WC 2022: It might come home

It has started, and the politics interwoven with football is set to continue, and it might be that the story at the end of the month will be that this World Cup is a failure, mostly for off-pitch reasons. I will, however, stay interested in what happens on the actual pitch. That's where the football is. All the rest is white noise.

Qatar - Ecuador 0-2

This is actually the only game of the first 4 that I watched in full, recorded, last night. The Qataris were poor, poorer than I expected, while Ecuador executed a perfect game plan. Score early to impose, don't let them get in the game, and don't let the crowd get behind them. Now, that early goal was canceled because of an offside that will probably go into history books for the technology used to find it. Otherwise, no one in their right mind would have thought that's an off-side. And it kind of feels that rules might need to change soon so that they keep up with technology.

Otherwise, Ecuador is a nice surprise. Weak opponents, true, but they'll be more of a challenge than I initially thought. Bad news for Senegal.

Senegal - Netherlands 0-2

Senegal had the energy and technique, while the Netherlands had the experience and maturity. Going by the first half an hour, the Dutch looked a bit clumsy and unsure in attack, but fully in control of the outcome. They will win the group with relative ease, but things might get sticky for them in the knockout stages.

England - Iran 6-2

Well done England! I haven't seen much of the game, but the scoreline is emphatic and it looks like I was right when I said that England, for the first time in my lifetime, has a real shot at winning it. Southgate has found a good formula for the team, and that lost Euro final did them good. Now they're ready to take the extra step.

USA - Wales 1-1

I'm glad Mark got to see the game live and I'm surprised Wales didn't win this easily. But I've seen nothing of the game, so I'm now curious to see SUA playing. Their game against Iran will be interesting, but the surrounding hype will probably be mostly about politics.

First four games day tomorrow. Let's see how that pans out, and how much Amsterdam really cares about it.