forward. "It was always like this. He was always the same, a winner. And he has a pride and a desire to continue playing ball that they envy."
Taglificao, sitting beside Scaloni, was more forthright in his regards for Messi: "Having Messi motivates us, we are delighted that he is our captain"
Croatia's plans, meanwhile, will not centre around Messi only, as Bruno Petkovic said on Sunday that they would be looking to stop the entire team from working, not just Messi.
While Argentina had a rough start to the tournament with a stunning defeat against Saudi Arabia before kicking into gear in the group stages and then scripting exhausting wins over Australia and the Netherlands, Croatia too didn't make life easy for themselves with back-to-back shootout victories at the knockout stages. But that is something Croatia are happy to live with, having navigated the path to the final after extra-time in every knockout stage match in Russia four years ago. They are a battle-hardened side with plenty of strong characters in all the positions, with Luka Modric the creative spark, just like Messi.
Any notion of playing boring football was summarily brushed aside by Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic at the pre-match press conference. "We are in the semifinals and we are here by merit. That's the end of the topic," he said in reply to a question.
Selection-wise, Croatia are in a better position as they have no suspension and no serious injuries to contend with, unlike Argentina, who have defenders Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna suspended. However, the good news for the Argentines is that both Angel di Maria and Gonzalo Montiel are available for selection even though they are not likely to start.
With both teams having won twice against each other and the other match ending in a draw, there is not much to separate the two sides, even though the only time these two sides met in a World Cup ended in a convincing 3-0 win for the European side in Russia four years ago.
But that was a different Argentina team, who had only squeezed into the Round of 16 with a one-point advantage and made a meek exit after the Croatia thrashing. In Lusail tonight, they will certainly be a different beast, with a massive legion of fans egging them on for victory.
Football's claim to being the global sport has strong merits. FIFA is an international organisation with more members than the United Nations, and the football World Cup is one of the top two most watched sports events in the world. Even the national leagues in England, Spain, Germany and Italy are enormously popular outside their borders. The chequered football made of sewn black and white pentagons, despite its relatively late adoption in 1970, is recognisable to any child anywhere in the world who has a notion of what sports is. But when you realise that it took 92 years and 22 tries for the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of a FIFA World Cup, it makes you want to examine this "global" sport.
Morocco may as well have been the first non-European and non-South American country in World Cup semi-finals, but that credit goes to a distinct anomaly. USA finished third in 1930, in the first ever football World Cup. In more modern days, it was last done by South Korea in 2002, in their own backyard. Success in the global sport seems to be universal in two continents out of six, leaving others in relative irrelevance. Why is that?
Well, of course, it has everything to do with who came up with the sport and who ran it. Professional football developed in Europe and exploded in South America. FIFA has only ever had European men as presidents, other than the one Brazilian (also a man) who ran it for 24 years. That is concerning, given FIFA's (admirable, on the face of it) policy of allowing every member to have one vote in elections, regardless of footballing prowess or tradition. The Netflix documentary FIFA Uncovered explains how this international governing body for the sport exploited this situation, morphing into a cartel of sorts where power is held onto as long as possible, where votes are bought and sold with money.
This money is most often disbursed to lower ranked teams from poor countries as "development funds." But money ill-begotten is often ill-spent, and seldom do these funds make their way to the grassroots. This process powers a toxic cycle, where poor nations with lower FIFA rankings tend to stay there, while the people representing these nations line their pockets, and FIFA keeps on being corrupt. The European and South American nations with rich footballing traditions generate their own revenue to keep the sport alive and well in their own countries, and it's nigh impossible for anyone else to emerge.
But this doesn't change the fact that football really is the global sport, because it's loved globally. Every country has football fans, if not a proper football league or a national team, and each and every one of those fans dreams of seeing their nation represented on the global stage. Most live and die without ever seeing that dream realised.
But Morocco did it; they found a way, and the way they did it may just be an inspiration, if not a template, for other teams outside of Europe and South America. Morocco's 26-man squad has 14 players born in foreign countries, including some of their best players. Hakim Ziyech and Sofyan Amrabat were born in the Netherlands, Achraf Hakimi in Spain. Defender Roman Saïss and even the coach, Walid Regragui, were born in France. They all have ancestors who were from Morocco, and they chose to play for the North African country. Clearly, they chose well. The Dutch crashed out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals, Morocco knocked out Spain themselves, and now they line up to face France in a semi-final, for a chance to play Argentina in the biggest game of all.
The brand of football Morocco played to get here has had European flavours as well. They have been tactical, nullifying opposition threats, and taking their own chances to score, as opposed to previous African teams who would play exciting football to go out in a blaze of glory. Contrary to Spanish midfielder Rodri's claim that "Morocco offered absolutely nothing," Morocco have actually offered a lot. The tactical know-how of beating technically superior teams is an invention of the Italians of the distant past, or the Portuguese Jose Mourinho in modern times. Morocco applied their own spin on it, based on the players they had and the challenges in front of them, and look at them now!
If you look at FIFA and football administrators at the top, I think their interpretation of why football is the global sport would be that it makes money globally. But if you asked players and fans, I think they would say that it's global because it's played globally, because the truth of football being accessible to anyone with a round thing to kick and a stretch of grass to run on applies to all nations across the world. If that is the case, why should the story of non-European and non-South American success in the World Cup be so limited?
It's clear that Morocco have found their method, their way forward, and football's universality and global appeal – as a sport and not a business – ensures that other nations will too.
Azmin Azran is editor-in-charge of SHOUT, The Daily Star's weekly youth supplement.
Didier Deschamps proclaimed France’s second World Cup triumph was “just as beautiful” as their first after leading them to glory again 20 years on, but Croatia defender Dejan Lovren said that Deschamps' team "did not play football."
"I'm disappointed because we lost the game, we played much, much better football than them, but on the other hand I'm proud of this team and what we have achieved," Lovren said.
"We played beautiful football again. France were one of the favourites to win the World Cup and they did it. I think we were better. They did it another way. They didn't play football, they waited for their chances and they scored. They had their own tactic and you need to respect that. They played the tournament like that, every game, but when you look at all the countries behind us, we're second.” he added.
"There's nothing to talk about now. It's difficult to describe. Maybe after a week or two, a couple of months... right now, it's difficult. Some moments I feel sad, some moments I'm happy. Overall, I'm proud."
Ivan Perisic conceded the first-half penalty after referee Nestor Pitana penalised him for handball following a VAR review.
"I was sure he would not give the pen," said the Liverpool centre-back. "From my point of view, he [Perisic] could not react.
"It was a critical moment, we came back at 1-1, and then this penalty and then 3-1, 4-1, but even then we didn't stop playing football, we still believed, we gave everything, and this is why people are proud now in Croatia."
Didier Deschamps' side had claimed a 1-0 over Belgium in the semifinals with a defensive masterclass which left Belgium star Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois deeply unimpressed with what he felt were overly cagey tactics by France in the semi-final, and now Lovren also felt the frustration of coming up against Deschamps's style. Not always the most entertaining, however, in the end, French squad just had too much talent at its disposal to get the job done.
Barcelona midfielder Rakitic scored the decisive spot-kick as Croatia beat Russia 4-3 on penalties after a dramatic quarter-final in Sochi on Saturday finished 2-2 at the end of extra-time.
“We worked so hard and gave everything we had to get through to the semis. I think for a country like Croatia it is impressive and we want to keep going further,” said Rakitic.
“We want to enjoy this victory and not put more pressure on ourselves with what happened in 1998 -- what they did was impressive but we want to keep writing our own history and enjoy what we are doing which is very positive.”
Croatia will play England in the last four in Moscow on Wednesday, as they aim to outdo the team of 20 years ago. Back then they lost to hosts France in the last four.
“I hope we can outdo them. Their generation are more than heroes for us,” added Rakitic.
Croatia came from behind in Sochi with Andrej Kramaric cancelling out Denis Cheryshev’s opener as the tie ended 1-1 after 90 minutes.
Domagoj Vida then headed Zlatko Dalic’s side in front in extra time, only for Mario Fernandes to make it 2-2 in the 115th minute.
However, Rakitic ensured that Croatia prevailed in the shoot-out, their second in a row after beating Denmark on penalties in the last round.
They must recover quickly from a draining night before facing England, who were 2-0 winners over Sweden earlier on Saturday.
“We enjoy playing against big teams as we showed against Argentina,” insisted defender Dejan Lovren.
“England are one of the favourites to win the World Cup and you need to respect that, but we have nothing to lose. We will enjoy this game and hopefully we can make history.”
Lovren added that he was confident right-back Sime Vrsaljko would recover from the muscle injury that forced him off in extra-time against Russia.
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