FIFA 2022 World Cup: Protest Kits, Sobering Tents and Football Fans Unable to Watch Games On TV in Qatar
The Qatar World Cup is very much within touching distance, and that means a football festival is on the horizon. Though much has been made of the fact the tournament has been moved from its traditional summer start date, football fans worldwide are getting very excited about the prospect of another great tournament.
The World Cup betting market is buzzing ahead of the November 20th start date, and with just over five weeks until the big kick-off, it can now be confirmed that Brazil will go into the competition as the top-ranked team in world football.
Brazil at Number One
The latest set of FIFA rankings has been released this week, and the Brazilian national team, who qualified from the South American group without losing a game, have extended their lead over second-place side Belgium.
National team coach Tite has seen his side dominate over the past 18 months, although their recent World Cup finals form has left a lot to be desired. In three of the past four tournaments, they’ve been eliminated in the quarter-finals and in 2014, on home soil, they suffered the humiliation of being thrashed 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals.
France sits in fourth place in the rankings list, with Argentina ahead of them in third.
Tite discussed the difficult situation he finds himself in relation to his squad selection, specifically with regard to the embarrassment of riches he has in the final third.
“There will be opportunities for all [Brazil’s forwards],”
“Whoever is in will be deciding the match; all have to be prepared. Every match might require a different characteristic.
“We will make adjustments; we will not change our game plan. We will impose our way of playing.”
The likes of PSG forward Neymar, Tottenham’s Richarlison, Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Arsenal’s in-form striker Gabriel Jesus are among those fighting for inclusion, as well as wide-men Antony and Raphina of Manchester United and Barcelona, respectively.
Here’s the list of the top 20 teams on the FIFA ranking list.
Current FIFA Rankings
1. Brazil
2. Belgium
3. Argentina
4. France
5. England
6. Italy
7. Spain
8. Netherlands
9. Portugal
10. Denmark
11. Germany
12. Croatia
13. Mexico
14. Uruguay
15. Switzerland
16. United States
17. Colombia
18. Senegal
19. Wales
20. Iran
BTS to Play at Opening Ceremony
K-Pop act BTS, arguably the biggest musical force in the world today, are said to be likely to play during the opening ceremony for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The ceremony will run up to the kick-off of the tournament’s opening match between Qatar and Ecuador on the 20th of November.
Traditionally, it’s an event viewed by hundreds of millions, and the presence of BTS will only further boost the viewership.
Harry Kane Standing Firm With Protest Armband
Tottenham and England forward Harry Kane, who is favourite to finish the 2022 World Cup as top-scorer with odds of 8/1 offered by BoyleSports, has confirmed that he will wear a OneLove armband at the Qatar World Cup even though doing so is against FIFA regulations.
He is one of nine international captains who have committed to wearing the armband in support of the LGBTQ+ community, and he intends to follow through on the statement act and commented on the issue ahead of Tottenham’s Champions League home clash with Eintracht Frankfurt.
“I think it’s a question that’s hard to answer right now.”
“We’ve decided we want to wear it, and that’s our thought process going forward.”
“It’ll be down to FIFA and the FA – I’m sure they’ll be in contact with them.”
“I haven’t heard anything personally yet, so at the moment, we’re on line to wear it, so if anything changes, we’ll cross that bridge when it comes.”
The protests are down to the fact that Qatar still has draconian anti-LGBTQ+ laws in place, and many have criticised the decision to allow the tournament to take place in a country with such a backward stance on the matter.
