Opening Week Questions
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By The Spotter
It’s wall-to-wall World Cup in Little Bad Vlad’s sprawling empire. Here are seven ponderables from the first week:
7) Was the Robbie Williams-middle fingered salute at the Opening also a small dig at the host country’s leader or aspects of FIFA itself? (it was apparently given in response to social media trolls who weren’t aware Williams had agreed to perform basically for free). A bit classless sure, but you’d have to love the guy even more if it’d been for the first, unsubstantiated reason.
6) Which famous player has become the more abject penalty taker? Lionel M or Roberto Baggio? Remember this? (of course you do):
5) Germany were like a rusty old Volkswagen against Mexico. Will they be more Benz or Trabant in their next match? It’s not all doom and gloom though; their loss was against the next best side in their group unlike….
4) What is in fact the better bet: Iceland to make it out of the group or Argentina to go home?
3) Can England go deep into the tournament and find someone else who can score apart from ‘Arry Kane? (If not- they won’t).
2) Is it true that Christiano Ronaldo has a full-length mirror in the corner of the dressing room with which to practise his goal celebrations? And why do he and Paul Pogba suddenly have normal-looking haircuts? That’s an accusation you could not throw at Neymar.
1) Will the only, and winning goal in the Final come from a highly-debatable penalty award, preceded by an interminably long VAR inquiry? (Oh, God help us, please no). Football was never meant to be convoluted and subjective like Rugby. Down with the VAR, I say. Goal-line technology a no-brainer, but the VAR..can we confine the damn thing to the waste-bin?
talltree@xtra.co.nz (Paul M)