Headlines waiting to be written at Qatar 2022
TOUCHING DOWN: Lionel Messi, top right, of Argentina's national soccer team arrives with teammates at Hamad International airport in Doha THIS WEEK. Picture: AP Photo/Hassan Ammar
There isn’t much that Lionel Messi hasn’t won during a career which began at Barcelona back in November 2003, but so far, the World Cup has eluded him. It’s possibly an omission from his CV that makes supporters of an older generation uncomfortable about naming him the greatest of all time.
For them, the race has never been with Cristiano Ronaldo but with Pele and Maradona, legends of the past who lifted the Jules Rimet trophy and lifted the level of football with it.
Messi has done the latter, but not the former. So, the opportunity to do so in Qatar on what most people expect to be his international farewell, is a tantalising fairy tale.
If he does it, and Argentina win in Lusail on Sunday 18 December, then it would take something extraordinarily unexpected for it not to rank as the number one headline of World Cup 2022.
It is perhaps unfair on Ronaldo to suggest it would finally push the PSG man ahead of him after a career-long battle, not least because playing for Portugal does not normally provide the same opportunity for silverware as turning out for Argentina.
The fact that the Manchester United man was able to lift a European Championship with his country marks him out as something special. But if Messi can trump him with a World Cup it’s hard to continue the narrative that the Portuguese remains a whisker ahead of his old rival in the race to be the greatest of all time.
That’s why Messi will be picturing the headline now. His last chance to be a world champion, his last chance to cement a legacy that cannot be touched.
It’s not impossible that the deadly duo could end up being the other way around, but Ronaldo has set himself up to be the fall guy with his self-destructive interview with Piers Morgan in the build-up to the tournament.
Delivered without telling his bosses at Old Trafford, he launched a bitter attack on the club and on manger Erik Ten Hag, claiming he had been betrayed by both.
United have already sought advice from a lawyer on their options, and the story has heightened the circus around Ronaldo in Qatar – if it could possibly be any more crazy than normal. His Portuguese team-mates do not seem overly impressed by his antics.
There are going to be a lot of people crowing if he gets his comeuppance in the tournament, not least some of the United fans who have been so vociferous in describing their anger at his behaviour.
CR7 will always have a huge fan club that thinks differently, of course, and even this latest tirade shouldn’t take away what he has achieved over an incredible career.
But if this is to be his last time appearing in a World Cup (he’ll be 41 by 2026) then this is not perfect preparation. The tab sub-editors will be delighted to put the boot in if he loses; and given that United are seriously considering whether to sack the Portuguese star, this is one Cristiano who may not be celebrating Christmas.
Now here’s one to conjure. There’s a delicious irony that England face the USA on Black Friday, one that American media have already picked up on, but which hasn’t quite hit the headlines in the UK yet.
Black Friday, of course, is the first Friday after Thanksgiving in the States, and this year it happens to land on Friday November 25 when England face an old nemesis in the Al Bayt Stadium.
The Americans have been a thorn in England’s side before. The two teams drew 1-1 in the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. But more significantly the USA, against all odds, beat the English 1-0 in the 1950 World Cup in 1950, on a famous night in Belo Horizonte.
Any repeat of that result in Qatar and there may well be some wry smiles and raised glasses in Dublin and New York – and definitely in Wales, who are England’s third opponents in Group B.
There are going to be all manner of desert and sand puns in the tabloid media this World Cup, so why not start with one in the very first game of the tournament?
The match sees Qatar take on Equador, and once the spectacular opening ceremony is underway all eyes will be on the hosts and whether they can make any kind of impact at all in the tournament.
Most pundits expect the home nation to bow out early, the Qataris are ranked 50th in the world right now (one below the Republic). But home advantage is always significant, so who knows?
If they do start with a win, then it will almost certainly be Almoez Ali who catches the eye. He won the Golden Boot when Qatar won the Asian Cup in 2019, scoring nine goals, and the 26-year-old striker has 40 goals in 83 caps for his country so far.
Qatar Goez Mad For Almoez, anyone? If you spot it in The Sun, then sue for copyright. We thought of it first…
The deliciously named French international Jonathan Clauss is a headline writer’s dream, and he’s an interesting story too.
There are far bigger stars in the France squad, not least Kylian Mbappe of course, but Clauss has come from nowhere in the kind of story that only Jamie Vardy could rival.
Just five years ago the wing-back was struggling to even make it in professional football and now suddenly, as a star with Marseille, he’s the player everyone is talking about in France – and clearly in the good books of national coach Didier Deschamps.
That would all be normal enough, except that Clauss is not 21 – he’s 30 years old. So, he’s hardly been an overnight success.
He didn’t even play in Ligue Un until he was 28 and didn’t arrive at Marseille until a few months ago. Having made his international debut in March he now has six caps and looks like being first choice at the World Cup.
Will the French Vardy be having a party in Qatar?
Messi and Ronaldo are nearing retirement, Robert Lewandowski is 34, Neymar is already 30 and doesn’t appear to be setting the world alight. So, someone is going to take the crown for themselves soon.
Kylian Mbappe is favourite, of course, but Vinicius Junior has all the attributes to beat him to it in Qatar.
The Real Madrid star has the X-Factor, and the fact he plays for Brazil adds that extra touch of Samba magic.
Brazil are again the favourites with many bookmakers in Qatar and if they do succeed, you suspect that Vinicius will have played a major part. Heir to the throne? Or throne to the lions? Destiny is in his hands, you suspect.
When Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka missed the deciding penalty in the Euro 2020 Final shoot-out against Italy last year it was a familiar feeling for England fans and a brutal kick from the footballing gods for a young player who didn’t deserve to be the villain.
Inevitably, he later received online abuse as a result, including racist posts, but has somehow found a way to show everyone his best form this season during what has been an outstanding start to the campaign for him and for Arsenal (including a penalty against Liverpool, by the way).
Surely, the scene is set for the kind of moment that England legend Stuart Pearce experienced when, having famously missed a penalty in the World Cup semi-final at Italia 90, he came back to score one against Spain at Euro 96.
The iconic photograph of ‘Psycho’ roaring his obvious relief as he faced the crowd at Wembley, all the pain and hurt of six years dripping off his shoulders, could be Saka’s moment this time. Because this is England, so there will definitely be penalties at some stage…
This is a headline which has been written and deleted so many times already. But every time we think Roberto Martinez’s team of superstars is going to deliver, the dream fades.
How can that be possible for a team which includes Kevin de Bruyne, the best player in the Premier League, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois and Leandro Trossard? That cohort even helps Christian Benteke look like a world beater with the number of assists delivered.
The Red Devils have a big chance this tournament, given that their group features Canada, Morocco and Croatia, teams they ought to beat.
This is their 15th appearance in the finals, and they finished in third place four years ago in Russia, when they beat England and Brazil but then lost narrowly to France in the semi-final.
For long periods over the last few years, they have been ranked number one in the world by FIFA; but the trophy still eludes them.
Will Belgium finally find their Eden in 2022?
Every World Cup we ask the same question. Is there an African side capable of rewriting history by finally qualifying for a semi-final or even lifting the trophy? The latter remains something of a pipe dream, but Senegal are an intriguing prospect.
They are the highest-placed African side in the FIFA rankings, coming in 18th - just below Colombia and USA, but above Wales.
They famously lifted the African Cup of Nations in 2021, beating Egypt on penalties in the final, with star striker Sadio Mane the hero, along with goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Mendy doesn’t appear to be number one at Chelsea anymore and Mane has left Liverpool for Bayern Munich, but they remain the backbone of a talented team capable of reaching the last eight. And after that, who knows?
The squad also includes Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly and Everton and former PSG midfielder Idrissa Gueye, but there’s no doubt that Mane is the man the world is watching.
It’s either going to be Mane Man Wins The Day or So Sadio To See You Go.
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