Messi, Ronaldo and other veterans staged the final battle, the World Cup in Qatar is about to kick off
Their "Curtain Call" Their "Curtain Call"
Our reporter Liu Bing
At 00:00 on November 21, Beijing time, the opening match of the 2022 Qatar World Cup will officially start, with the host team Qatar playing against the South American powerhouse Ecuador.
This World Cup is Messi and Ronaldo's fifth World Cup trip, and it may also be the World Cup curtain call for many veterans. Their performance has been eagerly watched by fans.
And these famous stars will also join with Qatar to present a wonderful green drama to fans all over the world.
Melo's five World Cup appearances
"Is Qatar the last World Cup I participated in as a player? The answer is yes." Recently, Messi said in an interview.
This football idol who has accompanied people for more than ten years has entered the final stage of his career.
This World Cup is the fifth World Cup that 35-year-old Messi and 37-year-old Ronaldo have participated in together, and it is very likely to be the last chapter of the "Melo Era".
As of now, there are only 4 players in the world who have participated in the World Cup five times.
Messi's World Cup journey is full of regret and tragedy.
In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, 19-year-old Messi was selected for the Argentine national team and scored a goal and became familiar to people.
Four years later, in the World Cup in South Africa, the Argentine team led by Messi, who had just become the captain, performed mediocrely and stopped in the top 8.
In the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the Argentina team led by Messi performed bravely and finally broke into the final, losing to the German team and winning the runner-up.
In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Argentina team supported by Messi was eliminated by the champion team France in the quarter-finals.
Ronaldo's experience is quite similar to Messi's. Although there are many shining moments, most of them are regrets.
In the four World Cups since 2006, although the Portuguese team led by Ronaldo had a good performance in advancing to the semi-finals, it was more embarrassing to stop at the top 16 or even the group stage.
For more than ten years, Melo has been called the "peerless double pride" in world football.
The outside world has been discussing which of the two of them is stronger and weaker.
In the past 4 World Cups, Messi played a total of 19 times, scoring 6 goals and assisting 5 times; Ronaldo participated in 17 games, scoring 7 goals and assisting 2 times. Evenly matched.
In this World Cup trip, can Melo lead his respective teams through all stages, and even stage a direct dialogue in the knockout round?
worth looking forward to.
Lu Yin's twilight years are full of ambition
Like Melo, among the players participating in this World Cup, there are quite a few "older youths" who are over 30 years old, and some are even close to 40 years old.
Whether these players who have reached the twilight of their careers can draw a successful conclusion to their World Cup career has attracted widespread attention.
Take the Belgian team known as the "European Red Devils" as an example. Judging from the recently announced World Cup squad, there are as many as 11 players over the age of 30, including Hazard, De Bruyne and other famous stars.
In the last World Cup, Belgium made a historic semi-final and beat England to win the third place.
Can this veteran team continue to write brilliantly?
Similar to the Belgian team, the "golden generation" of the Croatian team will also stage the "Sunset Battle" of the World Cup.
In the last World Cup, the "Lattice Legion" became a blockbuster and finally won the runner-up, creating the best record in the history of the World Cup team.
Today, the core of the Croatian team, Modric, is 37 years old, and another player, Perisic, is 33 years old. Are they still in the same state?
Turning his attention to the Asian teams, the Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima is about to usher in his forties.
For 12 years, he has been the main goalkeeper of the Japanese team.
So far, Eiji Kawashima has played 95 games for the Japanese team.
Four years ago, he was the oldest player on the Japanese team in the World Cup in Russia, and his performance was amazing.
This time he goes to the World Cup again, whether he can continue to set the record for the highest age of the Japanese team will become a point of view.
In addition, Portuguese central defender Pepe, Brazilian legendary right back Alves, Mexican star Guardado, German team captain Neuer, French team center Benzema and Polish team captain Lewandowski and other older players, His performance in this World Cup has also received high attention.
Qatar is ready
For these football superstars who are about to usher in the curtain call, Qatar, the host of this World Cup, has shown full sincerity.
In the final countdown stage, giant posters of "senior" star players such as Messi, Ronaldo, and Modric were hung up on the streets of Doha, Qatar, to pay their respects, and the strong atmosphere of the World Cup came.
For Qatar, like these football veterans, they are ready for the opening of this World Cup.
This World Cup is the first in history to be held in Qatar and the Middle East, and the second in Asia.
At the same time, the World Cup in Qatar is held in the northern hemisphere winter for the first time.
It is reported that the distance between the eight stadiums of this World Cup and the center of Doha is within one hour's drive, and fans and players can get ready to go at any time.
In the early stages of the competition, fans will have the opportunity to watch multiple games per day, gaining a previously unavailable experience.
Qatar also provides an additional 30,000 rooms for fans.
In addition, this World Cup will also provide tourists with a lot of entertainment during the game.
For example, the FIFA Fans Carnival will be held in the Arbida Park and will receive up to 40,000 fans every day.
In this regard, FIFA President Infantino said in a video speech: "We always firmly believe that Qatar will host the best World Cup ever. At this moment, global enthusiasm has been ignited, Qatar is ready, and the stage is also ready. We will work together on and off the field to create the most exciting World Cup in history." (Worker's Daily)