The opening game
Virgil Van Dyke and Sadio Mane have known each other for quite a few years.
The Dutch stopper and Senegalese striker began collaborating at Southampton in 2015, before moving to Liverpool.
None of them could have imagined that they would meet in the opening match of the World Cup in Qatar, on November 21, at Al-Thoumama Stadium.
And not just will meet, but will rise to the historic game as the two captains.
For the 29-year-old Mana, this will be the second World Cup in a row.
Four years ago he even scored in Senegal's 2-2 win over Japan.
But for the 30-year-old Van Dyke it will be the first major tournament of his career.
He was first called up to the team in 2015, a year after the Netherlands finished third in the World Cup in Brazil.
The Orange team failed and did not qualify for Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup - and Van Dyke missed Euro 2021 due to injury.
For the Netherlands this will be the first time they have participated in the opening match of the World Cup.
But Senegal has already done so.
And who can forget the sensational victory of the "Taranga Lions" over the world champion France at the opening of the 2002 World Cup.
By the way, the original plan was that Qatar, the host team, would participate in the opening game.
This has been the practice since 2006. However, when the draw determined that Qatar would open its way against Ecuador, FIFA leaders came under pressure. It is clear that this is a gray game that arouses very little global interest. 84 years in the opening game the host or trophy holder will not participate.
Van Dyke.
First appearance in a big tournament, Photo: Getty Images
Four games a day
Since the 2022 World Cup will be the first in history to take place in the middle of the football season and not during the break, FIFA had to cram the games into 28 days - instead of 31 as it was in Russia in 2018.
To do this it was determined that at the home stage there would be four games each day.
Which means that in the first eight days the action will start at noon and end shortly before midnight (hours of play: 12:00, 15:00, 18:00, 21:00).
For the fans who come to Doha it will be fantastic.
Because thanks to the fact that the stadiums are close to each other it will be possible to watch two games every day (and with great effort even in three ...)
But for the expected TV it will be no simple challenge.
For example, Argentina's opening game, against Saudi Arabia, will open at 6:00 a.m. Buenos Aires time.
England's intriguing game against Iran kicks off on Tuesday of the week, which is of course a routine work and school day, at 1pm London time.
Messi.
Argentines will get up to watch it at 6:00 a.m., Photo: AFP
Schedule
For about a month and a half, from mid-November to the end of December, leagues around the world will be shut down.
Not only in the countries participating in the World Cup, but also in the other leagues (including Israel), from which players reach the 32 teams.
Which means the start of the 2022-23 season will be very stressful.
The Premier League, for example, will open on August 6, and on November 13 will have its final round before the break.
The six home rounds of the Champions League will be crammed for a period of less than two months, between September 6 and November 2.
The load on the players will be huge and the national team coaches will not have time to properly prepare for the World Cup.
Gareth Southgate, the England national team coach, said he had approached the Premier League management and asked not to stroke top-flight games in the final round before heading to Qatar.
It is not unlikely that some of the cycle games will be played on Friday, to earn another day.
And FIFA will probably approve that the staff will be increased from 23 to 26 players. The reason is clear: the fear that the players will not have enough time to recover from injuries.
One of the stadiums in Qatar.
The advantage is that they are close to each other, Photo: Reuters
Intersections
Due to the rating system, none of the eight houses drawn yesterday were a classic "death house".
But there is at least one huge game in the home leg: Spain vs. Germany, on November 27 at the El Beite Stadium.
This match will probably determine which of the two will finish first in House 5. And this will of course affect the quarter-final meetings, against the first two in House 6 (probably Belgium and Croatia).
The World Cup in Russia proved that a large part of the preliminary assessments do not materialize, so in the quarter-finals in 2018 France played against Argentina, but if England and France, the world champions, finish in first place at home, they are set to meet in the quarter-finals.
And if Argentina and Brazil finish in first place, they may meet in the semi-finals.
On the other hand a dream match between Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo (assuming Argentina and Portugal finish in first place), for both of whom it was a fifth World Cup, and probably last, possible only in the final - on 18 December.
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