November 20, 2022 Cloudy
Today's duty: Liao Haoyu
Moment Night Talk No. 39
At 0:00 on November 21, Beijing time, the much-anticipated 2022 Qatar World Cup officially kicked off, and 32 teams will fight for the Hercules Cup, which symbolizes the highest honor in football, in the next nearly month. In addition to the host opener, there were three teams competing on the first matchday in Qatar, and the editors will analyze these four matches below.
Qatar vs Ecuador (0:00 Beijing time on the 21st)
On the evening of the 20th local time (0:00 Beijing time on the 21st), the 2022 Football World Cup will start for the first time in the winter of the northern hemisphere. Hosts Qatar take on South American powerhouse Ecuador at Doha Bay Stadium.
On October 2, 2022, Qatari players trained in Doha and opened to the public in preparation for the World Cup. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Niku)
In terms of strength, Qatar is a certain gap with Ecuador, which has a number of players who have played in European leagues such as the Premier League, and Qatar (50th) is also behind Ecuador (44th) in the world ranking. As the first host team to never play in the main tournament since the third World Cup in 1938, Qatar has been labelled the "weakest host". FIFA's latest world rankings add another footnote to its "weakest": the 50th-placed host team is firmly in the "bottom three" of the round of 32. Ecuador has reached the World Cup for the fourth time and advanced to the round of 16 at the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Ecuadorian players compete against Argentina in the South American qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup on October 8, 2020. Xinhua/Reuters
Despite the big gap on paper, Qatari fans really had reason to expect a win, or at least a draw, on this night – as no host team had ever lost on the first matchday of the World Cup. In addition, in the first 21 World Cups, with the exception of South Africa, the 2010 World Cup hosts, all other hosts qualified from the group.
So, can Qatar continue this "law" at the Gulf Stadium? Let's wait and see.
England vs Iran (21:00 Beijing time, 21 on the 21st)
England, as one of Europe's traditional powerhouses, has the strength to attack the championship from the perspective of the squad, but recently it has been in worse form, and the team has continued to win in the UEFA Nations League matches, setting many humiliations. In addition to the regrets in the UEFA Nations League, England's performance in other arenas is obvious to all. England had a strong performance in the World Qualifiers, with excellent performances at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, with 8 wins and 2 draws, securing a World Cup place early with a group top win.
England train for the Qatar World Cup in Vokla, Qatar, on November 16. Xinhua/Reuters
Iran, as the first brother in Asia, also has many players with European efficiency in their squad, but compared with England, the squad gap is still very large, and there is no advantage at all. The team has won 6 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats in the last 10 rounds, and the overall performance is quite stable. The team's 2-0 defeat away to South Korea in the last round of Asian qualifiers ended a luxurious four-game winning streak away from home, and the overall away performance was good.
Iran's Taremi celebrates a goal in a World Cup on September 7, 2021. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Niku)
On the whole, from the world ranking, England has a clear advantage, but due to Iran's tough defense, England are optimistic about a small victory in this game.
Senegal vs Netherlands (0:00 Beijing time on the 22nd)
The Netherlands has a position in world football that is second to its peers in its group, reaching the final three times, especially in the 1974 FIFA World Cup in Germany, which set off the "Third Football Revolution", establishing its special status as the "uncrowned king". Although the Netherlands are not currently in their heyday and are not favourites to win the title, they are all first-class players, Frankie De Jong in midfield, Van Dijk and De Ligt in defense are all top stars, and Depay is slightly weaker in the striker, which is also a quasi-top level. The overall strength of the "Orange Legion" is different from that of its opponents in the same group.
On June 11, 2022, Depay of the Netherlands took the penalty during the UEFA Nations League match. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong
Although Senegal is recognized as an African powerhouse, they won't win the Africa Cup of Nations until 2022. The team has reached three World Cup finals, notably at the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan, where they knocked out defending champions France 1-0 in the opener. Today, Senegal's head coach, Cissé, captained the 2002 national team.
Bayern Munich's Mane (right) dribbled through Bayer Leverkusen's Odilon defence during a match on September 30. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Philip Ruiz)
Senegal's World Cup prospects were clouded by the announcement two days ago that its number one star Mane would withdraw from the World Cup due to injury. If Mane's Senegal can wrestle with the Netherlands, the balance of victory has tilted in favour of the Netherlands when the news of Mane's withdrawal from the World Cup is announced.
USA vs Wales (3:00 Beijing time on the 22nd)
In Group B, where England is thriving, the United States and Wales need to remove the "stumbling block" of their opponents if they want to qualify from the group. In the FIFA world rankings, the United States is 16th and Wales is 19th, and the difference between the two sides is not much.
The US men's soccer team has many "top players" who play in the five major European leagues. Chelsea striker Christian Pulisic is the absolute heart of the American squad, scoring five goals in 10 World Cup qualifiers in the Caribbean zone of North and Central America. McKennie, who plays for Juventus, is only 24 years old, and right-back Dest, who has just joined AC Milan, is also young, while midfielders Adams and Aronson are the main players of Premier League team Leeds United, and many people play in the Bundesliga and Eredivisie.
Chelsea's Pulisic (centre) scores a shot against Liverpool on 2 January 2022. Xinhua News Agency
Wales' return to the World Cup stage came 64 years apart. Unfortunately, its second World Cup trip came a little late, the "European Red Dragon" has passed its peak, the main player in the team is older, the 33-year-old "leader" Bale, is no longer the Real Madrid superstar when he led the team to the European Cup semi-finals six years ago, let alone the football genius who set a transfer fee record of 101 million euros when he joined Real Madrid nine years ago.
Belgium's Witsel (second from right) and Wales' Bale (front left) fight in the UEFA Nations League on June 11, 2022. Xinhua News Agency
Today's Welsh team is "old old, little small". Therefore, in this seemingly evenly matched contest, the American team has the upper hand.