day one
Sunday, November 20, 2022
I found a way to watch in 4K, which meant I watched an English-language broadcast, missing out on Andres Cantor. It reminds me of a few Cups ago, when HD was new, and the Spanish-language network hadn't gotten HD yet, so I watched in English. Not sure how this will play out over the course of the tournament ... there are multiple 4K options on replays. (Back then, I used two televisions, one with an HD picture on mute, a second without HD but tuned to the Spanish-language channel with the sound up, syncing the audio and video as best I could.)
If I don't have a rooting interest in a sporting event, I often don't know who I will support until a game has begun. So I'll be rooting for the U.S., and for Spain, and then for CONCACAF teams in general (Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica). I tend to root for Spanish-speaking countries, meaning anyone from South America except Brazil (and Brazil are pretty hard to root against). I probably assumed in advance that I'd take Ecuador's side in the opener, and I did, but not for the reasons I thought of beforehand. No, when Ecuador scored a goal in the third minute (that was disallowed), I threw my hands in the air ... because I want Qatar to lose.
Tomorrow:
Group A:
Senegal-Netherlands. Senegal will be missing the great Sadio Mane, the African Footballer of the Year, who is out for the tournament. Senegal captain, center back Kalidou Koulibaly (check out his essay on The Players Tribune, "You Are Welcome to Be a Senegal Fan, Too"), is familiar to fans of Chelsea, where he joined this season. The Netherlands are loaded (Cody Gakpo, Virgil van Dijk, Frenkie de Jong), and they are the best team in this group. They are a possible opponent for the United States in the next round.
Group B:
England-Iran. England (Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka) should have no problems with Iran (goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, FC Porto's top player Mehdi Taremi).
USA-Wales. I think the U.S. will finish second in this group. They need a good start. Look for young players Yunus Musah and Gio Reyna. Gareth Bale is known for rising to the occasion ... this is his first chance to do so in a World Cup, as Wales returns for the first time since 1958.