REVIEWING THE FIRST FOUR GAMES: THE FIFA WORLD CUP 2022
WC 2022 REVIEW- PART ONE
OVERVIEW OF THE
FIRST FOUR GAMES
And we’re off! Qatar broke the host country tradition of
never losing the first game, England were magnificent as they trounced Iran,
the Netherlands left it late to overcome Senegal, and Wales and the USA shared the
spoils in a fiery encounter. Here’s what we made of it:
Qatar 0-2 Ecuador
Enner Valencia 16' (P), 31
Man, that scoreline really flatters Qatar. Amid rumours of
Qatari officials allegedly offering bribes to the Ecuadorian players to lose, Ecuador
showed up to the Al Bayt Stadium in the mood. From the start, the South
Americans were clearly the better side, opening Qatar up time and time again,
and it was only a matter of time before they eventually scored. When they did,
we got to see the semi-automated offside technology in action for the first
time, ruling out Ecuador’s opener. The scoreboard finally ticked forward after Saad
Al Sheeb gave away a penalty, which was emphatically dispatched by Enner
Valencia. Valencia then bagged his second with an excellent header into the
bottom corner. From there, the Ecuadorians were set, and the game was finished,
with the Qataris never really posing a threat. The tradition of the host
country never losing in the opening game is finally broken.
England 6-2 Iran
Jude Bellingham 35', Bukayo Saka 43', 62', Raheem Sterling 45+1', Marcus Rashford 71', Jack Grealish 90' ; Mehdi Taremi 65', 90+13' (P)
England arrived in Qatar as one of the favourites to lift
the title, hoping to improve on their semi-final finish four years ago in
Russia. Criticisms have been made of Gareth Southgate’s side, with accusations
of boring and slow football flying around, but the Three Lions were none of
those things yesterday. England were fast, fluid and smooth, with Bukayo Saka
and Jude Bellingham in particular playing some beautiful football. A true statement
of intent. However, the greatest significant of the game happened before it
even began. Some things go beyond even the Beautiful Game. In a World Cup as
surrounded by controversy as this one, a rare moment of inspiration and
defiance from Iran’s national side, as they refused to sing their national
anthem in support of the protests going on back in their home country.
Netherlands 2-0 Senegal
Cody Gakpo 84', Davy Klaassen 90+9'
The Dutch were always favourites for the group, even more so
with star man Sadio Mane out injured for the Senegalese. As it turns out,
however, Senegal played excellently, giving the Oranje a run for their money;
Ismaila Sarr was rapid and looked threatening every time he got the ball, and
the defence held up excellently. At the other end, the Dutch came close to
scoring several times, with Steven Bergwijn inches away, and Frenkie De Jong
guilty of hesitating in front of goal. De Jong made amends late in the game, playing
a beautiful pass over the Senegalese defence for Cody Gakpo to head in. Davy
Klaassen sealed it in injury time, pouncing on the rebound after Edouard Mendy parried
poorly. It seems the game against Senegal and Ecuador will decide who joins
Louis Van Gaal’s side in the knockout stages.
Wales 1-1 USA
Gareth Bale 82' (P); Timothy Weah 36'
The United States dominated the opening exchanges, with
Wayne Henessey and the post both called upon to keep the Welsh’s clean sheet
intact. Christian Pulisic then went on a lovely run before playing a
perfectly-weighted through ball in for Timothy Weah to open the scoring. Kieffer
Moore’s introduction at the break provided Wales with a spark, and he should
have equalized, but could only head over the bar. Wales did eventually equalize:
Gareth Bale reached the ball before Walker Zimmerman, winning a penalty, which
he duly converted. Bale then had a chance to win it for Wales from the halfway
line with goalkeeper Matt Turner off his line, but a tackle from Kellyn Acosta
tripped up the ex-Real Madrid star before he could press the trigger. A
tactical foul if there ever was one.
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