Weekly English Premier League Opinion - World Cup Edition Day 1
Few could wish for a more enthralling opening to a World Cup than a couple of Goliath teams battling it out with the eyes of the entire globe staring in. The soccer scheduling gods did well with this one. The two lowest ranking teams in the competition pitted host nation Russia with equal minnows Saudi Arabia in a matchup of near irrelevance. Apart from domestic pride no one was really interested in this makeweight encounter. Despite the rather disinteresting nature of the game, this just happens to be the World Cup opener and so the game carries a unique intrigue that far outweighs its face value. I’m glued to the TV and anticipating this game far too much.
As a non-football side note, opening ceremonies and celebrity game show appearances are not a necessary part of football, just start the match, no nonsense required.
Holly molly, it’s a barn burner. The epic Russia team get an early goal. The Saudi Arabia defensive coach must be hiding in shame given the weak-side attention to detail, or lack thereof. Russia take a genuine good goal lead from a standard build up play, amateur defending, but great execution from the host nation. And just what this non-event opening encounter needed to ignite such an empty game. A home win would be good for the tournament and good for a bit of host nation optimism.
Stop. The barn is burnt. Can it be that lowly host nation Russia might just get the home win. 2-0 at half time sets them up for an emphatic victory. Can the Saudi green machine make amends in the second half?
It’s on.
The football hasn’t been great. Two very average teams low on technique playing out a game of rather vanilla intensity. Perhaps the home crowd the only genuinely interested party. More mistakes than inspiration, but goals change games and home town favorites Russia have two. Three. Four. Surely not.
Saudi Arabia have suggested nothing, they won’t bring this back, and only more difficult teams await them.
Congratulations to Russia for an inspiring home win. They didn’t play half bad, but I also haven’t seen anything to suggest that this seeded team will affect the later stages of the tournament. Russian golden-boy Golovin played really very well, his work rate was impressive, and he looked like the player who has attracted attention from some of Europe’s significant club team. They scored some very good goals, very good indeed. But I wonder that the defending against them had more to do with it than the creativity they possess. Russia won’t win this tournament. And neither will Saudi Arabia, but we didn’t need to see this game to come to that conclusion. I hope Russia do well, it’s always good to have a strong showing from the host nation. But there are better games to come, that’s for sure.
By Jonny Carter - Chicago Fire
