Before the commencement of every football game, a lot of norms stand out with the way teams and their fans practice them with vigor, making it tough to imagine one of the two teams losing in the end.
While making football chants, like singing anthems, players and fans open their mouths widely, look into the sky and some touch their chest close to the heart as a sign of love for their country and commitment to earn victory and glory for their countries.
On Tuesday 6th December 2022, with the Spanish fans vigorously chanting in Education city stadium, AL Rayyan, one would think it was just a done deal yet it was like dreaming while counting money.
Spain’s case was not different from Brazil’s which came into the pitch relaxed and convinced they would secure a win since they were facing an African team, Cameroon which they had bowled in the past FIFA tournaments but were shocked when the underdogs handed them their first defeat of the tournament.
Teams from the black continent have continued to launch nerve jangling attacks on the purportedly elite teams which has left them with no option but to cave-in to the more physical and counter attacking style of play.
Following the previous plays in the FIFA world cup tournament 2022, African teams have maintained a smile on the faces of the Africans by challenging those who have been considered as demigods of the world cup tournament for years.
Heroic victories of the African nations started with the host Qatar losing to Senegal, Belgium to Morocco, South Korea to Ghana, France to Tunisia, and Brazil to Cameroon among others.
Morocco on Tuesday became the fourth African team to reach the last-eight stage after Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010. In a 3-0 win over the talented giants Spain, no one had ever thought they would surpass their potential and create a dream come true.
Hakimi’s telling blow was outrageous, a cool ‘Panenka’ which left Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon on one knee as the ball sailed past him in slow motion to the back of the net.
The suffocation of elite teams by the Africans has nearly made the intercontinental football betting risky and unprofitable because of the zig zag performance of the English teams whose supporters thought it would be a sure win.
This 2022 World Cup has also made many commentators swallow their words as they blindly predicted several losses of African teams at the hands of the elite teams.
