The 2022 World Cup started with one game on Day 1 (Nov 20), then three games on Day 2, then 11 days of four games each. Then 4 days of 2 games each. Then, after 17 straight days of football, things paused on Dec 7th which was the first day since Nov 20 without a World Cup game (oh the horror). The Quarter-Finals kicked off on Fri, Dec 9 and then we had 2 days of four incredible games.
Then another 2 day gap with two historic semi-finals on Tue, Dec 13th and Wed, Dec 14th.
After another 2 day gap, the third-place game will take place on Sat, Dec 17th between Morocco and Croatia. Then one final game on Dec 18th to end it all.
Argentina vs France
An epic historic final.
Both Argentina and France going for their third World Cup title. However, the big story is around Messi, the greatest player of all time, going for his first World Cup title.
Messi has been in the final before when Argentina narrowly lost 1-0 to Germany in the Maracanã stadium in Brazil at the 2014 FIFA World Cup. This is his 2nd attempt at the title in what will be his final World Cup game.
The Argentine fans have been in incredible voice throughout the tournament turning the stadiums in Qatar into an atmosphere reminiscent of a Boca Juniors or River Plate game. If there was any ticker tape, the atmosphere would have felt like that famous 1978 World Cup in Argentina where Mario Kempes helped seal Argentina’s first World Cup win. Then 8 years later in 1986, Diego Maradona sealed Argentina’s second title with an epic display of individual brilliance. Messi has channeled that brilliance many times for Barcelona in the past but until last few years, that brilliance was only seen in flashes for Argentina. That was due to a weak supporting cast around Messi. However, the Copa America title win in 2021 changed that sentiment and narrative. Messi put on a brilliant display scoring 4 goals and had 5 assists as Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 in the final giving Messi his first international trophy with Argentina. That Copa America win marked Messi's third Copa America final. He and Argentina suffered two previous penalty shoot-out final defeats in 2015, 2016 to Chile. Argentina's 2021 Copa win fueled belief that Messi could finally lead Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title.
Argentina’s 2022 World Cup started off with an improbable 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia, which snapped Argentina’s 36 game unbeaten streak. The game started with Messi putting Argentina in the lead through the penalty spot. Two quick goals by Saudi Arabia in the second threatened a mini crisis. Yet, Argentina and Messi grew in strength after that defeat and powered their way to the final.
Of course, the 2022 World Cup has had many shock stories. Japan's 2-1 wins over Spain and Germany were eye catching results. Morocco’s historic run marked the first time an African team made it to the semi-finals. Morocco’s wins also won them fans around the world and marked celebrations across the Arab world as well. Iran beat Wales 2-0 in a memorable game. South Korea narrowly edged out of their group with a late 2-1 win over Portugal, thus eliminating Uruguay on the final day on goal difference. Canada finally scored their first ever World Cup goal in brilliant fashion against Croatia but then lost 4-1. Tunisia scored a late 1-0 win over France in the final group game. Costa Rica were dreaming of an upset when they took a 2-1 lead over Germany and at one point, both Costa Rica and Japan were going through in a group which included Spain and Germany.
Croatia showed their resilience throughout the tournament. Croatia got to the semi-finals by only letting in 3 goals in 8.5 hours over football. They only scored 6 goals in that run and 4 of those came against Canada in one game. Without that 4-1 Canada win, Croatia scored only 2 goals and only let in 2 in 7 hours of football. Argentina and Messi finally dismantled Croatia 3-0 in the semis.
Morocco were equally resilient. They started their World Cup journey with a 0-0 draw with Croatia before a 2-0 win over Belgium turned things upside down in their group. They raced to a 2-0 lead over Canada but an own-goal just before half-time made it 2-1. Canada pushed Morocco to the edge in the second half and were millimetres from snatching a draw after Atiba Hutchinson’s header bounced off the goal. Until the semi-finals, only Canada had registered a goal against Morocco. However, Morocco were injured, bruised and exhausted going into their semi-final game and gave up a quick goal to France. Eventually, Morocco lost 2-0.
Now, Morocco and Croatia will meet again in the third place game which will surely feature goals and won’t end in 0-0. Morocco and Croatia’s runs also highlighted the tough group Canada had although Canada scored a goal against both teams. Canada should have beaten Belgium but lost 1-0. Belgium on the other hand were finally found out in this World Cup. On paper, Belgium has always had a solid team. But these games are not played on paper and for the longest time, Belgium managed to get some results which pushed them all the way to #2 in the World rankings.
Two more games remain in this year's World Cup, which will also be the last to feature 32 teams. The next tournament in 2026 (co-hosted by USA, Mexico and Canada) will feature a staggering 48 teams. Will the extra teams and games rob some of the drama witnessed in the 2022 World Cup? Possibly if there are no more 4 team groups which provided plenty of drama for the final group games when teams were battling the clock to secure their passage in the round of 16. But before 2026, one final historic weekend remains.
Showing posts with label World Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Cup. Show all posts
Friday, December 16, 2022
World Cup 2022
Thursday, November 21, 2013
2014 Movie World Cup
All 32 nations have qualified for the 2014 World Cup. Therefore, it is time to officially start the 2014 Movie World Cup, a soccer related film spotlight that has become a regular feature on this blog since 2006. Although, there will be some differences this time around.
In the past, only unseen films were selected for the spotlight. This resulted in some films getting hammered at the tournament meaning that nation left no impression in the spotlight. Also, hunting for films from some nations took a few months due to lack of accessible films from certain parts of the world. And when a film was eventually found, it was not a decent enough entry to compete in the spotlight. This time around, previously seen films will be pulled in to allow each nation a decent chance to put up points. Also, previously only a single film was selected from all the 32 nations. This time around, each nation can have up to 3 films which means the spotlight can have as many as 96 films, making it the most ambitious spotlight.
The rules for finding three films will be:
1. Previously seen film from 2005 - 2013
The goal is to pick a strong film from the last 8 years that is capable of giving their nation a chance to win the Movie World Cup. Therefore, previous best of the year films or top 10 films will be chosen.
2. Unseen film from 2005 - 2013
This is similar to the past where the goal is to find new films from different nations. The difference is the restriction of the year to find newer films.
3. Films from 1960 - 2004
1960 is selected as a starting point because not all the 32 nations had a viable film industry prior to 1960. Therefore, these nations would not have many selections to select before 1960 or even if they did, those films are hard to find. The flip side is this criteria puts some nations such as England, USA, France, Germany and Italy at a disadvantage because it eliminates many worthy films these countries produced prior to 1960. Ideally, this criteria should try to select some classic films between 1960 - 1970. But that will not always be possible. Also, this criteria can select a previously seen film.
There should be at least 1 unseen film out of 3 but the goal is to have 2 unseen films out of the three. Currently, some films are already selected. Below is a listing of all the nations and the films selected so far.
South America (6 nations)
Brazil: Neighboring Sounds (2012, Kleber Mendonça Filho)
Argentina: Gone Fishing (2012, Carlos Sorin)
Chile: Tony Manero (2008, Pablo Larraín)
Colombia: Crab Trap (2009, Oscar Ruiz Navia)
Ecuador:
Uruguay: A Useful Life (2010, Federico Veiroj)
Europe (13 nations)
Belgium: Kill the Referee (2009, Yves Hinant, Eric Cardot, Delphine Lehericey)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia: Buick Riviera (2009, Goran Rusinovic)
England: too many choices..
France: Holy Motors (2012, Leos Carax)
Germany: Everyone Else (2009, Maren Ade)
Greece: Unfair World (2011, Filippos Tsitos)
Holland: Borgman (2013, Alex van Warmerdam)
Italy: Le Quattro Volte (2010, Michelangelo Frammartino)
Portugal: The Strange Case of Angelica (2010, Manoel de Oliveira)
Russia: Alexandra (2007, Aleksandr Sokurov)
Spain: In the City of Sylvia (2007, José Luis Guerín)
Switzerland: Das Fräulein (2006, Andrea Staka)
Asia / Oceania (4 nations)
4 very strong films from Asia will ensure these nations will give a real test to the remaining nations.
Australia: Snowtown (2011, Justin Kurzel)
Iran: This is Not a Film (2011, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Jafar Panahi)
Japan: Like Father, Like Son (2013, Hirokazu Koreeda)
South Korea: The Day He Arrives (2011, Hong Sang-soo)
Africa (5 nations): Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria.
Unfortunately, no films have been selected so far. Although, with the exception of Ivory Coast, the remaining nations have multiple film options.
North American / Caribbean (4 nations)
A strong selection of films will ensure these nations will be able to put up enough points to stand a good chance of advancing out of their groups.
Costa Rica: Cold Water of the sea (2010, Paz Fabrega)
Honduras: El Porvenir (2008, Oscar Estrada)
Mexico: El Violin (2005, Francisco Vargas), Post Tenebras Lux (2012, Carlos Reygadas)
USA: too many choices...
Official film viewing will start on Dec 1, 2013 and end by June 1, 2014.
Like in the past, the films in this spotlight will follow the official World Cup draw of being split in 8 groups of 4 nations each. The top 2 films from each of the 8 groups will advance to the second round.
In the past, only unseen films were selected for the spotlight. This resulted in some films getting hammered at the tournament meaning that nation left no impression in the spotlight. Also, hunting for films from some nations took a few months due to lack of accessible films from certain parts of the world. And when a film was eventually found, it was not a decent enough entry to compete in the spotlight. This time around, previously seen films will be pulled in to allow each nation a decent chance to put up points. Also, previously only a single film was selected from all the 32 nations. This time around, each nation can have up to 3 films which means the spotlight can have as many as 96 films, making it the most ambitious spotlight.
The rules for finding three films will be:
1. Previously seen film from 2005 - 2013
The goal is to pick a strong film from the last 8 years that is capable of giving their nation a chance to win the Movie World Cup. Therefore, previous best of the year films or top 10 films will be chosen.
2. Unseen film from 2005 - 2013
This is similar to the past where the goal is to find new films from different nations. The difference is the restriction of the year to find newer films.
3. Films from 1960 - 2004
1960 is selected as a starting point because not all the 32 nations had a viable film industry prior to 1960. Therefore, these nations would not have many selections to select before 1960 or even if they did, those films are hard to find. The flip side is this criteria puts some nations such as England, USA, France, Germany and Italy at a disadvantage because it eliminates many worthy films these countries produced prior to 1960. Ideally, this criteria should try to select some classic films between 1960 - 1970. But that will not always be possible. Also, this criteria can select a previously seen film.
There should be at least 1 unseen film out of 3 but the goal is to have 2 unseen films out of the three. Currently, some films are already selected. Below is a listing of all the nations and the films selected so far.
South America (6 nations)
Brazil: Neighboring Sounds (2012, Kleber Mendonça Filho)
Argentina: Gone Fishing (2012, Carlos Sorin)
Chile: Tony Manero (2008, Pablo Larraín)
Colombia: Crab Trap (2009, Oscar Ruiz Navia)
Ecuador:
Uruguay: A Useful Life (2010, Federico Veiroj)
Europe (13 nations)
Belgium: Kill the Referee (2009, Yves Hinant, Eric Cardot, Delphine Lehericey)
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatia: Buick Riviera (2009, Goran Rusinovic)
England: too many choices..
France: Holy Motors (2012, Leos Carax)
Germany: Everyone Else (2009, Maren Ade)
Greece: Unfair World (2011, Filippos Tsitos)
Holland: Borgman (2013, Alex van Warmerdam)
Italy: Le Quattro Volte (2010, Michelangelo Frammartino)
Portugal: The Strange Case of Angelica (2010, Manoel de Oliveira)
Russia: Alexandra (2007, Aleksandr Sokurov)
Spain: In the City of Sylvia (2007, José Luis Guerín)
Switzerland: Das Fräulein (2006, Andrea Staka)
Asia / Oceania (4 nations)
4 very strong films from Asia will ensure these nations will give a real test to the remaining nations.
Australia: Snowtown (2011, Justin Kurzel)
Iran: This is Not a Film (2011, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Jafar Panahi)
Japan: Like Father, Like Son (2013, Hirokazu Koreeda)
South Korea: The Day He Arrives (2011, Hong Sang-soo)
Africa (5 nations): Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria.
Unfortunately, no films have been selected so far. Although, with the exception of Ivory Coast, the remaining nations have multiple film options.
North American / Caribbean (4 nations)
A strong selection of films will ensure these nations will be able to put up enough points to stand a good chance of advancing out of their groups.
Costa Rica: Cold Water of the sea (2010, Paz Fabrega)
Honduras: El Porvenir (2008, Oscar Estrada)
Mexico: El Violin (2005, Francisco Vargas), Post Tenebras Lux (2012, Carlos Reygadas)
USA: too many choices...
Official film viewing will start on Dec 1, 2013 and end by June 1, 2014.
Like in the past, the films in this spotlight will follow the official World Cup draw of being split in 8 groups of 4 nations each. The top 2 films from each of the 8 groups will advance to the second round.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
2018 & 2022 World Cup
Men packed in a room. They shake hands, wink at each other and drop their ballots in the box.
Everyone knows the ballots will go towards the nation that will bring these men more personal wealth and fame. But in a silly sense of delusion, soccer fans still expect that the right footballing decision will be made and that the best nation will get the votes.
But this is not fair democracy. This is FIFA.
And this corruption is nothing new. It happened for the 2002 World Cup, then was repeated for the 2006 World Cup and has now taken place openly on Dec 2, 2010.
David Yallop's excellent book How They Stole the Game traces this history of corruption all the way back to the 1970's to the time of João Havelange and Andrew Jennings uncovers the modern day exploits of Sepp Blatter in his eye-opening Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote Rigging and Ticket Scandal. Maybe in the future someone will write another book about this corruption or these authors might update their books to include current events. In the meantime, the on-field game will continue to suffer. Professional players will show up tired to World Cup games and not produce results. Fans will lament about the death of good soccer but seriously can good football be played at 50 deg C? Ofcourse, in the past soccer players were forced to play in such scorching conditions (Mexico 1986 & USA 1994) but that was because FIFA deemed the games had to be played at a time suitable for European audiences. The awful world cup final in 1994 was not down to tactics alone. It was down to the unbearable conditions which caused the players to not exert too much energy lest they collapsed in the heat.
New markets have now opened up for soccer, Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, but is it really for the good of the game? Time will tell.
On a lighter note, Qatar is the first nation hosting the World Cup that does not have a thriving film industry. Ofcourse, all that might change in 11.5 years, thanks to projects like the Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF).
Everyone knows the ballots will go towards the nation that will bring these men more personal wealth and fame. But in a silly sense of delusion, soccer fans still expect that the right footballing decision will be made and that the best nation will get the votes.
But this is not fair democracy. This is FIFA.
And this corruption is nothing new. It happened for the 2002 World Cup, then was repeated for the 2006 World Cup and has now taken place openly on Dec 2, 2010.
David Yallop's excellent book How They Stole the Game traces this history of corruption all the way back to the 1970's to the time of João Havelange and Andrew Jennings uncovers the modern day exploits of Sepp Blatter in his eye-opening Foul! The Secret World of FIFA: Bribes, Vote Rigging and Ticket Scandal. Maybe in the future someone will write another book about this corruption or these authors might update their books to include current events. In the meantime, the on-field game will continue to suffer. Professional players will show up tired to World Cup games and not produce results. Fans will lament about the death of good soccer but seriously can good football be played at 50 deg C? Ofcourse, in the past soccer players were forced to play in such scorching conditions (Mexico 1986 & USA 1994) but that was because FIFA deemed the games had to be played at a time suitable for European audiences. The awful world cup final in 1994 was not down to tactics alone. It was down to the unbearable conditions which caused the players to not exert too much energy lest they collapsed in the heat.
New markets have now opened up for soccer, Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, but is it really for the good of the game? Time will tell.
On a lighter note, Qatar is the first nation hosting the World Cup that does not have a thriving film industry. Ofcourse, all that might change in 11.5 years, thanks to projects like the Doha Tribeca Film Festival (DTFF).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)