MARC POZZO
The Word Cup is hotting up as we go into our week of pool games ahead of the quarters but we have seen some wonderful games thus far. Only last Sunday I woke to the TV score 10 All Blacks, 9 Namibia.
However it needed a Steve Hansen rocket at half-time ignited New Zealand’s second-half turnaround, culminating in a breathtaking score from TJ Perenara.
The world champions were held to 10-9 after 30 minutes by Namibia, a country that doesn’t have a professional league, before they poured on 47 unanswered points after half-time to win 71-9.The crowning glory was their 11th and final try, when Brad Weber threw a behind-the-back pass to Perenara, who was tackled just short of the line but leapt to avoid going into touch and grounded the ball in the corner from mid-air.
The victory puts New Zealand on the verge of the quarter-finals as they moved to the top of Pool B with one game to play, against Italy on Saturday. Meanwhile Rugby World Cup organisers warned on Monday, that a powerful typhoon forming to the south of Japan, could bring fierce winds and torrential rain over the last weekend of the pool stages. Japan’s Meteorological Agency is tracking Typhoon “Hagibis” , expected to develop into the highest level of “violent”, which is due to start hitting the southern island of Kyushu around October 12.
A statue of former Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been built in his hometown in Sweden. The bronze structure, commissioned by the Swedish FA, was unveiled in front of hundreds of fans outside Malmo’s stadium on Tuesday.
“No matter where you come from, where you are, no matter what you look like, the statue is the symbol that anything is possible,” said Ibrahimovic. The 38-year-old scored 62 goals in 116 games for Sweden between 2001 and 2016. The statue, created by Swedish artist Peter Linde, is 8ft 9in tall and weighs almost 500kg.
Ibrahimovic started his career with Malmo before going on to play for Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris St-Germain and United. He moved to the United States to play in the MLS in 2018. Former England captain David Beckham, Portugal and Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool’s Egypt striker Mohamed Salah have been honoured with statues.
There is also an Ibrahimovic effigy at the Grevin wax museum in Paris. Ibrahimovic statue unveiled in Sweden ‘Typhoon forming in Japan’ There are two World Cup fixtures on the island at that time , a potentially critical Pool An Ireland-Samoa clash in Fukuoka on October 12 and Wales Uruguay in Pool D in Kumamoto on October 13.
The latest information from the Rugby World Cup weather advisors is that “the typhoon is tracking in a north-westerly direction and could bring high winds and heavy rain to southern Japan on October 12 and 13”, organisers said in a statement.
Games can be moved to a different venue if it looks like a typhoon will prevent them from being played. However, if a match during the pool phase has to be cancelled, it counts as a 0-0 draw. This could prove costly to Ireland, who are in a fierce three-way battle with Japan and Scotland for a quarter-final place and would be expected to beat Samoa with relative ease.
Wales will qualify for the last eight if they beat Fiji on Wednesday but a draw against Uruguay could jeopardise their ability to top their pool. I have said this to so many people .For me the World Cup only starts at the quarter finals. From next week it will get exciting. Go host nation Japan! Despite triumphs on the track, Qatar has come under fire for it’s hosting of the World Athletics Championships with questions raised over Doha’s ability to deliver the football World Cup successfully in three years’ time.
Perhaps the most stinging offtrack criticism of the 10-day event was sparked by the spectacle of a near-empty stadium during the opening days, raising fears for attendances in 2022. International Association of Athletics Federations chief Sebastian Coe has come under fire for the dismal crowds that turned out in Doha to watch blueWorld number one Novak Djokovic continued his fine form with a straight-set win over Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the Shanghai Masters. which accuse Doha of backing Iran and radical Islamists.
They have cut direct transport links, closed airspace to Qatari aircraft and restricted their citizens from visiting over the claims, which Doha denies. FIFA would now seek clarity about Doha’s ticketing strategy following the sight of a nearempty stadium on some days at the athletics. Qatar World Cup organisers declined to comment on the ticketing challenges.
Another issue will be alcohol prices in the conservative Gulf monarchy. Officials also sought to reassure fans their safety would be assured as they showed off rapidly evolving World Cup infrastructure to visiting media ahead of the athletics.
Another recurring issue was the heat in the road races, with some competitors berating organisers, for the sweltering temperatures and humidity during the marathons, and race walks that were held outside the air-conditioned stadium. But World Cup organisers insisted to visiting media that 2022 will not be dogged by high temperatures as it will be staged in the winter months and played in air-conditioned stadiums. Championships spectators faced grim traffic jams across Doha with many key roads and junctions undergoing construction, although competitors and VIPs received police escorts.
Pressure is also mounting on the authorities to open all 37 metro stations, of which only 13 are currently operational, by the promised New Year There is no compromise they need to get this right, otherwise after 2022 you can think twice of these kind of destinations, hosting big events.
All the infrastructure but no idea, with logistics on how to drive it and make it successful event. The focus and attention will be firmly on Qatar now. Let’s see.
