When the burly honchos of the Rugby League World Cup gushed about taking the game to new heights, no one was actually thinking about the Golan Heights – but that’s where we are. What sounds like a fascinating quarter–final takes place on Friday (as I write) when the dominant team in global rugby league, Australia, take on Lebanon in Huddersfield – the birthplace of the game.
Amid the blizzard of sporting world cups currently taking place across the globe, this match has it all. The Lebanese team, known as the Cedars, are coached by Australian Michael Cheika, one of the world’s most eminent coaches and a former boss of the Wallabies’ rugby union side. That’s an awful lot of rugby in the mix already. And in an eye–watering bit of multitasking, after the game in Huddersfield, Cheika sets off for London where the rugby union team he now coaches, Argentina, will be England’s opponents at Twickenham on Sunday. That’s what you might call a busy weekend.
If the Lebanon players sound as if they’ve spent more time in Bondi than Beirut, that’s because they have
The Lebanon team have been largely forged in the western suburbs of Sydney, where there’s a vast community of Aussies of Lebanese extraction. So if the team’s players sound as if they’ve spent more time in Bondi than Beirut, that’s because they have. Cheika’s parents are Lebanese immigrants and they are immeasurably proud of what he has done. ‘They have always supported me throughout my life,’ he said recently, ‘and I think my mum will be Lebanon’s biggest fan. She’s taken all of this to heart. Lebanon is a huge part of my life.’
Elsewhere in the Middle East, Qatar might not be everyone’s top destination, and it is a mighty questionable choice of host, but it is in just the right place geographically to put on four games a day at times that suit football hotspots round the world. The group stage of a World Cup is always the best bit, and kick-offs at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. should certainly test the resolve of anyone in Britain still working from home.
We might miss Wags frolicking and shopping, and the odd ‘misunderstanding’ between groups of fans, but it’s the football that matters. Nothing sums up a World Cup better than: ‘Darling, can we have supper in front of the TV tonight – it’s Saudi Arabia vs Mexico?’
For the England manager, the next two weeks will be mental. Every Premier League tackle will be watched through covered eyes. Some players can be replaced; others – Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham – not so much. For Gareth Southgate, each news bulletin will be like a trip to the doctor’s.
With luck, Marcus Rashford, who hasn’t played for England for a year and a half, should be in Southgate’s starting lineup against Iran on 21 November. After an awful time with Manchester United, Rashford is now playing like a man possessed, full of energy, dynamism and guile. And smiling at last. It looks as if Erik ten Hag has rescued a brilliant career.
But Southgate is nothing if not loyal and he might decide to stick with Raheem Sterling, who sadly looks as if he’s suffering a massive crisis of confidence. Southgate’s real problems might lie with his defence, where Kyle Walker has been injured, and Harry Maguire and John Stones can’t command a regular place in their club sides.
On the plus side, there’s no obvious favourite. Yes, Brazil are at the shortest price – but are they that good, really? Could Senegal cause an upset? Or Holland?
It should be a great tournament on the pitch, although perhaps a lack of atmosphere off it will get all the attention. But we had better get used to it – because the Middle East is where sport is heading.
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