After the disruptions to the Olympic Games caused by coronavirus, it was good to see the soccer (or “football” as we call it in England, the home of football!) World Cup go ahead as planned. This year’s World Cup has seen some surprising upsets, with Saudi Arabia defeating Argentina, Morocco reaching the semi-finals, and Japan defeating not only Germany, but also the mighty Spain. Of course, I was disappointed to see my country, England, lose to France. An English player named Harry Kane missed a penalty, and possibly because of this, England lost the game. However, I don’t blame him. Players are under tremendous pressure when they take penalty kicks, and like the Japanese expression “Even monkeys fall from trees” (猿も木から落ちる), professional athletes can make simple mistakes. They are only human.

International sporting events like the World Cup give people the chance to come together and enjoy supporting their country, while also learning about world geography. Watching the games, people may become curious about the location and culture of the different countries, which is a good thing. The more people know about foreign countries, the better.  In my case, it has been a good opportunity to teach my daughter (now in the first grade of elementary school) the names of lots of different countries and also where they are on the world map.

The final match will be played two days from now, between Argentina and France. Personally, I hope Argentina win, not only because France defeated my beloved England, but also because the Argentinian star Messi has never won a World Cup. He is regarded as one of the best players in the history of the sport, and now at 35 years old, this will be his last World Cup. After his long and successful career, I think he deserves to hold the cup and celebrate with his team.

The match kicks off at midnight on Sunday, so I think I’ll be a little sleepy on Monday! But I’m sure it will be worth it.

Glossary

Disruptions　 乱れ

The home of football　 サッカーの発祥地

Surprising upset 　驚くべきの番狂わせ

Blame （人の）せいにする

Tremendous pressure　 非常に大きなプレッシャー

Become curious 　好奇心を持って

The more…know…the better　 ～を知れば知るほどいい

Personally 　個人的に

Beloved 　いとしい

(be) regarded as　 ～と見なされる

Deserve to 　～に値する・～にふさわしい

(be) worth it 　～する価値がある