Positive Minds | Positive Quotes | Edition 009

Today (November 22th, 2022), I'm talking about the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

Don't worry; I'll avoid polarising topics; there are so many around this World Cup, and everyone has an opinion. I will only talk about football. My mum used to say: “the cock’s mouth is too small to whistle in a flute”; in other words, the polemics and polarization around Qatar 2022 are beyond me.

If, like me, you are a football fan, you were shocked by what everyone calls the big surprise of this World Cup; Qatar 2022: Saudi Arabia started its campaign by beating Argentina 2-1 on Tuesday, 22 November.

And yet everything started well for the Albiceleste of Argentina, who opened the score in the 10th minute with a goal signed by the unstoppable Lionel Messi. The Saudi Arabian Green Falcons equalised in the 49th minute through Saleh Al-Shehri, and Salem Al-Dossari scored the winning goal in the 53rd minute.

So what happened at half-time? The answer is simple. Hervé Renard, the French coach of the Green Falcons, gave a speech that galvanised his team and made them stand together. And for those who know the man, it is not his first try.

It is thus a team completely transformed that started the second half against Messi and his teammates. To everyone's dismay, Saudi Arabia, a nation ranked 51st in the FIFA rankings, beat Argentina, the third-best team in the world. Sports writers across the globe have used every superlative to describe this victory.

Saudi Arabia's victory over Argentina on 22 November is a stinging reminder that:

𝐈𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬. 𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐮𝐜𝐞; 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐈𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬; 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫.