Newsman: The World Cup kicked off in Qatar on Sunday. Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thami was present in the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, 50 kilometres outside of Doha, to watch the host nation face Ecuador in the opening match. FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, projects five billion people will tune in, again making the month-long event the most-watched-sports spectacle on the planet. The team’s arrival was complete with five-time champions Brazil was the last to touch down in Doha late on Saturday. Also in a first in the tournament, France withdrew star striker and Ballon D’Or winner Karim Benzema due to injury.
Defending champions France are already battling the absence of star midfielders Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante. On Saturday the Real Madrid star limped out of a training session with a left thigh injury.
The French federation later confirmed in a statement that the 34-year-old would require “a recovery period of three weeks” and would play no part in the competition.
Belgium are also reeling from an injury blow after striker Romelu Lukaku was ruled out of the Red Devils’ opening two games as he continues to recover from a hamstring problem.
World Cup organisers hope the start of the football will quell the controversies that have overshadowed preparations for the tournament ever since Qatar was named as host nation in a shock FIFA vote in 2010.
The world Cup 2022 seems surprising with many unpredictable outcomes in the game. In a breathless start to the match in the stadium Qatar, the host country’s national soccer team lost to Ecuador by 2-0 in the opening match.
Japan’s 2-1 win over Germany from a 1-0 deficit did not match the far-fetched wonder of Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win over Argentina on Tuesday, but it did lend the World Cup another darling.
The U.S. is tied with Ecuador as the second youngest teams in Qatar. But youth and World Cup inexperience hardly mean the Americans are new to international soccer. It’s a first World Cup for 25 of the 26 players suited up for the U.S. playing its opening match Monday, Nov. 21st at 2 pm ET against Wales. U.S. fans have a rooting interest in the World Cup. And the thrill of this moment isn’t lost on the players.
The Al Bayt venue is one of an array of new stadiums built for the tournament, which has cost Qatar an estimated $200 billion, the most expensive World Cup in history.
South Korean K-pop star Jung Kook headlined the 30-minute opening ceremony, attended by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. FIFA president Gianni Infantino sat next to the Saudi leader.
Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers and the Gulf state’s human rights record have dominated the pre-tournament headlines. But on Saturday, Infantino went on the offensive in an aggressive rebuttal of the opprobrium aimed at the event, arguing that much of the criticism was unfair.
“This moral lesson-giving—one-sided—is just hypocrisy,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said. “I don’t want to give you any lessons of life, but what is going on here is profoundly, profoundly unjust.”
Controversies look certain to rumble on into the tournament even after the action starts.
Several European nations—including England, Germany and Denmark—have said their players will wear rainbow-coloured “OneLove” armbands in a gesture of solidarity with the LGBTQ community.
The move raises the prospect of disciplinary action from FIFA – the world governing body of the game – which has revealed plans to make its own alternative armbands available to teams.
Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar. Infantino insisted that all World Cup visitors would be welcome regardless of sexual orientation. “They [hosts] can confirm that I can confirm that everyone is welcome.”
The FIFA social awareness campaign kicks off, in round one of the group stage, with the theme #FootballUnitesTheWorld. That seems like a heavy lift right now, considering FIFA and Qatar’s angry pushback against critics.
