The main event
Following that curious opening match between Qatar and Ecuador, with its emptying seats, curiously elated home fans, and the sense the South Americans rather stepped off the gas, England should be involved in the World Cup’s first genuine contest.
Carlos Queiroz is remembered on English soil as the coach who taught Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United how to defend. His Iran team now follow along the same lines, and will attempt to make it very difficult for Gareth Southgate’s men. Even if he has a great deal of affection for English players – “they’re really brilliant, great and fantastic attitude all the time” – a dour, dog of a game cannot be ruled out.
History beckons elsewhere. Monday’s opener deserves lower billing behind Wales’s return to the World Cup stage for the first time since 1958, when they kick off against the USA at the Al-Rayyan Stadium in the late game. The last World Cup finals goal scored against Wales came from a 17-year-old Pelé in Gothenburg against a team denied perhaps the greatest player to wear the red shirt. John Charles was missing with injury, having taken a frightful kicking from Hungary in the group stage.
This is a World Cup like no other. For the last 12 years the Guardian has been reporting on the issues surrounding Qatar 2022, from corruption and human rights abuses to the treatment of migrant workers and discriminatory laws. The best of our journalism is gathered on our dedicated Qatar: Beyond the Football home page for those who want to go deeper into the issues beyond the pitch.
Guardian reporting goes far beyond what happens on the pitch. Support our investigative journalism today.
The modern contender for that label of greatest Welshman, Gareth Bale, is fit and ready to take the stage it feels like his whole career has been building towards. That’s a career that includes five Champions League wins, and being twice voted the PFA Player of the Year in England. He defines himself by the motto of “Wales, Golf, Madrid, in that order”, and as his club career winds down, with loans at Tottenham and his move to Los Angeles FC, that priority list becomes ever more defined. “It’s probably the biggest honour we could have for our country,” said Bale on Sunday. “It’s history in our country. Schools are going to stop to watch our games.”
Wales are not total strangers to major tournaments, Bale having been the figurehead of their run to Euro 2016’s semis, and they also qualified for Euro 2020. Robert Page was a flinty Wales defender during an era of multiple national-team disappointments, and managing Northampton back in 2016. Having done what he terms the “hard yards” in his career he is doing a marvellous job to date, managing Bale’s fitness problems expertly, after stepping in when previous manager Ryan Giggs’s legal issues rendered him unavailable.
Page is quietly appreciative of the history he leads his team into. “It becomes real all of a sudden,” he said. Mark Drakeford, the Welsh first minister, will be present, when many premiers have chosen to stay away from Qatar. The Labour politician is attending where Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is boycotting the tournament. “There is a difference in the responsibility of someone who is the first minister of a nation who has made it to the World Cup final,” explained Drakeford. “That is a different set of responsibilities to those exercised by the leader of the opposition.”
Talking points
Hosts with the least (so far)
Qatar, unsurprisingly, became the first host nation to lose their opening fixture. The chance of a fairytale journey to the final looks somewhat out of reach for the home team. They never looked like challenging Ecuador, the 44th best team on the planet. Between them they mustered 11 shots, the lowest since records began (they started doing the stats in 1966). This might explain why around a third of the crowd did not bother with the second half, deciding to make a quick exit rather than taking in the goalless 45 minutes of relative tedium. Onwards and upwards.
No love for messages of support
A number of teams have made it clear for a long time that they will make their voice heard in Qatar via the “OneLove” armband. Some said it was insufficient, an insignificant gesture in a sea of well-meaning but powerless people trying to make their point about Qatar’s discrimination. It seems like Fifa finds it to be quite a meaningful statement, so might ensure captains are booked for having the brass neck to show support for the LGBTQ+ community via a rainbow-coloured strap of cloth. So much so, referee Raphael Claus could be forced to book Harry Kane, first up, for wearing the armband against Fifa’s wishes.
Dewch ymlaen, Cymru!
Alongside the BBC and ITV, the UK has a third free-to-air World Cup option – S4C. The Welsh-language TV channel will show all of Wales’s matches, with former player Gwennan Harries part of the punditry team heading out to Qatar. “I can’t wait to get out there and see Wales on the biggest stage in world football,” Harries said. S4C’s coverage will also include preview shows and a documentary about Wales’s previous World Cup trip, Bois 58.
Beyond the football
Iran’s captain, Ehsan Hajsafi, issued a strong political message before their game against England. Against a backdrop of escalating protests at the actions of the Iranian government, the AEK Athens left-back said: “We have to accept the conditions in our country are not right and our people are not happy. We are here, but it does not mean we should not be their voice or we must not respect them.” Human rights groups have called for Iran’s expulsion from the competition, and in solidarity with those killed in the protests, Hajsafi added: “I would like to express my condolences to all the bereaved families. They should know we are with them.”
Elsewhere, chaotic scenes broke out inside and outside the fan festival at Al Bidda Park in Doha an hour before the opening game kicked off, after organisers allowed too many fans to flood the precinct. The venue has a capacity of 40,000 but at least double that number of people tried to make their way in. Police had to shepherd irate supporters back out, and took about 45 minutes to clear the excess fans from the area.
Global media-watch
Jim Waterson took in the BBC’s coverage of Qatar’s curtain-raiser, in which there was a focus on the treatment of migrant workers and gay people, plus corruption at Fifa, while the opening ceremony was shunted to an online-only stream.
When the Qatari government decided to spend millions of pounds on an opening ceremony featuring Morgan Freeman, Jungkook from BTS and hundreds of performers, it probably hoped it would be the moment when the global media finally focused on football rather than human rights. What it probably did not expect was that the BBC would ignore the entire event in favour of a broadcast criticising the treatment of migrant workers, highlighting corruption at Fifa and discussing the ban on homosexuality in Qatar. And that was just in the opening two minutes.
The internet reacts
The Golden (boot) Goat after one game …
En esta cuenta creemos en el verdadero GOAT: Enner Valencia pic.twitter.com/LOumaZk7bT
— milo (@mufitorero) November 19, 2022
Some birds aren’t meant to be caged …
Morgan Freeman was face of US bid to win right to host World Cup 2022. Here he is in December 2010, arriving Zurich to make final presentation. Qatar shocked world by winning hosting rights and today, Morgan Freeman is face of their opening ceremony. Epic Trolling on Global Scale pic.twitter.com/OeNi8VlYbr
— roger bennett (@rogbennett) November 20, 2022
A tough start for official mascot La’eeb …
Qatar 0 Ecuador 2. pic.twitter.com/9M9i6HwUHJ
— Jonathan Wilson (@jonawils) November 20, 2022
Player to watch
Jesús Ferreira The USA centre-forward is an unfamiliar name to European audiences, but that could all change this month. The 21-year-old scored 18 goals for FC Dallas last season to earn his place in Qatar and is expected to lead the line against Wales. The son of former Colombia international David Ferreira, he has been picked for his ability to press defenders and create space – and if he can continue his MLS scoring form, Ferreira could be a breakout star at this World Cup.
Today’s matches
England v Iran (Group B, 1pm GMT, BBC One) Neither team comes into this opener looking particularly sharp up front, and there may be more drama in the stands than on the pitch. How many England fans will turn up – paid or otherwise – and will we see protests from Iran supporters amid ongoing political turmoil at home?
Senegal v Netherlands (Group A, 4pm GMT, ITV) Originally scheduled to be the tournament opener, this eye-catching group game has come too soon for Sadio Mané, now ruled out of the tournament. His former Liverpool teammate, Virgil van Dijk, has sympathy – the centre-back should make his debut at a major finals at 31 after missing Euro 2020 with injury.
USA v Wales (Group B, 7pm GMT, ITV/S4C) Wales’ 64-year wait to play a World Cup game will finally end against the team three places above them in the world rankings. Gareth Bale is their inevitable danger man but his clubmate at LAFC, Kellyn Acosta, has a crude plan to stop him. ‘We’ve got to kick him around the field,’ said the USA midfielder.
And finally …
Ferran Torres may be in a relationship with Sira Martínez, who happens to be the daughter of Spain’s head coach Luis Enrique, but the Barcelona player insists there won’t be any awkwardness in their camp. “Not at all,” Torres said on Sunday when asked if he felt extra pressure. “I think the coach and I, we know how to differentiate between when it’s family and when we are manager and player. I think we have to get on with it in a natural way, just that, and we’re getting along fine.”
