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Qatar goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb
Photo: Hassan Ammar/AP
The World Cup kicked off in Qatar on Sunday.
The tournament is considered controversial, especially Qatar's handling of guest workers and human rights is repeatedly criticized.
Fifa boss Gianni Infantino started off with a remarkable speech that caused ridicule and anger.
In addition, the Qatar national football team became the first host team in history to lose the opening game of a World Cup.
Many fans had already poured out of the stadium before the end of the game.
These are the international press comments on the start of the World Cup in Qatar:
Spain
»Marca«:
»They got the cooling done with money, but not how to play football well.
... In elite football it's almost impossible without talent.
And if there was any doubt about that, the World Cup, the most demanding and spectacular sporting competition in the world, took three minutes to bring that to mind."
»El País«:
»The Emir of Qatar opens the tournament and celebrates 'diversity' in a box with hardly any women.«
France
»L'Équipe«:
»Qatar don't really have the level to play a role in their World Cup and a large part of their audience didn't return in the second half.
A crazy opening.«
»Le Figaro«:
»One thing is certain: Qatar did not impress in this opening game.
... An opening game that, by and large, will not go down in history, played at a slow pace, with few chances and little spectacle.«
Austria
»Kronen-Zeitung«
[on Infantino's statement that he had experienced discrimination because of his red hair]
:
»A sentence that is a mockery for the persecuted minorities and oppressed women.
Inappropriate and self-important.
... For a number of Qatar critics, however, one thing is certain: the low point has already been reached before the first game kicks off.«
Great Britain
»Daily Mirror«:
»Enner Valencia shone even brighter than the Opening Ceremony light show as Ecuador beat hosts Qatar in the first game.
... Qatar have to show something very special in the next two games to have any chance of progressing at their home World Cup."
»Telegraph«:
»Qatar offers a perfect example of sportswashing in its inaugural ceremony. ... Ultimately, this ceremony was a showcase of a unique confluence of a corrupt, money-obsessed organization and a regime with a medieval approach to civil liberties and job security.«
»Guardian«:
»This was a disappointment for Qatar with twelve years of preparation.
The host country has spent this time building the infrastructure for a World Cup shrouded in controversy and filled with a bitter aftertaste that whatever the next four weeks will likely never wash away.”
Italy
»La Repubblica«:
»When the announcer proudly announces the 67,000 spectators in the stands of the Al-Bait Stadium, many have long since left.
Already at halftime.
Qatar starts very badly as hosts in the World Cup, the first of their history: a game that never happened, summed up in the face of the Qatari coach, the Spaniard Felix Sanchez Bas, which he covers with his hand after Enner Valencia's second goal. «
bka/dpa
