Will we ever see the likes of the Human Rights World Cup (2022) group stage again? Eleven hours of four essential back-to-back association football matches, every day, for two weeks. In the UK, the kick-off times were 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm, scheduling that would neatly block out the working day, bring the already faltering British economy to a grinding halt and send the daytime sales of Tin rocketing. But if productivity was down, happiness was at an all-time high as supporters feasted on such delights as Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia, Qatar 1-3 Senegal and South Korea 2-3 Ghana.
Football Daily has said this before, but never with more fervour: what a time it was to be alive. Should anybody interrupt – The Man or an infant, say – one would only need to explain that this was, in fact, the WORLD CUP and that it only comes around once every four years, actually. Like an expensive advent calendar, each day would contain at least one treat and only require the use of one door – that to your living room, where one could justifiably sit uninterrupted for the entirety of the day. When later generations ask what it was like to sit in your pyjamas and watch Vincent Aboubakar score an audacious scooped finish to help complete a wild 3-3 Cameroon comeback against Serbia at 11.30am, you can simply say: you just had to be there.
Of course, last year’s Human Rights World Cup wasn’t all fun and games – and still isn’t. The tournament in Qatar was beset with problems regarding corruption and human rights abuses, along with the treatment of migrant workers and discriminatory laws. A year ago to the day, on 23 November, Germany lost an enthralling match to Japan: a classic underdog story as the four-time winners were undone in a frantic finish by goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano. But the game was also notable for the German players putting their hands over their mouths before kick-off after teams had been instructed by Fifa not to wear the OneLove armband. “We wanted to convey the message that Fifa is silencing us,” explained Hansi Flick after the game. “Human rights are non-negotiable,” declared the German football federation.
It was great. It was sometimes a bit grim. But you can’t say it was boring. Fast forward to now. Yet another day that doesn’t contain four matches of back-to-back elite international football – and no, there was too long a gap on 22 July at the Women’s World Cup. Euro 2024 playoff draws setting up Wales v Finland are all well and good, but Thursdays have not been the same since 24 November 2022, when Football Daily ate its body weight in crisps while gorging on Portugal 3-2 Ghana and spent the evening launching itself on to the sofa, trying to imitate Richarlison’s acrobatic goal against Serbia. Heady, halcyon days.
Four games back-to-back, Jeremy? That’s insane. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian
