We’ve had a bit of everything in the World Cup so far but I’m loving seeing the underdogs have their day in some of the games.
Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina was amazing. I thought they were magnificent in humbling Lionel Messi and his team-mates in their opening game.
Individually they did not have superstar players in their team but collectively they were outstanding. When you talk about teams who run themselves into the ground to be competitive against a stronger opponent then they were it.
They took their goals of course but it was what they did when they didn’t have the ball which impressed me.
History being made in front of our very eyes 🔥#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/dMe8EDUzTD
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) November 23, 2022
As soon as an Argentina player got on the ball he had a Saudi player in his face putting pressure on him.
Japan were excellent too as they came from behind to stun Germany by the same scoreline on Wednesday.
Again, it was a terrific effort against one of the leading nations in world football and I loved watching them take the game to the Germans.
The flip side of course, was the abysmal display of Costa Rica against Spain.
The Spaniards are a top team and scored some wonderful goals but the resistance offered by Costa Rica was pathetic really.
The stats told the story. Zero corners, zero shots at goal, zero impact on the game.
Qatar evokes memories of Argentina in 1978
Off the pitch it is clear the strong feelings about Qatar being the host given their human rights record shows no sign of settling down even with the tournament in full swing.
It reminds me a bit of being with Scotland for the World Cup in Argentina in 1978.
It was a different world to back home.
The country was being ruled by a military junta at the time and you had to be very careful.
That was easier said than done when there was there nothing to do and it was easy to get into trouble with the locals too.
We stayed outside Cordoba. Our complex had a swimming pool with no water in it and tennis courts with no nets, racquets or balls.
We were offered a chance to go play golf and given there was nothing else to do when not training or playing 12 of us said yes.
When we arrived at the golf course there was one bag with six clubs for the 12 of us to share. Even if we had tried there was one other small problem – there were no golf balls.
Our place was a Mexican hacienda style set-up with a casino of all things on site.
Ally MacLeod told us we could go to the casino but we had to go through the main door and give the guard our name before we would be admitted.
Sure enough, we were walking around the complex one night when we came to four foot high wall. Derek Johnstone asked if the casino was on the other side of the wall and I said yes.
He was up for jumping the wall and going in. We got as far as putting a foot on it when guns were drawn and we were warned not to take another step.
It was a very different time compared to the modern game but it is clear Fifa are trying all they can to keep any protests from players to a minimum while fans are having to be careful too.
It’s sad to see but that’s what happens when decisions are made to visit countries with very different views about things.
Cove are too good to go down
I enjoyed my trip to Cove last weekend to watch them play my old club Morton at Balmoral Stadium.
Cove chairman Keith Moorhouse generously offered legendary former Ton kitman Andy Bryan, who is now at Dundee United, and I the chance to enjoy the hospitality at the game and we had a great time.
Andy and I had a terrific afternoon and it had nothing to do with the result.
I’m sure Andy, who has also been kitman for Scotland, was pleased to see Morton win but if Cove had taken the points he wouldn’t have worried a bit.
The conditions spoiled the game for both teams and while Morton left with the win I’ve no doubt Cove will finish much higher up the table than the eighth place position they occupy at the moment.
The result keeps Morton challenging for promotion near the top of the table and I’m enjoying keep an eye out for their results as it’s been a while since they were really up there in contention.
Gio had to go at Rangers
The least surprising news of the week was the departure of Giovanni van Bronckhorst from Rangers.
When you manage one of the big two in Glasgow, failure against the other is not an option and van Bronckhorst has learned that the hard way.
A Scottish Cup win and a Europa League final means nothing if you are not beating Celtic and the writing was on the wall at Ibrox with Celtic pulling clear at the top of the Premiership.
It seems QPR boss Michael Beale is the man who will replace him and he has a big job on his hands.
It’s a huge task for a man who was Steven Gerrard’s assistant previously at Ibrox and only took his first steps into management earlier in June.
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