World Cup Qatar: A desert yet to bloom - A few upsets and some Messi magic aside, the showcase has struggled to dazzle
Remember that amusing aphorism about ice hockey? “I went to a fight the other night and a hockey game broke out.” That’s how the Fifa World Cup in Qatar is beginning to feel.
Saudi Arabia’s eye-catching shock defeat of Argentina in the first round of matches could not eclipse the fact that Qatar 22 is on track to break the record number of goalless draws — there have been four so far and we are barely two-thirds of the way through the group stage. What will that take? A whole lot more. Great World Cups are defined by great matches, great teams and great individual players — especially the latter. or even failing to get through to the knock-out stages is not nearly enough to cross the threshold.But it is not too late for something more exhilarating to happen. Lionel Messi’s extraordinary goal against Mexico —— was breath-taking, suggesting that this, finally, may be the tournament where he does justice to his unique generational talent.
If there cannot be brilliance, then there must at least be romance. But Qatar 22 feels anything but romantic — more like a Florida holiday camp than Venice; tacky wealth rather than elegance and art.
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