Boycott the World Cup

In a recent post I have stated how disappointed and sad I am about this World Cup. You can now add the FIFAs pandering to politicians to the list. 

Folarin Balogun was given a red card against Bosnia-Hercegovina. According to the rules, a red card means an automatic suspension in the next match, meaning that the US top-scorer would not play  Belgium when the USA faces them in the next match. The US Secretary of State called for FIFA to lift the suspension, and lo-and-behold, today they lifted the ban on Balogun, getting a big thanks from the US President along the way.

FIFAs possible favouritism had already been announced while lifting a suspension on the Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo when entering the tournament, but this is the first time it has been lifted during an ongoing tournament and with such obvious interference.

So much is wrong with this tournament, and I sadly see no other option than to boycott it. By just watching it I feel that am condoning all the bad things about this World Cup; we are as guilty as FIFA by following it. Criticism is not enough, but something must be done to end this systematic destruction of the game that real football fans love.

So this will be my last World Cup 2026 post, and I strongly urge everyone to stop watching the World Cup, no matter who you support or how your team is doing.

Would you not want them to compete in a fair competition anyway...? 

No Sweat

The match between Brazil and Norway was a bit of a disappointment in terms of quality, but certainly had the correct winner: Norway, with two great goals from Erling Haaland, who is surely one of the best strikers in the world, if not the very best.

The match was slow. At times it appeared as if the players did not want to sweat too much; Norway passed the ball around slowly, with little pressure from the Brazilians, while the Brazilians were indeed more dangerous in their attacks, but generally also slow to recover the ball from the Norwegians. 

That said, the match could have been entirely different were it not for the inefficiency of the Brazilian attack. Bruno Guimaraes did not shoot like a Brazilian when he missed the penalty in the first half. A young and overrated Endrick, who truly added nothing to the Brazilian team, made a huge miss in the second half. Perhaps it would have changed the match, but Brazil appears to have forgotten that to win you need a striker as efficient and unforgiving as the great Norwegian.

Why does Brazil not produce players like Erling Haaland any longer?

In the end Neymar, coming in as a failed saviour managed to score on a penalty against the excellent Norwegian goalkeeper Ørjan Nyland, who laughed off Neymar's frustration in the dying seconds.

Probably last kick of Neymar in a World Cup... 

Norway may not become World Champions; they still have weaknesses in defense and depend greatly on Haaland, but they are now surely the darlings of the tournament as they deserved a victory against another hugely disappointing Brazil side that is again eliminated in the knock-out phase against a European side (they have always been eliminated by European sides since 2006), and against a tiny but great Scandinavian nation that they have never defeated... 

Big Cheers to our Norwegian friends! 

Brazil-Norway preview

I think that today's match between Brazil and Norway has the potential of being a great match. Norway has been playing some excellent football led in particular by the two stars Martin Ødegaard and Erling Haaland, while Brazil has shown the potential to get far, even as their name is not among the biggest favourites, with Vinicius Jr. as the main star so far. Norway's attacking prowess is without question, but their defense has more than once proven shaky during the tournament, something that Ancelotti has probably eyed. Raphinha still appears to be doubtful, but may be replaced by Neymar, something that could prove either a huge risk, or a huge opportunity. 

It is notable that Norway is one of the few countries in the world that has never lost to Brazil. They have only played four times, with two victories for Norway and two draws. In 1998 they faced one another in the group stages of the World Cup that France later won against Brazil in the final. Norway won 2-1 with two heroic goals within the last ten minutes of the match by Tor-Andre Flo and Kjetil Rekdal, after Bebeto had brought Brazil ahead. Brazil still won the group, but the victory meant that Norway advanced to the round-of-16, where they were eliminated by Italy.

So no matter what happens it will be history!

Another thing: after a disgraceful match with a team that refused to play football like Paraguay, I hope to see two teams of real sportsmen for whom fighting does not mean to be violent pricks (like Paraguay), but who will compete hard, as equals and with mutual respect. 

Good luck to both and may the best team win!

Civilized team versus Paraguay

In one of the worst matches in a this World Cup, Paraguay lost 0-1 to France on a penalty kick by Kylian Mbappe. 

Paraguay are the worst example of a football team, playing not just defensively, but played a destructive and filthy style; the type of style that does not deserve to be called football, and not a single of those Paraguayans belong on a football pitch. Neither does the referee Ilgiz Tantashev, who allowed every violent trick by the South Americans. Hope he never referees again.

What is VAR for!?

Paraguay will not be missed and hope never to see them in any tournament again.

France has been the best team in the tournament, and despite the difficulties in winning this match, this is one of the most important matches on their way to win the tournament, because they won a difficult match against an opponent that refused to play football.

How is it going?

I have really tried to enjoy the World Cup; trying to find that magical feeling of a tournament that has defined my love for football. I have been to two of the matches in person, enjoying the atmosphere and beautiful stadiums. I have had beers over matches and been to fan zones and bars in four different cities in three countries; I have read, listened, talked and written about the tournament.

How is it going as we enter the round-of-16 phase of knock-out matches?

Not good. 

While the good things generally outnumbered the bad things four years ago in Qatar, there are too many bad things about the tournament to enjoy it:

• 48 teams are too many; too many poor sides and defensive matches that will barely be remembered. A few good moments on the pitch, but it is too far between them.
• VAR: the technology continues to be used far beyond its original purpose. Instead of settling controversies, it just deepens them, as it is clear that most decisions have a level of referee discretion. It thus becomes an excuse for referees not to make decisions, as well as a waste of time, rather than the tool it could be in selected situations.
• Hydration breaks are a terrible symptom of the excessive commercialization of the World Cup; an excuse for commercial breaks that directly damages the flow of the game. 
• Prices: I lived this myself; prices of tickets, but also of everything surrounding the tournament, from increased consumer prices and cable network subscription packages that include the World Cup. I am not suffering economically, but can see that the peoples’ sport has become exclusive to a rich globalized minority.
• The fans: A video has been circulating showing a Mexican woman who, unprovoked, pours beer on two Ecuatorian fans before the Mexico-Ecuador match. Social media has poured its collective punishment on the woman, who is said not to represent Mexico. Obviously she does not, but she does represent a growing part of football culture: ignorant supporters all over the world who have been herded like sheep by social media and FIFA's commercialization of nationalism to see football less as a shared celebration than as a way to express hostility towards others.  

Football does not unite.

Perhaps that is what saddens me most. I have spent this tournament trying to rediscover the feeling that made me fall in love with the World Cup as a child. Instead, with every match, I find myself feeling more distant—not only from the tournament, but from the world that has grown up around it.