Qatar 22: World Cup soccer extravaganza

Gautam Ganguly

The 22nd edition of the quadrennial FIFA World Cup, described as the greatest 'sports extravaganza', will commence in Qatar on 20th November, in which 32 national teams are slated to enter into fierce competition. It needs no reiteration that ecstatic connoisseurs across the world are waiting with bated breath to watch the 'greatest sports show on earth' to be held for the first time in the Arab world. There was a saying once, "Tennis for princes, Cricket for kings, Football for loafers and rugby for buggers". However, football with all its intrinsic, fast-paced , result-oriented qualities evoking excitement and providing entertainment within a short duration, casts a magnetic spell to captivate and win over the sports admirers across the length and breadth of the world.

Statistically, the World Cup football is the most widely viewed sporting event on the globe. A whooping 191 million viewers, a 2.1% increase over the 2014 World Cup, had watched the 64 games in the Russian version of FIFA World Cup. Further, to quote FIFA TV director Ericson, "We are proud to say that more than half the world population had watched record-breaking 2018 World Cup on television .Audit shows 3.572 billion people had witnessed the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, which is sort of a record. The final between France and Croatia was seen live by a combined 1.12 billion viewers worldwide and has been the biggest multimedia sporting event in sporting history." Needless to say, this progressively rising figures of admirers magnify the burgeoning popularity of the game of football, thereby enticing and inspiring even the smallest countries like Costa Rica, Panama with a paltry population of 49,53,199 and 41,62,618 respectively to lock horns with the much-vaunted teams like Germany, Brazil etc. Sending shock waves to so -called big teams, Iceland, the world's smallest country, had qualified in the last World Cup. This time, tiny countries like Ghana, Ecuador besides host Qatar are participating in the ensuing tournament, vindicating the oft-quoted saying, "Sport is a mighty leveler."

Flood gates were opened to the Indian connoisseurs in 1986 Mexico World Cup when high voltage, superlative quality matches played by the world's magnificent, professional players were telecast live for the first time. The sheer brilliance, intense competition in the Mexico World Cup, the magic touch of Diego Maradona, his 'hand of God goal', grandeur of Gary Linekar, Michael Platini etc., had showcased the Himalayan heights, sublime artistic touches, besides exposing the hollow standard of Indian football. That was the beginning of Indian craze to witness World Cup football.

Football 'pundits' opine that the Germans have proved themselves to be mentally more composed and disciplined to fight back in adverse circumstances. To put the record straight, Germany is the most successful national team at the FIFA World Cup, becoming champions four times, besides being 'runners up ' and 'third-place finishes' four times each. One can realize the level of consistency of the Germans from the fact that it is the only team that has stood on the podium (3rd place or better) in every decade of the tournament -1930s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.

The last World Cup saw an under -rated Croatia playing marvelously all through to meet England in the semi-final. In a pulsating match, Croatia finally, shattered the dream of the English team to play in the final. England had become the world champions as back as in 1966. It has also the ignominious record of losing as many as three times in' tie-breaker' (penalty shoot-out) since 1990, when they lost to Germany in semi-final in the Italia 90 World Cup.

The stage is all set at Qatar to lift the curtain of the dazzling sporting spectacle on 20th November when the hosts will play against Ecuador. Nine sprawling, eye-catching stadiums have been built by Qatar, most spectacular being 'Khalifa International stadium' and 'Lusail Iconic stadium'. Unlike previous FIFA World Cups, which were typically played in June and July, the 2022 World Cup is being played in November and December to avoid the intense Qatari summer heat.

The football critics and experts are now busy analyzing pros and cons, the strong and weak points of the top ranking teams and making predictions of the teams likely to emerge victorious. After a long time, Brazil is predicted to be a strong contender to win the cup. Highly rated Messi has the last chance to restore the glory of Maradona's Argentina. Harry Kane's England is considered as the 'dark horse' by many. Germany has always had the ability to make all predictions go haywire.

Only time will prove if France's defence will remain impenetrable. No defending champions have been able to retain the 'Jules Rimet' trophy since 1962. It is a million dollar question if France will be able to break this continued jinx .

True to its tradition, the Qatar administration had imposed a lot a lot of restrictions for the players and spectators. Alcohol and addictive substances are banned inside the stadium. Revealing clothes are discouraged to show respect to local culture. Players have been forbidden about going gaga 'with female friends'. It is to be seen if the sight of passionate female fans in attractive outfits waving national flags will be seen here too. Qatar 22 is definitely going to be different and varied from the previous ones. Time alone will testify the extent of its success.