He can’t get there: Argentina’s Emiliano Martínez concedes the second goal against Saudi Arabia (11/22/2022)
Wednesday, 8 p.m., Poland-Argentina
Wednesday, 8 p.m., Saudi Arabia-Mexico
It’s a truism, but the most important game in a World Cup is always the first. Under no circumstances should this be screwed up, otherwise stress is programmed. With the early and serious injury to goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis Tehran), who grew up in a nomadic family from the Lak people and was voted Iran’s footballer of the year in 2019, Iran has the same worst case scenario as the Portuguese Carlos’ kickers Queiroz hit so hard that the troupe degenerated into a slovenly shooting gallery for the enemy of God conducted by Kalklinienzampano Gareth Southgate. That was not how the ayatollahs bet!
In the meantime, Tunisia and Morocco got the message, Japan and Saudi Arabia even turned themselves into World Cup aspirants. The Germans continued seamlessly where they left off four and a half years earlier in Tatarstan’s Kazan Arena. Looks like they don’t trust the Spaniards to lose against Nippon. While faith belongs in the Church, in this case it seems appropriate, if not indispensable. Unless Hansi’s men pulled off the Herberger number against the Japanese to avoid Brazil in the quarterfinals. In 1974, Helmut Schön avoided not only Brazil but also the Netherlands from Cruyff and Neeskens. Well, not everyone sees it that way.
Argentina is used to false starts. At the 1982 World Cup in Spain, the Gauchos, as defending champions, lost the opening game at Barça’s Camp Nou in front of 95,000 spectators against runners-up Belgium 1-0. The only goal came from Erwin Vandenbergh. A day later, the Argentine military dictatorship in the Guerra de las Malvinas in the South Atlantic surrendered to Margaret Thatcher’s British troops. Almost all of the gaucho World Cup footballers had relatives in the war. The defeat against the Belgians was the compelling script, so to speak. The English, on the other hand, let themselves be carried away by the war euphoria. They won all group games – conceding just one goal. The best France of all time (dream midfield: Alain Giresse, Jean Tigana and Michel Platini) achieved this in the opening match at San Mamés in Bilbao. In the second final round, the Three Lions, who are actually leopards, didn’t concede any more goals – but they didn’t shoot any either and were allowed to take off again. It was one of so many misunderstandings between English ball kicking and international stages.
At the Campeonato mondiale di calcio, in short: Italia novanta, the silver countries contested the World Cup opening game again as the defending champions in the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza. It wasn’t exactly a success story. Opposing Cameroon, François Omam-Biyik scored the only goal of the game despite two red flaps for the irrepressible Lions – and for the wrong ones. Cameroon only failed in the quarter-finals (after extra time) against England, Argentina in the final due to Andreas Brehme, the acting of a baker’s son and a heini with the unpronounceable name Edgardo Enrique Codesal Méndez (a Uruguayan whistling for Mexico). Argentina’s false start at Moscow’s Spartak Stadium against Iceland (1-1) is also well remembered.
But as things stand, Dibu Martínez y Cía will win Group C. Second place will be determined between Mexico and Poland by means of the fair play ranking (Fleppen). A day for the calculator!
