Key events
Preamble
There’s a concept in Jewish practice and learning that we call “lishma”; for its own sake. Roughly, it means that, in their purest expression, commandments aren’t fulfilled and texts aren’t studied for performative purposes, nor for any kind of reward or benefit, but in pursuit of truth and connection with the divine.
You can feel a segue coming, right? Well, here it is: the group stage of this World Cup features 72 matches to eliminate just 16 teams, which means those of us with no financial interest in proceedings watch them knowing the majority have little bearing on who stays and who goes, never mind who lifts the trophy at the end. Rather, we’re here for the simple beauty of football and joy of the competition.
But what beauty and what joy! Curaçao have never previously qualified for this competition and now they have, they’re its smallest ever participant, by population – less than 160,000 – and area – 171 square miles. Dick Advocaat, their manager, left in February to look after his ill daughter, but happily her condition improved so he’s back at the helm; we can be certain his team will be organised and ready.
Germany, meanwhile, have endured a miserable time at the World Cup since winning it in 2014 – in both Russia and Qatar, they were eliminated in the group stages, losing to Mexico and South Korea, then Japan. This is not what is expected from or of Turniermannschaft, the tournament team and, with a blue-chip coach now in charge, they’ll surely improve on those that pair of embarrassments.
Whether they’ve the firepower to go all the way, though, remains to be seen. At the back, they look strong and in midfield, they’ve so many options it’s ridiculous, but up front, they lack a reliable scorer – though, given the creative brilliance of what’s behind, the retired and 48-year-old Miroslav Klose would probably have fancied himself to bag a few, even if his signature somersault is probably harder to perform.
That being the case, it’s hard to see any outcome here other than a convincing Germany win. But if Curaçao can start well, things might just get tense and, if they do, our attention will shift from enjoying whatever the game throws at us to contemplating one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history. And if that happens, celebrations in the south Caribbean will give the term “lishma” an entirely new aspect.
Kick-off: 12pm local, 1pm EDT, 6pm BST, 3am (Mon) AEST
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