Adedokun Waliyu 
The die is cast. The best of world football would take the centre stage in Qatar with 32 nations fighting for the ultimate prize in the World Cup on December 18. Pundits across the globe are at their wits’ best predicting the results of matches with many of the punters desirous of predicting correctly the eventual winner of the Qatar 2022 World Cup held in the winter in the competition’s 92 years of history. The World Cup began in 1930 with this year’s edition slated to end on Sunday, December 18 at the majestic Lusail Iconic Stadium at 3 pm. The Lusail Iconic stadium can hold a whopping 80,000 fans and is situated 10 miles outside of the Doha city centre.
Messi’s World Cup campaign with back-to-back appearances in 2006 and 2010. Would Neymar or/and Messi depart Qatar with a knockout punch? Argentina has won the trophy twice, the first victory in 1978 and the second in Mexico in 1986, with Diego Maradona being the tormentor in chief. Brazil has won the World Cup five times, but it is the feats of Arantes de Nascimento King Pele that raised the biggest poser over who among Pele, Maradona and Messi are the greatest?
It is easy for the older generation of pundits to pick Pele ahead of Maradona and Messi for those who saw him play at that level. Others, that is the younger generation would easily pick Maradona based on his feats with Argentina and with his Italia Serie A side Napoli which are either watched on television or watched live. However, admirers of the equally talented Messi are short for words in comparing him with either Pele or the late Maradona because he hasn’t won the World Cup with Argentina.
Messi is reported to be cautious as he prepares to lead Argentina at the World Cup, seeking to crown a glorious career by lifting the trophy in Qatar. The South American side has won the trophy twice — in 1978 and 1986 — with Messi a defeated finalist in 2014.
“We are very excited,” Messi said in an interview with Conmebol, the South American football federation.
“We have a very nice group that is very eager, but we think about going little by little. We know that World Cup groups are not easy.
It is this missing jigsaw in his soccer career that would be Messi’s focus when the matches of the Qatar 2022 World Cup begin with Qatar versus Ecuador. Ecuador has been absent from a World Cup since 2014, when the country was eliminated at the group stage. A total of 32 teams, initially split into eight groups of four, will compete for the prestigious trophy in the last tournament of this format, with 48 nations set to qualify for the 2026 edition, set to be staged in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Would this World Cup in Qatar be Messi’s last? Perish that thought. After all the 35-year-old soccer icon reneged on his celebrated retirement from international football in 2016, with words rife that Argentina’s manager was ready to beg Messi not to hang his boots. Lionel Scalaoni wants the soccer star to play at the next World Cup in the USA when he would be 39. Modern-day footballers take far better care of their health and fitness. It won’t come as surprise if Messi is still playing for Argentina four years from now.
“After playing in a World Cup, everyone makes assessments. I’m not in the heads of the players to know what they’re thinking,” continued Scaloni. “In any case, you have to enjoy it. You don’t have to think about the future, enjoy their spectacular present. It’s the rule of life and at some point, it will happen. It’s useless to think about what will happen after the World Cup.”
These are indeed interesting times, dear Scaloni. One thing is sure, Messi would quit the game when the ovation is loudest this year, if Argentina lifts the World Cup on December 18 inside the Lusail Iconic Stadium at 3 pm, like many a football fan would wish. La Selección on Wednesday night in an international friendly game extended their unbeaten run to 36 games after a 5-0 win against UAE with Di Maria scoring a brace. What it simply means is that the Argentines are ready for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The Mundial in Qatar would be Messi’s fifth while for Neymar, the immensely talented and showboating Brazilian, Qatar 2022 World Cup is his third, making this year’s edition one which not a few pundits would be praying for a South American final game between Brazil and Argentina. This writer would have loved France to play either Argentina or Brazil, had the French been in Qatar with their two midfielders Ngolo Kante and Paul Pogba, who are both injured and out of the World Cup permutations for 2022. France also has the personnel to retain the World Cup in Qatar to equal Brazil who retained the World Cup in 1962. Since then no World Cup champion has retained the trophy since it happened in 1962.
On the current form of both countries’ players, a final game between Brazil and Argentina would be a box office game for world football. Don’t forget that Brazil is currently the world’s No. 1 soccer although they suffered a 7-1 semi-finals drubbing in 2014, losing to eventual winners Germany.
However, football is a ruthless game. It is a level. One game filled with surprises for countries parading players with bloated egos. Neymar has scored 75 goals for Brazil in 121 caps and is just two goals away from Pele’s record 77 goals. The PSG star hopes to score the desired goals and even more at the Qatar 2022 World Cup which begins today with the opening game between Qatar and Ecuador.
Eder Militao, Vinicious Jr and Rodrygo who are Real Madrid players would give Neymar the fillip he needs to be as creative as he chooses to be. But Neymar’s temperament could be his undoing if left unchecked by Coach Tite.
But Messi isn’t looking at just making Argentina the World Cup champions on December 18. In an interview with CONMEBOL, Messi said: ”The candidates are always the same. There are a few surprises but in general, the big teams are the candidates. Above the rest? Brazil, France, England. Today, they are a little above the rest but anything can happen.”
This writer would want Belgium among the likely winners, except that the Belgian manager Martinez doesn’t have what it takes to deliver the expertise needed for the big moments in the course of critical games. Outside bet winners include Spain, Holland and possibly Portugal whose biggest star Ronaldo is enmeshed in a big squabble with his current European club Manchester United’s manager.
African countries Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Cameroon and Morocco are expected to be also-ran teams at the Mundial, except for the game between Ghana and Uruguay which is a rematch of a quarter-final tie at the South Africa 2010 World Cup, where Luis Suarez held a goal-bound shot which would have earned Ghana her first semi-final ticket in the 92 years old competition. It would also have been Africa’s berth in the semi-finals. The resultant penalty kick was shot over the bar by Asamoah Gyan to the consternation of fans in the capacity-filled stadium.
As for Senegal, the absence of Bayern Munich star Sadio Mane, the team’s captain and talisman due to a corrective surgery on his foot on Thursday in Germany would affect how the Teranga Lions would play. Otherwise, the world was waiting in bated breath to see how the country which shocked the world with a quarter-final ticket at her debut appearance during the Japan/Korea World Cup in 2002 would perform in the competition. Senegal is Africa’s number one country in FIFA’s monthly ranking.
