THE cup of life

The Soccer World cup has arrived!

Now that all the excitement of the T20 World cup is done with, it’s time to make way for the world’s greatest sporting extravaganza.

That’s right! Move over Cricket! You’ve had your fair share of attention! It’s time for the truly global sport to take over!

From November 20th onwards, the whole planet will be engrossed in what can really be called the greatest sporting tournament on earth, second only to the Olympics.

It’s the FIFA Soccer World Cup. No show gets bigger than this!

From Nov 20th onwards, thirty two nations will compete with one another in a gruelling schedule for the ultimate sporting prize: the FIFA Soccer World Cup itself. The stakes are high and there is everything to lose. Despite the odds, one team will rise above the rest and be crowned World Champions.

And who is it going to be? Only time will tell. We can only wait and watch with bated breath!

This will be the second time that this Global Tournament will be hosted in Asia (the first being Japan and South Korea in 2002). Hurray for Asia! Here’s hoping to see more such prestigious tournaments hosted by Asia in the coming years.

Like the previous instances, there will be thirty two teams participating overall. There will first be the league stages. The thirty two teams will be divided into 8 groups of 4 teams each, who will then face off against each other one time. Each team will have to play a total of 3 matches each, making it 6 matches in total per group and a total of 48 matches in the group stages.

Here are the Groups:

And here are some exciting matches to watch out for in the group stages (scroll to view completely):

Here are some of the players to watch out for in this tournament:

The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout phase, starting with the round of 16. The stakes are only going to get bigger from this phase onwards. Each match is an eliminator. A loss would mean a guaranteed ticket back home. Since there is no scope for a tie, each match has to be a decider. So matches will go into extra time (ET), if the scores are level at the end of full time (FT). And if the scores still stay level at the end of ET then penalty shoot outs are going to come into play.

European Hegemony - Latin American Brilliance

Another interesting point worth noting is the fact that 13 of the 32 participating teams in this tournament are from Europe alone. This makes it a mini Euro tournament of sorts.

CONTINENT WISE DISTRIBUTION OF 2022 WORLD CUP TEAMS

The same data in a pie chart

Europe’s domination is there for all to see. European teams have consistently claimed the championship from 2006 onward and it’s a cinch that some team from the UEFA will definitely make it to the final four. The reasons for Europe’s hegemony could be manifold, but there’s no denying the fact the level of passion, talent and energy European teams bring into the tournament. Europe is to football what South Asia is to cricket. One simply can’t imagine a tournament without them.

Interestingly, Latin American giants Brazil hold the record for the largest number of titles won (5 in total). Brazil and Argentina are also among the favorites to win the tournament.

Once again, this tournament will be a clash between European efficiency and Latin American brilliance.

Teams missing from the tournament

Every country dreams of sending their national squad to participate in this coveted tournament. But only thirty two teams can play. And in order to play, each team must first qualify to book their slot. The road to qualifying for the world cup playoffs is a tough and grueling journey in itself. No team, however strong it might be, can take their spot for granted (except the hosts and defending champions). They have to play a series of qualifying matches against other national teams from the same continent and have to finish on top of the tables to book their spot.

Given the huge competition, sometimes even strong teams with good track records fail to qualify.

Here are some such teams which failed to book their spot for the 2022 World cup:

Russia

Russia was banned by FIFA from participating in the 2022 World Cup for their invasion of Ukraine, which started from February 2022 and has been ongoing since. It has faced widespread condemnation from world leaders for this conflict which has resulted in thousands of casualties on both sides. This would surely be disappointing for Russian Soccer fans as Russia has been one of the most consistent teams in qualifying for the tournament. They probably would have qualified for this edition too, but for their ouster.

Sweden

The talented Swedish National team, which reached the quarter finals of the previous edition of the tournament in 2018 failed to qualify for 2022 after losing an important match to Poland in the playoffs.

Italy

Who would have thought that the winners of the European Championship in 2021 would not qualify for the World cup? Incredible as it sounds, but it’s true. Four time World champions Italy, have failed to qualify for the World Cup. A shock defeat against North Macedonia in Palermo in the playoffs sealed the fate of gli Azzurri, much to the disappointment of their fans (including me!).

India in the FIFA World Cup

Speaking of Azzurri (the blues), there’s another missing team in Blue which I’d very much like to be present in the tournament. That’s right I’m referring to my very own country, India.

We are the world’s second most populous country, the fifth biggest economy and the seventh largest in terms of land area. Yet our presence in the FIFA world map is zilch.

India has yet to play in the FIFA world cup. The only time we participated in a FIFA tournament was when we hosted the FIFA Under 17 World Cup in 2017. Barring that, India has yet to make its presence felt on the world soccer map.

I’m sure that this fact rankles any true Indian soccer aficionado no end. FIFA doesn’t take us seriously. To know what I’m talking about, go to the FIFA store and search with the string ‘India’. And then look at the results.

Once again … Zilch! Nada !! Nothing !! Not even a small keychain or memento of any sort. See what I mean? That's downright insulting.

And it is the same story every world cup, at every FIFA tournament. History just keeps repeating itself. What can we do about it?

For one, I think our nation’s obsession with Cricket is the main culprit. If Indian Soccer got the same level of funding and attention that Indian Cricket is getting nowadays, we would have been in a different league altogether. Sadly though, football doesn’t find itself in the list of Indian sporting priorities. These days, parents can confidently ask their kids to focus on a career in Cricket, but can’t risk the same with Soccer.

It should be noted that the success story of India Cricket was not an overnight affair. It took a lot of time, effort, perseverance and funding for Indian Cricket to reach where it is now. And if we are to expect any reasonable level of success from the Soccer team, we have to provide it the same level of attention as we did to Cricket. We cannot expect miracles to happen overnight. Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Any tree will not sprout by itself. The seeds need to be planted and watered regularly. Then once the seed sprouts, then it needs to be nurtured with the proper nutrients. And this needs to be done with unwavering focus. Only then, after a few years will the tree emerge and bear fruit. This will not happen in one day.

Better late than never. As the Chinese say “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The next best time is now.”

Conclusion

And to conclude, I would like to include the popular Ricky Martin song “The Cup of Life” which was also the official world cup song for World Cup 1998 in France. I think it was the best world cup song ever.

For some, this tournament might be just another sporting event. But for true football fans, this is the ultimate path to glory!

This is the World Cup!

This is the Cup of Life!!

Reach for the Cup of Life ‘cos your name is on it!

Do you really want it?

Do you really want it?