For some, the opening game of the 2022 World Cup, with its 11 shots and two goals, felt underwhelming, flat, and slightly anticlimactic. For others, it only helped to whet the appetite for what’s to come.
With a comfortable Ecuadorian win over Qatar, records tumbled. Gustavo Alfaro’s men became the first side to ever beat the host nation in a World Cup opener, keeping a seventh consecutive clean sheet in the process, while 33-year-old Enner Valencia became the oldest player to score the opening goal of a World Cup, and the first player to ever score five consecutive World Cup goals for a South American nation, eight years after his previous three.
Qatar’s Spanish coach Félix Sánchez was unimpressed with his side’s performance, admitting that they hadn’t reached their “highest level” and that “responsibility and nerves weighed heavy” in a “bad start that conditioned the rest of the game”.
“We couldn’t string four passes together”, the former La Masia coach continued, “and we left too many defensive gaps, allowing their important players to receive between the lines.”
A side constructed and coached with Cruyffian principals in mind, it will be fascinating to search for any structural improvement in their remaining two games.
While Real Valladolid became the first LaLiga side to be represented in the 2022 World Cup, as Gonzalo Plata lined up for Ecuador, seven more Spanish sides will be cheering on their players today.
Full marks if you can name the only club represented in the first game of the day, as Ponferradina’s back-up goalkeeper Amir Abedzadeh should make an appearance on the Iranian bench against England, in a game devoid of Spanish top-flight talent.
A return to Group A sees plenty of familiar faces later on, however, as Barcelona’s Frankie De Jong will take centre stage for The Netherlands, as they take on a Senegal side that will feature three LaLiga stars, including Real Betis’s Youssouf Sabaly, Rayo Vallecano’s Pathé Ciss, and Villarreal’s Nicholas Jackson.
Following injury to Sadio Mané, there could be a life-changing opportunity for 21-year-old Jackson to step in for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations winners, vying for his first ever international cap alongside the more experienced Boulaye Dia, also with strong connections to the Yellow Submarine.
The day’s late game sees the arrival of both Valencia and Celta Vigo to the tournament, as Yunus Musah and Luca de la Torre, along with on-loan Barcelona full-back Sergiño Dest, prepare to represent the USA against Wales.
Following a ferocious start to the LaLiga season, we’re particularly excited to see 19-year-old Musah in action, a player quickly becoming an indispensable part of Gregg Berhalter’s swashbuckling system.
Having described the full-backs of the team as his “superpowers”, everything in the offensive 4-3-3 is geared to creating space in behind, requiring athletic, intelligent and technically sound midfielders who can constantly move and recycle possession in central areas, to drag players out of position for onrushing attacking players.
In the centre of Gennaro Gattuso’s possession-based midfield, Musah has been an imperious presence, whose strength, energy and fitness has not only seen the 19-year-old make 21 tackles, but complete nearly two dribbles per game, as he continues to develop a crucial, press-evading aspect of his game. Keep an eye out for him this evening, for sure.
Just two more days to go until Luis Enrique’s Spain get their World Cup campaign underway, then. Let’s hope Musah, De Jong, Jackson and Co can give the league something to shout about, before the national side, hopefully, put on another show.