Countdown

Near my house in Mexico City they recently set up a clock counting down to the opening match of the World Cup, which will take place on June 11th 2026 at the legendary Azteca Stadium.

The stadium is now being refurbished to accommodate this great event as if it were the first time it hosts a great event...

But with this, starts my own countdown, and should perhaps try to relate some of the impressions of living in a country that will host the Mens' Football World Cup for the third time ever, but this time alongside Canada and the United States of America.

The coming World Cups

 It was announced this week that the 2034 World Cup will be hosted by Saudi Arabia. This has engendered a lot of criticism due to the fact that Saudi Arabia has many democratic and human rights problems. Well, I think it is not a new issue as FIFA has awarded tournament's before without any political or human rights considerations, but rather cold-hearted economic calculations. 

FIFA is first and foremost a money machine, and this has probably been the main criteria in selecting Saudi Arabia. That said, other concerns risk undermining the quality and love we fans feel for the World Cup, and one of these changes will already be seen at the 2026 World Cup in USA-Mexico-Canada: the 48 team tournament is just too big, too many teams, too many mediocre matches that will be watched mainly by people from the nations playing them... With already too many tournaments and too many matches, the World Cup risks drowning in the infinity of choices; it will no longer be special...

Secondly these multi-host tournaments that will in 2030 include three "main" hosts (Spain, Morocco and Portugal), with additional matches to be played in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. 

It is simply too much, too massive.

Perhaps a symbol of our time when everything needs to be bigger and more extravagant, but I can assure one thing: despite the social media hype it will not be better than the World Cups that made my generation dream and love football.

I will of course keep watching the World Cups; I even hope that I will be able to get tickets for 2026 in Mexico through the murky and elitist FIFA ticketing procedures.

That will be another challenge...

Spain World Champions

Spain have become World Champions defeating England 1-0 on a first half strike by the Real Madrid player Olga Carmona. Only her third goal on the national team, the second having come in the semifinal against Sweden. Spain were the better team throughout the match and deserved the victory. England were saved by a larger defeat by a strong Mary Earps on goal.

Spain have been growing for years with a solid base at FC Barcelona, and despite internal struggles before the tournament they have shown stamina, and if anything, will only grown stronger. Certainly they are the side to defeat right now.

It has been a great World Cup with a lot of surprises and fantastic matches and teams. Thanks to everyone and look forward to the next one!

The 2023 finalists

Already when we had the four semi-finalists we knew one team that had never won before would be World Champion. And now we have a final with two sides who have never been there before: Spain versus England.

Spain has been a rising power for many years, and the rising power of FC Barcelona (defending CL champions) and Real Madrid has become to transfer to the national team. That said, internal disagreements and their 0-4 loss to Japan in the first round cast some doubt on how far they could get. There is no doubt that they could go all the way now: they defeated Sweden 2-1 in a close-fought match. Only in the 81st minute Spain went ahead by the young Barcelona striker Salma Paralluelo, and while it seemed that they were on their way to victory, Sweden striked back in the 89th minute by Rebecka Blomqvist, and it appeared to be extra time. But one minute later, following a corner kick and poor defending by Sweden, Olga Carmona had a strike from outside the penalty kick that went over the Swedish goalie.

All in all Spain has shown that they are never beaten and will keep fighting, and that is a strength when going into the final.

England are defending European champions and went into the tournament as favourites, but have not looked strong throughout. But that may also be their strength: they have won matches where they have not necessarily looked as the best side. 

This was not the case against Australia. Despite massive home support, the English kept their head cold and looked stronger most of the match despite Australia's brave fight. It was Ella Ann Toone who brought England ahead in the first half on a great strike from inside the penalty area, following the buildup by a strong Alessia Russo. Australia went forward in the second half and it was a fantastic strike by Samantha Kerr that brought them the equaliser (perhaps one of the best goals of the tournament), and renewed hope for Australia. But seven minutes later Lauren Hemp won a clumsy duel with the Australia defender Ellie Carpenter, and pushed the ball past the goalkeeper.

Australia pressed forward and Samantha Kerr had two big chances to equalise, but in the end it was the Arsenal striker Alessia Russo who scored England's third and put England definitively in the final.

It will be a great final with two teams that both have chance. Also the first all-European final since 2003 (when Germany defeated Sweden), and the first final since 2007 without the USA. The poor showing of the USA is witnessed by the fact that this is the first World Cup ever when USA are not among the top-3.

A unique World Cup already!

Colombia out and other results

 With time difference and limited coverage, it continues to be difficult to follow the World Cup in Australia/ New Zealand. That said, results and matches continue to be very exciting as we have now reached the semifinals.

The first big news was the elimination of the defending champions USA by Sweden in a tense penalty knock-out. It was in fact refreshing: the North Americans were a bit too cock-sure, bordering arrogance, in what they should have known would have been a difficult tournament.

Sweden on the other hand are a team to support (my favourites at this point), and showed their great potential when they eliminated Japan 2-1 in the quarterfinals. Japan, who were looking as potential champions.

Sweden will face Spain, in their first semifinals ever. Spain have been improving throughout the tournament and must be considered a candidate, specially as they defeated a strong Netherlands 2-1 in an exciting quarterfinals, with late goals, and a splendid victory strike by the young Salma Paralluelo (this match I did watch).

England, defending European champions, should be considered favourites as well, although they have not looked that strong. They were outright lucky to defeat Nigeria on penalties (I watched this match); not to say the bad taste they left with Lauren James ugly and deserved red card. In the quarterfinals they also struggled to defeat an exciting Colombia 2-1 (another match I watched wearing my Colombia shirt), whose fans have been the best of the tournament. Colombia largely lost to their own mistakes after Leidy Santos had brought them ahead on a splendid strike. But Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo gave England the victory, and a semifinal where they will face the hosts of Australia, who are there after defeating Denmark and the favourites of France.

Thank you Colombia!

Surely some exciting semifinals:

• Spain-Sweden
• Australia-England
  

The last-16 at the 2023 World Cup

 I have unfortunately not been able to watch much of the Women’s World Cup 2023; in El Salvador they do not show any matches (they are focusing on the Miss Universe contest to be held in November….), and although I am currently visiting Colombia and have watched a bit more, I remain limited by time difference.

That said, I have followed results closely. Here in Colombia they have been greatly excited by Colombia’s victory over Germany, 2-1 (and not least Linda Caicedo’s splendid goal, that in my view is the best so far in the tournament). Last though, Morocco defeated Colombia 1-0, which by itself would have been a big surprise, but as Germany only managed to tie South Corea 1-1, the surprise is that Colombia wins the group followed by Morocco, who are playing their first World Cup. Germany is eliminated for the first time ever in the group stages of a Women’s World Cup, and one must wonder whether this was not pure arrogance against sides they considered “small”.

I am delighted to see the ladies from outside Europe or North America go through!

Another surprise though, was the elimination of Brazil, who in their last match was unable to defeat Jamaica, who went through on second place behind France, and will face Colombia in the last-16. Brazil also appeared to be too sure of themselves, but the saddest part is the goodbye to the legendary Marta, perhaps the greatest female player of all time, who against Jamaica played her last World Cup match.

Thank you Marta.

Three teams have gone through with maximum points: Japan, England and Sweden, and these all look like some of the strongest. That said, Sweden will face defending champions of USA in the last-16 in what is bound to be a clash of titans. USA have looked shaky, going through  the Netherlands after tying both the Dutch and Portugal, and defeating a weak Vietnam.

African teams have done great, and perhaps this is a sign of things to come: alongside Morocco, South Africa went through behind Sweden after a thrilling 3-2 win over Italy, while Nigeria through behind the hosts of Australia, whom they nevertheless beat 2-3.

The last-16 look as follows:

• Switzerland-Spain
• Netherlands-South Africa
• Japan-Norway
• Sweden-USA
• Australia-Denmark
• France-Morocco
• Colombia-Jamaica 
• England-Nigeria

The Greatest World Cup ever

 Today the World Cup has started in New Zealand/Australia. It will be the first women's World Cup with 32 teams competing, and with the immense growth of the women's game in the past decade, it all points to it being  the best World Cup ever.

In the opening match, the hosts from New Zealand pulled a somewhat surprising 1-0 victory over Norway, while the other hosts, Australia, defeated Ireland 1-0.

So good start for the hosts as the World Cup kicks off. 

Living in El Salvador there is scant interest here for the tournament, and although I have so many TV channels, two cable subscriptions, as well as two online TV subscriptions, and still nowhere shows the Women's World Cup in a country as passionate about football as El Salvador. This is very disappointing, but I hope I will be able to watch some of this great tournament!

Qatar-Ecuador 0-2

Despite the allegations of bribery Ecuador showed they are a great side and won a well-deserved opening match against the hosts of Qatar 0-2 on two goals by the veteran Enner Valencia (oldest player to score in an opening match of a World Cup, and the first to score two goals since Italy's Angelo Schiavio in 1934). It could have been a larger victory for a side that controlled the match, and in particular the young Brighton & Hove Albion player Moises Caicedo could be one of the players to watch in the tournament.

Good start for Ecuador, but they now have two difficult matches ahead of them against Netherlands and Senegal.

I don't support Qatar. I hope they get trashed in every match as the worst host nation ever, of a footballing celebration that should have taken place in a real footballing nation. And today, in front of their home spectators they were as poor as a pub side (ironic, since you cannot buy beer); I hope they also get trashed by Netherlands and Senegal, something that should be no problem if they play like today.

Thanks Ecuador!

World Cup draw

 I have been busy with work, traveling, and non-football things in my head and heart, but I have nevertheless followed last week's World Cup draw, which points at some very interesting matches in Qatar (that should never have had the World Cup):

Group A:

• Qatar
• Ecuador
• Senegal
• Netherlands

This group could plausibly be the most difficult one to predict. Qatar are playing their first World Cup, but as hosts they have been preparing for years and will not want to disappoint at home (even though I will not support them). Senegal are African champions and with a strong core of experienced Europe-based players. Netherlands are always strong, but can also disappoint, while Ecuador has sufficient experience and skills to upset any team. Watch this group, and support all but Qatar.

Group B:

• England
• USA
• Iran
• Scotland/Ukraine/Wales

This is an interesting group that could potentially be the Anglo-Saxon world against Iran. Iran are surely not to be underestimated, having qualified with style, and will recall their 1998 group win over USA. England are probably favourites to win the group, but USA will recall that they have never been defeated by England in a World Cup, and most famously recall the 1950 miracle in Belo Horizonte. If Ukraine qualify, the group will be watched even more closely for political reasons in an already highly politicized World Cup.

Group C:

• Argentina
• Mexico
• Poland
• Saudi Arabia

This is a good draw for Argentina, although of course they should never underestimate any of the teams in the group. But Argentina is playing excellently, have a hungry Lionel Messi likely in his last World Cup, so should hopefully (I fully support Argentina) pull through. Mexico has looked very poor in qualification, so Poland and Saudi Arabia have good chances in pulling through, where expectations to Lewandowski's Poland will probably be highest.

Group D: 

• France
• Denmark
• Tunisia
• Peru/Australia

This group is curiously a 75% repeat of the 2018 group C, which included France, Denmark, Peru and Australia. That group was won by France (who went on to become World Champions), with Denmark as runners-up, and an excellent Peru was unlucky to be eliminated. France are surely favourites, but note that the defending winners tend to do badly when they have to defend their title (Denmark notably defeating France in 2002), and that may be a hope for the other teams. Denmark are surely much better than they were in 2018, but Peru will be looking to avenge their rather unfair 2018 defeat. Tunisia are the most unwritten chapter of the group, but never to be underestimated.

Group E:

• Spain
• Germany
• Japan
• Costa Rica/New Zealand

This could potentially be the "Group of Death". Two former World Champions Spain and Germany, and both teams are also contenders for the title. At the same time Japan is always highly competitive, growing stronger in every World Cup (remember their spectacular match against Belgium in 2018). In the meantime neither Costa Rica or New Zealand are to be underestimated: remember in 2014 when Costa Rica won the "Group of Death ahead of England, Italy and Uruguay?

Group F:

• Belgium
• Canada
• Morocco
• Croatia

This group has four exciting teams. Belgium is at the end of its most golden generation, and while they are still ranked number 1 in the world, one no longer has the feeling that they are able to go all the way. That said, they should be favourites in a group that sees the exciting Canadians, in the first World Cup since 1986, as well as Croatia, finalists and the world's darlings from 2018. Morocco is never to be underestimated, and may have hopes of fighting it out in the group.

Group G:

• Brazil
• Serbia
• Switzerland
• Cameroun

Brazil are surely huge favourites in the group, and contenders for the title that they have not taken since 2002. Of course they cannot underestimate any of the other teams, which have their strengths, but will have to fight it out between them. Switzerland may have a slight edge: a very strong team that eliminated France from the Euros, and won qualification ahead of European champions Italy, they have shown that they can take on everyone. Serbia has a strong base of experienced players but have never made it past the group stages since 1998. The same can be said of Cameroun; it is great to see the Lions in the World Cup again, but they have not made it past the group stages since 1990!

Group H:

• Portugal
• Ghana
• Uruguay
• South Corea

Portugal may be favourites in this group, even though nothing is written, of course, and Portugal can lose to all of these teams. That said, the match everyone thought about when they saw the draw was the legendary 2010 World Cup quarterfinal between Ghana and Uruguay, which saw Uruguay through after penalty kicks and Luis Suarez' infamous hand ball save. Ghana will look for revenge, but will have to keep their heads cool against an experienced Uruguay side, while Ghana at times has looked shaky (most recently in their disappointing Africa Cup of Nations). In the meantime South Corea is most certainly a team to reckon with, having qualified for every World Cup since 1986 they have the experience, although they have struggled to get past the group stages (That said, in 2018 they knocked out the defending champions of Germany).

Heading for Qatar

 I must admit that I have been watching a lot of football the last few days; World Cup qualifiers from Europe, South America, Concacaf, and even watched good ole’ Liberia lose 0-2 to Nigeria, who goes on to win the group and is in the run for a World Cup spot.

In Europe all Group winners have been decided, with the two big surprises being Switzerland and Serbia. They Serbians did the unexpected by winning 1-2 in Lisbon to take first spot in the group ahead of Portugal, who were even 1-0 ahead and would have won the group with a tie. The other surprise were Switzerland, who did what they had to do by defeating Bulgaria 4-0, as Italy’s European champions were unable to get past 0-0 against Northern Ireland. Four years ago Italy also missed out on the World Cup in the play-offs, and although I think they will make it, the play-offs will be nerve wrecking: twelve teams will fight for three World Cup spots, and some of the teams besides Italy and Portugal include Russia, Poland, Wales, Sweden and Scotland.

The European sides going straight to Qatar from Europe are:

• Group A: Serbia
• Group B: Spain
• Group C: Switzerland 
• Group D: France 
• Group E: Belgium 
• Group F: Denmark
• Group G: Netherlands
• Group H: Croatia
• Group I: England
• Group J: Germany

In the meantime in South America Brazil and Argentina tied 0-0; Brazil has qualified while Argentina are on the verge of qualifying. Ecuador appears a relatively solid third after a strong 0-2 away win in Chile, while there is a bitter fight for he next two spots. Colombia, after yet another 0-0 against Paraguay is on fourth place with 17 points, with only two points down to Bolivia on 8th place. Bolivia defeated Uruguay 3-0 in La Paz, and are thus still playing for a place in Qatar. The only team that has no option of qualifying is Venezuela, while all other teams are still in the contest with just four matches left. Peru is currently in fifth place, with 17 points, following a win over Venezuela, and will face Colombia in the next match.

Await some epic matches in South America!

Brazil to the World Cup

There has never been a World Cup without Brazil, and Qatar will not be the first one. In fact, Brazil is looking as strong as ever. After twelve matches in the South American qualifiers they have eleven victories and only one tie, after today’s 1-0 home victory over Colombia. The Colombians were looking good in the first half, well-organized and occasionally dangerous despite their lack of goals. In the second half Brazil nevertheless pressed forward, and got their goal through Lucas Paquetá following a great pass from Neymar, who does a fantastic work on this team. All in all Brazil is strong on every position, playing great football, and are looking like a team determined to break the European hold on the World Cup title.

Despite Colombians lack of optimism, I still think that they will qualify. They are currently on the fifth play-off spot with 16 points alongside Chile on fourth and Uruguay on sixth. Colombians main problem is that they are not scoring many goals, although their defense is now looking solid after their debacle against Ecuador. The return of James and Falcao are in my view on the solution to their goal-scoring problem, although I still believe that with their quality they should make it to Qatar.

A World Cup without Brazil is unthinkable, but a World Cup without Colombia would be disappointing.

No Human Rights in Qatar

In the euphoria of qualification we tend to forget that our football teams are qualifying to a World Cup in a country that should never have been awarded the tournament, and where the rights of workers are disregarded, bot to say abused.

A tournament that is built on the sweat and tears of thousands of people who do not have the luxury of enjoying football, but who have to fight to escape poverty. I was disturbed to read on Amnesty International´s site about the continued mistreatment and deaths of migrant workers in Qatar; it appears that having the world's eyes on you make no difference to how you treat people who work for you. 

Is there anything football fans can do? Why can we not scream our lungs out for these migrant workers? Why not carry banners and flags to the stadiums in support of these workers? Just like we carry rainbow flags, why not carry the flags of Bangladesh and Nepal, where many of the workers come from? Carry the pictures of these guys, guys like you and me, who were trampled on by football? Why not make such a fuzz that it can shame FIFA and the Qatari government into a minimum of respect for human rights? 

I hope there will be more of a fuzz to create attention and combat the abuse of migrant workers in Qatar.

Denmark is going to Qatar

The news that Denmark are qualified for the World Cup in Qatar have been news waiting to happen for a long time. With seven straight victories and a goal difference of 26-0 Denmark have been on the verge of securing qualification for a while, but it only happened today, when they defeated Austria 1-0 at home at Parken. It was not a truly exciting game, but the Danish victory was well-deserved, as they continue towards a record perhaps of 10 straight victories and no goals against in the last two matches against the Faroe Islands and Scotland respectively.

No matter what happens in those two matches Denmark are group winners and bound for Qatar, alongside Germany who qualified this weekend. These are the first two qualified teams, who along Qatar will form the 32 side in next year's World Cup.

Why the World Cup should not be every two years

 There has been a lot of discussion about this lately, with FIFA apparently gathering strength to propose to hold the World Cup every two years. As is probably to be expected I am against this: nothing is more special in terms of football than the World Cup (if not in quality, where the Champions League is much better), and already the expansion of the number of teams is diminishing its importance, and holding it every two years will further diminish it to nobody's benefit (I understand if FIFA sees it as a potential for short-term profit, but I cannot see how it can be any benefit whatsoever in the longer term).

And I think today's Nations League semifinal between Italy and Spain is another example that FIFA should be careful to not give us so many matches, that in the end nothing is special. The match was great, with the European Champions of Italy losing an exciting match 1-2 to a rising Spanish side. Arguably two of the best teams in the world, playing a competitive match at the highest level, but the stadium in Milano was not even sold-out! This should be proof enough that if too many matches are there, interest from fans will diminish.

A great match, and probably a great final, but there is already so much football, that FIFA must be careful to take away what makes it special.

Christmas every month would not be special.

Supporting the workers in Qatar

 The world is quietly waking up to the scandalous human rights abuses in Qatar, which have been amply documented by Amnesty International. As the World Cup qualifiers have started, a team like Norway is debating whether to boycott the tournament, while other teams have been staging protests before their matches, most notably Germany and Netherlands. German players, such as Toni Kroos, have been particularly outspoken on behalf of the largely migrant workers who build the stadiums under conditions that should not exist in the 21st century, and even less under the auspices of the rest of the world and FIFA.

Other teams, such as England have been completely quiet, while Denmark or Austria made discreet protests, almost as if they were afraid to offend anyone, but still express support for the workers.

The discussion will fortunately rage on over the next months. But what about the most important thing? The workers? The people toiling under oppressive conditions so that we can be entertained?

It is not clear whether anything for real is being done to improve their lot, and I am afraid that as the qualifiers and the matches progress, their oppression will move to the background. While boycotting the tournament may not help anyone (not even the workers) a more explicit and committed distancing from fans, players and national associations may be more necessary than ever so that we do not get a World Cup stained by the blood and sweat of the most forgotten but most important people in the World Cup.

Who was robbed?

One of the bad things about the World Cup is that people take it way too seriously. People who will never get excited about a Champions League or League match (which are so much better than the vast majority of World Cup matches) will get excited about the game because they get to wave a coloured piece of cloth called a flag, sing the anthem, and support 11 guys who happen to share their passport.
Some people get tears in their eyes because of the nationalistic fervor, others use it to confirm their wrong stereotypes about other nationalities.
The worst are people who in their indignant ignorance see conspiracies in the footballing results: "It is a scandal!!! We were robbed!!!"
Who the fuck robbed you? Did you call the police? And who is "we"? Are you one of the players who were "robbed"?
What did these people rob you? A football result!? Why don't you have a beer and relax? There are way more important things in the world...

https://fromacomrade.tumblr.com/post/171731237118

Third and fourth best of Europe (and the world)

Belgium ended in third place after defeating England 2-0 in the bronze match of the World Cup. This is the best result of Belgium in a World Cup ever, following their fourth place finish in 1986. So Belgium can be proud of this despite the fact that they probably expected and deserved more. They end the tournament with an impressive record of six victories and only one defeat (the semifinal defeat to France), as well as probably the most scoring team of the tournament with 16 goals (unless Croatia or France respectively score 4 or 6 goals in the final).
Belgium has a lot to be proud of from this World Cup.
England is also proud of a team that had low expectations and that made it to fourth place, the best English result since 1990, when they ended in the same place. Their record is nevertheless more mixed: They ended with three victories (against Panama, Tunisia and Sweden), one penalty victory (over Colombia) and three defeats (two to Belgium and one to Croatia). On paper this is not overly impressive as one has the impression that England's only true test was against Croatia. But it will certainly be interesting to watch England's youngsters (who surely have great talent and potential) in the future. In the meantime, unless extraordinary things happen in the final, Harry Kane will end up as the top goalscorer of the tournament with six goals, being only the second Englishman ever to achieve this honour, following the great Gary Lineker in 1986.

The Winter World Cup

FIFA has just announced that the World Cup in 2022 in Qatar will be held in November-December, apparently due to the heat in June-July.
As if the heat was not there when they chose Qatar...
So expect a World Cup to suspend the excitement of the best football in the world: Champions League, Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, Serie A, etc., will all be suspended during the World Cup. Instead, 2022 will be a loooooong summer...
The decision on making the World Cup with 48 teams instead of 32 for 2022 is still pending. It is an idiotic decision that will only contribute to lower the quality of the World Cup so much as to make it almost meaningless in footballing terms, if not in nationalistic money-making terms.
I am afraid that with these horrible decisions the World Cup in Russia this year will be remembered by many fans as the last World Cup.
From now on, it is just downhill.

My trip to Russia

I had the fortune to go to Russia with a great friend for six days during this World Cup. The fortune was mainly due to visiting a beautiful and friendly country with a great friend. The football was so and so...
Of course, due to the impossibility of getting tickets for the best matches, we took tickets to whatever we could get: Croatia-Iceland in Rostov-on-Don. I have to mention that when Argentina did not win their group, and Denmark were to face Croatia, Argentineans in every street corner of Moscow were offering tickets for the Denmark-Croatia match, as many had bought tickets thinking they would be group winners. Seems strange that I could have bought a ticket off the street from almost any Argentine, while at FIFAs website it was all but impossible...
The World Cup in Russia is well-organised: the FAN-ID system worked fine and there were volunteers to help fans all over the country. Getting to Rostov-on-Don we took Russian-Trains, 19 hours from Moscow in a sleeping wagon.
It was a splendid trip going South, with a nice albeit slow train with eating wagon and very friendly Russians throughout. Perhaps the greatest of the Western myths about Russia and its people is that they are not friendly, but this was quite the contrary throughout, and I am sure that this World Cup is by far friendlier than any pervious or future tournament in Europe or North America, especially from what we will see in the so-called "World Cup" of 2026.
Rostov-on-Don is a nice city in southern Russia that probably does not see that many foreign visitors. One local told me that the city had been thoroughly renewed (among others a new airport that is one of the nicest airport I have ever seen) and that the city seemed in perpetual holiday atmosphere with the World Cup. And indeed the atmosphere was great.
The stadium, Rostov Arena, is beautifully situated next to the Don River and on match day it was a lovely walk across the river to get to the stadium.
Croatia-Iceland was an ok match. Croatia, who did not seem to stretch themselves, were clearly a better team. Iceland, who clearly had more support among locals and neutral alike, fought bravely but were eliminated from their first ever World Cup. Besides the atmosphere, experiencing the famous Icelandic "Hu" Cheer was quite amazing in the stadium.
Fans are the best thing about the World Cup, because the vast majority are nice people out to have fun in the guise of "eleven-guys-kicking-a-ball-who-happen-to-share-your-passport". Petty nationalism is the worst of this (and any) World Cup, but it remains rather in the background as fans meet and have a pint and a laugh. We greatly enjoyed hanging with fans from Iceland, Croatia, Russia and Mexico (Mexicans were numerous everywhere). But here one must mention the so-called Fan Zones: The one in Rostov was frankly, -and excuse my expression-, shit. The Fan Zones are a highly protected corporate propaganda area with watered down beer and large screens. But do not be fooled that it is for football fans! We went to the Rostov Fan Zone when Portugal-Iran and Spain-Morocco were playing, but turns out they only show one match among their 50+ large screens!! It was Portugal-Iran, but there were a huge number of disappointed Spain and Morocco fans unable to watch their teams...
Frankly, that is a disgrace, such as the whole FIFA Fan Zone concept.
Instead, the best thing was to hang out in the many bars and pubs of any of the host cities: in Rostov-on-Don we watched France-Denmark and Peru-Australia simultaneously in a pub before heading to Rostov Arena, and in Moscow enjoyed Colombia-Senegal in a pub with plenty of beer and fans (mostly supporting Colombia).
Moscow is a lovely city and the atmosphere was also great, with an even greater variety of fans than in Rostov-on-Don (on the Red Square saw fans from every place, but particularly the Latin Americans were numerous). We had no tickets for any matches there, but did see England-Belgium in the Fan Zone. As any Fan Zone it was shit, but it was certainly worth the visit because it is the beautifully situated at the foot of Moscow Univeristy. Of course, we had the annoyance with the volunteers after the match, who sent us on a one hour walk to reach a pub, instead of advising us better. That was the biggest annoyance of the trip (I lost my phone on the second day, but being disconnected during the entire trip was in fact fantastic!), but should mention that besides those idiotic volunteers the rest were friendly, smiling and very helpful, just as the vast majority of Russians.
In the end, football should only be a meager excuse to see Moscow (or all of Russia for that sake). A gorgeous city with a rich history, it is worth a visit any time, and that is something I certainly take with me from this short visit: the wish to visit again! And whatever all the petty nationalism, FIFA, as well as poor and unfair football, this World Cup will be remembered for being a great one because it was in Russia!

 

 

 

 

 

The great Mbappe

The second best thing about France defeating Argentina 4-3 is that Messi and his attachments are finally out of the tournament and that hopefully Argentina can now enter a renewal.
But the best thing about an otherwise weak match (just because it had seven goals does not make it a good match; both sides were poor, with only the occasional moments of its brilliant players) was Kylian Mbappe. We already knew he was a coming superstar from his time in Monaco and Paris St. Germain, but now he stepped up for his national team on the stage where people who hardly know about football are watching.
In four years, most people will have forgotten Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.
"Lionel Messi!? Who is that!!!?? Kylian Mbappe is the greatest player of all time!"