November 13, Doha, Qatar, a local traditional market selling World Cup peripheral products. Photo/IC photo
With the start of the 2022 Qatar Football World Cup just around the corner, as the last World Cup with 32 teams playing, the talk and attention is not limited to the competition. From the size of the participating teams, the mascots, the theme song, and even whether there will be a new "prediction emperor", everything about the World Cup carries a variety of divergent thinking and expectations of fans and non-fans.
Participating teams
The last dance of the "World Cup Top 32", the next round of 48 will appear
On January 10, 2017, FIFA announced that the number of World Cup teams would increase to 48 from 2026. Although FIFA has since been open to "early expansion" and there was speculation about whether 48 teams would appear at the Qatar World Cup, after studying various possibilities with the host, FIFA announced in May 2019 that the Qatar World Cup would still be played by 32 teams as originally planned.
This also means that the "World Cup Round of 32" model will stage a "farewell match" in Qatar.
The change from the round of 32 to the round of 48 is not a simple change in numbers, FIFA has previously promised that the 32 days of the World Cup will remain unchanged, the number of days for each team to rest as a whole will not be reduced, and the teams that reach the final will play up to seven matches. The 48 teams will be divided into 16 groups, with the top two from each group advancing to the round of 32 knockout rounds.
Over the past 21 World Cups, the size of the participating teams has undergone several changes, the first World Cup in Uruguay in 1930 had 13 teams participating, and for about half a century, the number of participating teams in the World Cup remained at 16 (compared to 15 teams in 1950). The 1982 World Cup in Spain was expanded for the first time, with the number of participating teams increasing from 16 to 24. The 1998 World Cup in France was expanded to 32 teams, and 32 teams participated in all six subsequent World Cups. The 23rd World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026, will make its debut in the round of 48.
Theme song
Italians give romantic gifts, the unofficial theme song of "The Cup of Life"
In the hearts of fans, there is always a World Cup that is "white moonlight", and there will always be a melody of a World Cup song ringing in the ears.
The first single of the Qatar World Cup "Hayya Hayya" was officially launched in April this year, the style is light, like the melodious camel bell in the vast sea of sand, although the response and singing are slightly flat, but with the opening of the World Cup, "Hayya Hayya" staged a headwind reversal is unknown.
Music can also convey the charm of football, and Ricky Martin's "Cup of Life" can easily bring people back to the 1998 World Cup in France, and it has also led people to mistake "The Cup of Life" as the World Cup theme song for many years - the official theme song of the World Cup in France is actually "I play, do you mind" sung by Yuso Ndo and Axela Reid.
Another golden song that carries the memory of the World Cup is the South African World Cup theme song "Waka Waka" sung by Shakira, which can easily remind people of Woo Zula, and in front of Iniesta's sword seal in the 117th minute of the final.
Fans certainly won't forget the theme song for the 1990 World Cup in Italy, "Italian Summer", which was considered a romantic gift from the hosts to the world that summer.
At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, "Waka Waka" sung by South American diva Shakira became a classic World Cup theme song. Infographic/IC photo
mascot
15 "cuties" came to line up, and the lion was shortlisted twice
Listening to the song and watching the ball, the fans have a complete World Cup memory, of course, there is also a mascot.
The growth history of the World Cup "cuties" is not short, dating back to the 1966 World Cup in England, when the cartoon lion named "Willy" who could play football became the first mascot in the history of the World Cup. Subsequently, at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, the mascot image created by the hosts was the little boy "Juannite" wearing a Mexican straw hat.
In the 1974 World Cup in Germany, two children, "Tip" and "Taipu", one tall and one short, one fat and one thin, were chosen as mascots, which symbolized friendship and peace. The mascot of the 1978 World Cup in Argentina was the boy "Gocheto", who wore a cowboy hat of a Pampas herder herder, wore an Argentine jersey, held a horsewhip and smirked on a football.
The 1982 World Cup in Spain and the 1986 World Cup in Mexico did not follow the convention of using people or animals as mascots, and the mascot of the World Cup in Spain "Narangito" was a Spanish specialty - oranges; Mexicans have not forgotten to put on a traditional straw hat for their mascot "Pique", under which is an anthropomorphic green pepper.
With the debut of Qatar's "Raib", the lineup of World Cup mascots reached 15. Photo/IC photo
The Italians were extremely romantic and imaginative at the 1990 World Cup, and their mascot "Chao" was also ingenious, in the shape of a man made of football and building blocks.
In addition to the mascots of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup are "Ato", "Nick" and "Kaz" 3 elves, the mascot of the 1994 World Cup in the United States "Sagitar" is a cartoon puppy, the 1998 World Cup mascot of the World Cup in France "Fotix" is a small rooster, the 2006 World Cup mascot "Gleo" in Germany is a lion, and the 2010 World Cup mascot in South Africa "Zakumi" is a leopard with green curly hair. The mascot of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil "Fraco" is a cartoon armadillo, and the mascot of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia is the Siberian plain wolf "Zabihuaka".
Next, the Qatar World Cup mascot "Raib" appeared, which was inspired by the traditional Arabic clothing headdress, and Chinese fans gave it the nickname "flying dumpling skin", which was full of favorability as soon as it appeared.
Internet celebrity Forbidden City Cat Bai Dian accurately predicted many matches of the 2018 World Cup before his death. Infographic/IC photo
Predict the emperor
The Forbidden City double cat hit 8 games, which "divine beast" is stronger this year?
Predicting the outcome of World Cup matches is a favorite event for fans and professionals alike. Even if he has attracted the nickname "Raven's Mouth" that is more deeply rooted in people's hearts than "King of Ball", Pele still persevers in predicting the World Cup. As long as the kung fu is deep, the heavenly sword can also be sharpened into an embroidery needle, no, in the 28 years from the 1990 World Cup in Italy to the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Pele at least predicted the time when Spain won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
This fact proves that playing football is Peley's line, and predicting this kind of thing still depends on the "mythical beasts".
In the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Paul the octopus, who made a name for himself at the 2008 European Championship, reproduced "accurate predictions", from the group stage of the German team to the final championship, all 8 predictions. Since then, the animal kingdom has been in full swing, Brazilian sea turtles, Dubai camels, German elephants... All join the ranks of predictions and challenge the status of the "Octopus Emperor".
The "star prediction animal" of the 2018 World Cup in Russia is a cat, and the Hermitage Museum in Russia sent a "guard cat" named "Achilles" to make predictions, but the accuracy of "Achilles" predictions is erratic. The two cats representing the Palace Museum in Beijing, "White Dot" and "Long Legs", teamed up to guess the results of 8 games and laughed at their Russian counterparts.
The Qatar World Cup brings another suspense, this year's prediction "mythical beast", which is the stronger?
On November 12, the World Cup in Qatar approached, and the atmosphere of street football in Doha became stronger. Photo/IC photo
Hit the "card" ground
Qatar adjusts prohibition, fans can drink a glass of nothing?
Going to Qatar to watch the World Cup, what food needs to be "checked in"? The Qatar World Cup "Delivery and Inheritance" organizing committee official Bo gave the answer early and thoughtfully made a list, from high-carbon staples to fat-reducing salads, from delicious desserts to "the first cup of milk tea in winter".
Qatari risotto, sweet vermicelli scrambled eggs, lamb stew, chicken stew, golden hummus balls, sago dew, chicken wheat porridge, spiced milk tea, golden sugar balls... Just by looking at the name, it is already appetizing.
When watching the World Cup matches, drinking a glass is the choice of many fans, but in Qatar, where alcohol is strictly controlled, "drinking a glass of nothing" during the viewing period has been widely concerned by fans around the world. In 2016, Qatar planned to maintain a ban on alcohol on streets and public places, including stadiums, during the World Cup, but this ban was adjusted as the tournament approached. Nasser Alhat, chief executive of Qatar's World Cup organizing committee, said in September that during the World Cup, fans can buy alcoholic beverages such as beer in specific areas. In addition, FIFA also said that relevant merchants will serve beer in the ticketing area around the World Cup stadium, but will not serve alcoholic beverages in the stadium stands or halls.
Embarrassing
12 times to impact the World Cup, the national football team has only seen the "scenery" once
On October 7, Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, the 20th anniversary of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup national football team qualification event, Milu and former disciples took a group photo. Photo/IC photo
The World Cup pictures in my memory are sad and joyful, some young and flamboyant, and some heroes are late, but the World Cup memory of the Chinese team has and only has the one in 2002.
On February 1, 2022, the Chinese men's national team lost 1-3 against Vietnam in the round of 12, and announced that it did not participate in the Qatar World Cup two rounds earlier. Since 1957, Chinese football has competed in the World Cup 12 times, but only once has it reached the World Cup finals.
The 17th World Cup in 2002 was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, which was the first time that the World Cup was held in Asia and the first time that the two countries co-hosted it. Under the leadership of "Magic Coach" Milu, the Chinese team broke through from the round of 10, but the Chinese team, which set the goal of "scoring a goal, taking a point, and winning a game", failed to make a difference in the World Cup group stage, and went home sadly after all three games.
Since then, the World Cup has become an unattainable goal for China, and perhaps the next World Cup, which expands to 48 teams, will become a new opportunity, when there will be 8.5 places in Asia. Although the latest ranking of the national football team is 11th in Asia, it will look easier in the end.
Beijing News reporter Zhou Xiao
Edited by Wang Chunqiu
Cartographer Chunlei
Proofreader Liu Yue