As Spain, the reigning champions, led by Rodri and his men, defeated Lionel Messi’s Argentina by a solitary goal to bring the World Cup home in the 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup, the world revelled in the beauty of the beautiful game. Every World Cup brings with it the splendour of football — a celebration of love, friendship and togetherness. Even those who have no place of their own on the football field join in the global celebrations. When Spain and Argentina battled it out to lift the trophy under the midday sun in New York, even the rural corners of Kerala remained awake, turning night into day, simply to experience the magic of football. That is how the likes of Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal have become such beloved figures among Keralites.
The Spanish victory can be described as poetic justice in the FIFA World Cup, which, for the first time, was hosted by three countries and featured 48 teams. Without losing a single match and conceding just one goal, Spain secured the throne of world football for the next four years. The Spanish side, breaking through the opposition’s defence at great speed with their short-passing game, left Lionel Messi and his teammates as mere spectators and made their second World Cup triumph a resounding success.
For Spain, who stumbled on the road to the title in the last three editions after lifting the trophy for the first time in 2010, this victory also marks a spectacular comeback. It is a fitting triumph for the country that is home to the Spanish league, which boasts some of the finest clubs in the world. It is also the ultimate reward for the hard work of coach Luis de la Fuente, who remained committed to the Tiki-Taka style, and captain Rodri, who served as the spearhead of Spain’s moves from midfield.
The World Cup that has just concluded and hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico was the longest in history. On pitches where countless tears were shed and dreams born, many of the big names stumbled at the very outset. Italy, three-time champions, could not even qualify this time, while powerhouses such as Germany, Brazil, the Netherlands and Portugal returned home early, disappointing fans around the world. At the same time, several small countries, previously unknown to many, astonished the world with their footballing magic that set the pitches alight. Cape Verde, the African nation that held eventual champions Spain to a goalless draw in their opening match, advanced to the second round before bowing out after giving Argentina a real scare. When the number of teams was increased to ensure proportional representation for the continents, there were criticisms that the intensity of the competition would be diluted. Along with Cape Verde, the newcomers to the tournament proved those criticisms wrong.
The tournament also witnessed the rise and fall of many players. Lionel Messi, with little time left to play in another World Cup, saw his dream of winning a second title slip away. Neymar’s dream of lifting the World Cup in the yellow jersey and Cristiano Ronaldo’s hope of leading Portugal to a World Cup triumph were both shattered on these grounds. By the time he played in his third World Cup, Kylian Mbappe had become the leading goalscorer in history and claimed the Golden Boot for the second consecutive time. Though he did not score a flurry of goals, Lamine Yamal, who played a key role in the title triumph with his all-round presence on the pitch, along with Norwegian star Erling Haaland, who continued his goal-scoring spree in keeping with his reputation in club football, and England’s Jude Bellingham, all announced to the world that they still had plenty more magic left in their boots.
Even as football becomes increasingly commercialised by FIFA’s thirst for profit, this World Cup also has an ugly side to tell — one in which politics has cast its colour over the universal humanism of football that has been carefully preserved. Iran, who qualified from Asia and arrived to play football from the midst of war, became one of the painful stories of this World Cup because of the injustice inflicted upon them by the Trump administration. Between matches and training sessions, Trump’s America left them exhausted through relentless travel, without giving them enough time to turn around, and the Trump regime showed little of the hospitality expected of a host nation. Despite remaining unbeaten throughout the tournament, their fate was to return home in the end on the basis of goal average. Amid the Argentina-Egypt clash, which was overshadowed by highly controversial refereeing and allegations of racial abuse, the resounding roar of football that unites the world was missing. Trump’s resort to forcing FIFA to overturn its decisions in favour of his fellow countryman was also far from a welcome sight on the football field.
Buoyed by the commercial success of this year’s World Cup, which featured a larger number of teams, FIFA is considering increasing the number of participating teams to 64 in the next edition. If that happens, nearly one-third of the countries in the world will take part in the World Cup. Even then, for India, whose people hold football and its players close to their hearts, qualifying for the World Cup will remain a distant dream. As another World Cup draws to a close, there is this question that remains unanswered: what is the government doing to promote the growth of Indian football, which is falling so far behind that the country cannot even qualify for the Asian Cup?