Now, because some of you haven’t been able to take 5½ weeks off work, or from life in general, there’s a small chance you won’t be in a position to watch all 104 games in this World Cup tournament, spread across 39 days, three countries and four time zones with 13 different kick-off times, including 2am, 3am, 4am and 5am.
Fear not, we are here to help. Throughout the extravaganza, our team of busy beavers will sit up through the night for you and, come early morning, present you with a daily round-up of everything that happened while you were snoozing. Yes, they’ll be sleep-deprived and in a state of delirium by the end of it all, but that’s generally how they are any way.
Co-hosts Mexico and South Africa got the party under way at the Estadio Azteca on Thursday evening, their game preceded by the first of three opening ceremonies we will endure/enjoy (take your pick) in these opening days. It was actually quite enjoyable, although the squeaky Teletubbies-like creatures were positively terrifying.
Ken Early was in attendance to see Mexico open the tournament with a comfortable enough 2-0 win over South Africa in front of a highly thrilled crowd of 80,824. The South Africans didn’t exactly help themselves by having two men sent off, and Mexico picked up their own red card in injury time. Just four players were sent off in the entire 2022 World Cup, so at this rate, you’d imagine that mark will be easily passed.
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And in the early hours, in what might have been our lads’ opening World Cup game if the Czech Republic hadn’t the temerity to beat us on penalties back in March, South Korea came from behind to beat the Czechs with an 80th-minute goal from substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu. The Koreans had dominated the game, but fell behind to the Czechs’ first attempt on goal on the hour mark, before Hwang In-beom equalised eight minutes later. It was the first time, at the fourth time of asking, that the Koreans opened a World Cup campaign with a win.
Results: Group A: Mexico 2 (J Quinones 9′, R Jiménez 67′), South Africa 0; South Korea 2 (Hwang In-beom 67′, Oh Hyeon-gyu 80′), Czech Republic 1 (L Krejčí 59′).
Goal of the day: What else could you pick other than the opening goal of the tournament? Take a bow Julián Quiñones, who gave the Estadio Azteca the tingles when he scored for Mexico on nine minutes against South Africa. Poor old Sphephelo Sithole was at fault after he was dispossessed at the edge of the box, his evening not getting much better when he became the first man to be sent off in a World Cup opener in 32 years.
Moment of the day: Not to be unkind or anything, but if Fifa president Gianni Infantino thought he’d be showered with love and appreciation on his arrival in Mexico, he was disabused of that notion when his first appearance on the big screen at the Estadio Azteca was greeted with rather deafening boos. This fella is beginning to make Sepp Blatter look well liked.
Picture of the day: Yes, for the duration of the World Cup, 50th Street and Sixth Avenue in New York has been named “Thierry Henry Way”. Why? Good question. But it’s probably because he played for the New York Red Bulls at the tail end of his career and scored in just the 42 per cent of his appearances.
What we really, really, really want to know, though, is if it was pure happenstance that photographer Charles Guerin snapped the moment that that hand appeared, or if there’s a bit of a rascal in the fella and he waited for the moment. If the latter, then: hugs.
Question of the day: “This is the third World Cup tournament with games at the Azteca Stadium. Who played in the first ever match in the Azteca in the 1970 World Cup?” There’re a reasonable chance you’ll get one of the contestants, but the other? Trickier. The answer will be at the bottom of this scribble. No cheating.
Word of mouth: “He’s a good coach, but he has the personality of a dead fish.”
Roy Keane paying tribute to Carlos Queiroz, manager of Ghana, who he grew to know and love when he was assistant gaffer at Manchester United.
Coming up today: Group B: Canada v Bosnia-Herzegovina (RTÉ 2 and BBC 1, Friday, 8pm). And if you’re up for a late one, the United States open their campaign against Paraguay (Group D) at 2am (RTÉ 2 & BBC 1).
Any other business?: We promise, we haven’t forgotten non-World-Cup-devotees, you’ll be well looked after over the next six-ish weeks. Today, we have a tribute to the late Fergus Slattery from Albert Heenop, word on Aoife Wafer being named Six Nations player of the championship for the second year running and a chat with Handré Pollard in advance of the Bulls’ URC final against Leinster.
We hear from Shamrock Rovers captain Pico Lopes, who will be playing for Cape Verde in this World Cup, Sonia O’Sullivan writes about the new talent she saw emerge at the Bislett Games, Johnny Watterson gives his thoughts on those foolish enough to ever doubt Katie Taylor, and Ian O’Riordan talks to Westmeath footballer Ronan Wallace about the county’s dream summer (thus far).
Teaser answer: The Soviet Union. Just the 107,160 spectators waited patiently for a goal to come. It never did: 0-0.
