“[…] Critics will interpret and skew statistics to form all kinds of narratives… The question we ought to be asking is: in 2022, who was the best football player in the world? “All hail the king, the greatest player the sport has ever seen. When Messi decides to stop being …
Read More »Orin: Sports, politics and bandwagons; the 2022 W/Cup was pregnant with resonance
“[…] North versus south, developed versus developing, small versus big, rich versus poor, colonists versus colonised. Matches were pregnant with meaning and resonance outside of football. “[…] The World Cup, Olympics and sports in general are proxies for fights over politics, history and geographical hegemony… Caribbean people in the UK …
Read More »Qatar 2022: Hart on Mbappé vs Messi and the tactical options open to France and Argentina
“[…] Kylian Mbappé has shown that he can beat almost every player for pace, but to say that is all he possesses would be an insult. He has shown he is not only able to elude his opponent on the inside and outside, but in tight spaces—as he demonstrated against Morocco—where his …
Read More »Qatar 2022: Hart looks beyond W/Cup drama to “cookie cutter” players and absent national identity
“[…] Perhaps I just long for the era that made me fall in love with the game—when national teams had distinct styles, based largely on the imagination and improvisation of their players. It has been, despite all that I have said, an enjoyable World Cup. “However, when I hear people marvel at an outside …
Read More »Qatar 2022: Hart on Brazil and England’s elimination, Messi and Moroccan spoilers
“[…] Brazil’s substitutions were difficult to understand. Against Croatia’s compact block, surely the penetration of Gabriel Martinelli could have been an option. I also struggled with the question as to the role of Pedro. “[…] Argentina can be best described as pragmatic. In reality, they are a team based on …
Read More »Qatar 2022: Hart on relentless France, VAR and media hypocrisy
“[…] What is noticeable is that repeated sprinting power is now a priority, with most players and teams are willing to run… France, Senegal and Japan are mobile and relentless—with France, in particular, suffocating their opposition’s midfield very effectively. “[…] VAR, in my humble opinion, is killing the essence and …
Read More »Orin: The good, bad and the ugly of the 2022 World Cup
“[…] I told someone who knows Radanfah Abu Bakr that I liked the former T&T defender’s analysis. He replied: ‘Radanfah understands that less is more.’ “[…] CNC3 […] has had good moments, but overall coverage hasn’t been good enough. Things got off to an unpromising start when analyst Jan-Michael Williams …
Read More »Early Bird: Kamla, West Indies, Paul… but why is nobody discussing Qatar World Cup?
Nobody, it seems, is enraptured with World Cup 2022, at least, nobody I know. Nobody at all is sounding really excited about it. Not even Wired868. Do the math. Mere weeks ago, in late July, three months, three weeks, three days, three hours, three minutes and three seconds separated us …
Read More »Fifa says Russia can compete as ‘Football Union of Russia’; Poland rejects ‘game of appearances’
Fifa has opted not to eject Russia from the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign but will instead allow them to continue competing as Football Union of Russia (RFU). The decision was announced today by the Bureau of the Fifa Council, which is headed by Fifa president Gianni Infantino, as …
Read More »Whitmore axed! JFF replace most successful Boyz coach in this millennium with his rookie assistant
Jamaica Men’s National Senior Team head coach Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore has paid the price for his team’s sluggish start to the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign, as he was fired from his post today. Whitmore, an iconic ex-Jamaica midfielder who starred in the ‘Reggae Boyz’ 1998 World Cup campaign, …
Read More »W/Corner: Mexico march on but Boyz flicker to life, thanks to ‘Tappa’s’ Fisher expedition
Even with the globe turned upside down by ‘an invisible enemy’, mankind can still bank on the near certainty of death, taxes, Nicki Minaj saying something stupid on social media… and Mexico qualifying for the Fifa World Cup. It has been 40 years since ‘El Tricolor’ failed to successfully navigate …
Read More »W/C Corner: Shamar grabs lifeline for off-tune Reggae Boyz, as Mexico, Canada and USA make early runnings
Eh? So is that what all the fuss was about? Jamaica Men’s National Senior Team head coach Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore might have suffered a severe case of buyer’s remorse in the opening match window of Concacaf’s Octagonal 2022 World Cup qualifying round. Coveted West Ham United forward Michael Antonio made …
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