Glory Hunt in the gulf begins

The Qatar World Cup 2022, set to be a one-of-a-kind rendition of the global mega event due to several reasons, will kick off today with hosts Qatar taking on Ecuador in the opening match of the tournament at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.

While there are several off-field issues, which have only grown to become more and more questionable as time went by, this World Cup is a drawing one because it is likely to be the swansong for the two greatest players of this generation- Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The duo, well into their 30s, will not be playing in USA, Mexico, and Canada some four years later unless a miracle and this time in Qatar is their final shot at getting their hands on the holy grail of football, something that has eluded them despite their star-spangled career.

And probably for the first time in their career, the duo that dwarfed every other player of the generation, have the teams to fight for it. Portugal come into the World Cup with a golden generation, while Argentina are the defending Champions of South America and are unbeaten for their last 36 matches, two more and they will make the world record.

It has even led to data analysis, research, and prediction models to suggest that Argentina and Portugal will meet in the final, and the draw has been such that if both teams win their respective groups, and go on a marauding run, they will meet in the grand finale on December 18.

This World Cup is also the likely goodbye from the tournament for Germany’s Manual Neuer and Thomas Muller, France’s Karim Benzema and Olivier Giroud, Poland’s Robert Lewandowski, Croatia’s Luka Modric, Costa Rica’s Keylor Navas, Portugal’s Pepe, Uruguay’s Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, Spain’s Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, and Brazil’s Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, and surprisingly Neymar, who has said that if things don’t change, he will not be in North America for 2026.

But an ode to all these players cannot take eyes off the off-field issues, which include several restrictions from the Qatari authorities alongside their severe human rights violation allegations.

These controversies became even more dubious and unsettling following FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s press conference, where he lashed at the protests regarding the alleged human rights and other violations saying they were hypocritical, pointing towards Europe’s colonising of the world in the past centuries.

“We have been taught many lessons from Europeans and the Western world. I am a European and for what we have been doing for 3,000 years around the world, we should be apologising for the next 3,000 years before giving moral lessons.

“If Europe really care about the destiny of these people, they can create legal channels - like Qatar did - where a number of these workers can come to Europe to work. Give them a future, some hope.

“This one-sided moral lesson is just hypocrisy...I don’t want to give you any lessons of life, but what is going on here is profoundly, profoundly unjust,” the FIFA President said.

The recent fires in the burning World Cup issue have been caused by the new infringement provided by the Qatari government, the embargo on selling beer in the vicinity of the stadiums, which was supposed to be allowed despite Qatar being an Islamic country.

That has led to questions on whether FIFA has lost control over their tournament, especially because now they face a contractual concern with beer company Budweiser, one of their sponsors of the tournament.

But Infantino brushed off all of these issues saying, “If this is the biggest issue we have for the World Cup then I will resign immediately and go to the beach to relax.

“I feel 200 per cent in control of this World Cup, absolutely. Every decision is taken in partnership with the Qatari government.”

While the off-the-field issues have been ubiquitous in the whole portrayal of the World Cup, FIFA has been constantly asking for focus on the football on the pitch, but that has also become something of a question mark.

The World Cup, shifted to November-December to tackle the issue of the extreme heat of the middle-east during the usual World Cup window in June-July, has forced European football to be halted in the middle and cram up matches before that, which has led to a plethora of players missing out with injuries.

Among the biggest players missing out to injury are France midfield duo Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante alongside forward Christopher Nkunku, Germany forwards Marco Reus and Timo Werner, Argentina midfielder Giovani Lo Celso, Senegal’s Sadio Mane, England’s Reece James and Ben Chilwell, and Spain’s first-choice left-back Jose Luis Gaya.

All these injuries have once again questioned the selection of Qatar as the hosts, and also the heat despite the change in dates as teams have suffered while practising during the day.

Although the stadiums are air-conditioned, the confusion of whether matches played in daylight will suit the players continue to persist.

Despite all the problems and questions that encase the World Cup, it still remains the biggest event in the footballing world, an occasion of joy for all the fans around the world.

All that can be hoped for is that the tournament goes on smoothly and that fans can indulge themselves in football over the course of the next 32 days and 64 matches, although that will not compensate for everything that has been put on line by FIFA, Qatar, and those who had to pay a price.