مواجهة قطر (Finally facing Up to Qatar)

 مواجهة قطر (Finally facing Up to Qatar)

Having the World Cup in Qatar has proved very divisive among the world of football and many fans have formed opposing views on it. My top football guru mate from uni. decided to boycott it completely. Now, to me that was a bit over the top but I do share most of his frustrations with the blatant corruption that was plain for all to see when Russia and Qatar were both, simultaneously, awarded the next two World Cups by Sepp Blatter et al back in 2011 on May 5th.

And there, in that sentence is the key word for me in this debate... Russia.

I was as guilty as anyone for going along with the Russia World Cup in 2018 without so much as a whimper. I even attended two games there and I watched the whole tournament avidly. Looking back from today's perspective, I feel very guilty that I didn't boycott their World Cup totally, after their blatantly illegal annexation of Crimea or their dodgy pretend "hybrid war" (it was just yet another invasion, actually) in Luhansk and Donetsk. Everybody should have seen that as typical Russian imperialistic expansionism. For Moscow, being a country that is already 1.7x bigger than the next biggest is just not enough. It's easy for me to speak in such language about Russia today, with the benefit of hindsight of events since 24th February 2022, but like most, I turned a blind eye to all that at the time, somehow pretending that everything would be all right in the end.

Of course, Russia's barbaric invasion of their peaceful, and erstwhile brotherly, southern neighbours, Ukraine, has woken up the world to what Russia's intentions really were (and still are) at the time - genocidal. Maybe if the free world had boycotted the Russia World Cup it would have sent Putin such a clear signal he wouldn't have started his war (sorry, "special military operation", right Vlad?) in Ukraine.

Hindsight, as they say, is always twenty-twenty and it's easy to be wise after the event. But my simple but overlooked point here remains that Qatar have not invaded anyone. They are not conducting a war of genocide on a peaceful neighbour. Although their human rights record is abysmal, how bad is it compared to, say, Russia? How many construction workers died building the stadia and infrastructure there, for 2018? Tell me more about gay rights in Russia's new fascist state.

Of course, two wrongs don't make a right and I kind of admire my friend for his steadfast (or is it stubborn) refusal to participate in anything to do with this one. But he, like me, watched all the football in Russia avidly. It just seems odd to draw the red line at Qatar 2022 and not Russia 2018.

Anyway, my "support" of the Qatar World Cup, like Russia's was, at least, severely muted. I went to only two games in 2018, one in St Petersburg as it was a convenient stepping stone from Estonia to Finland, and another in Kaliningrad, because it was a place I'd always had a morbid curiosity about and it's very close to Lithuania. (What a day that was! All told here.) Most of the 2018 World Cup I spent touring ten countries now liberated from the Soviet empire, as if to stick two fingers up at the Russkis from liberated lands. This time, I only went to one game and deliberately chose to spend only three days there (the least I could have) in the cheapest accommodation I could find. So, this luke-warm support at least assuages my guilt a little.

Previously: Blighty

Sunday, 4th December 2022: Arriving in Qatar

The flight from London Heathrow was smooth enough, although again it needed a ridiculously early start. 

Ibis Heathrow annoyed me in that their airport shuttle did not include Terminal 4 - the one terminal I needed, So I ended up getting an Uber. Better early than late in these situations.

It was strange, upon arriving at Doha airport, not to be just transiting through, as I had done many times before and I soon got lost trying to find a bar to watch France v Poland. 

It soon proved to be a futile quest and having written the match off as a lost cause I quickly started to panic that I had no cash as my Commonwealth Bank Debit Card refused to work at the randomly distributed ATMs in the airport.

Qatar loves to boast that the Hamad International Airport was been awarded several accolades for its innovative design and that it has over 30 lounges, many works of art and a range of dining options, but I I'm not impressed. If you're a millionaire passing through, you might appreciate all the chic fashion shops that seem to be everywhere but try finding a sign to the EXIT, or an ATM that works, or a café that sells cheap food and you'll be very frustrated like I was.

 Eventually, with the help of several "helpers" I did eventually find the bus that would take me to my accommodation, without a single Qatari Riyal and with more than a few worries about money.  

Waiting for the bus to depart from the airport

Anyway, the bus was air conditioned and comfortable enough. It drove past one of the stadia - the Khalifa International Stadium where the Netherlands had beaten the USA last night.

Khalifa International Stadium

When I arrived at my "residence village" the first thing I noticed was its vast size and incredibly soulless nature. It felt like something from the Soviet era. Block after anonymous block. 

My home for the next three nights was in the romantic sounding... Cluster A. Building A6. V04. R11. 

My Room Key

It took me a while but I eventually found the admin building where the staff were very friendly and kind and pointed me towards my room which was very basic, but clean and functional. 

Airport bus to Al Janoub Fan "Village"

So, anyway, what about that match? The one I missed completely.

Before continuing I'd better report on that one, for completion's sake.

Game #51 (Round of 16) France v Poland

Group D winners, France (runners up were Australia, remember) were next up against the runners up in Group C, Poland (Argentina won that one.)

No-one really gave Poland much hope in this match held in the Al Thumama stadium.

The match started cautiously but the teams gradually started attacking each other more. Giroud missed a sitter just before the half hour mark, then Lewandowski wasted a free kick for Poland. On 35 minutes Mbappe brought out a great save from Szczesny and three minutes later at the other end Lloris made a point blank save from Zielensky and then Kaminski's shot at goal is desperately blocked on the line by Varane.

But then, just before half time, France scored to put one foot into the quarter finals. Giroud found a gap in the box, turned and struck home past Szczesny in one elegant movement.

44m. Giroud. France 1 Poland 0

With 15 minutes to go, Mbappe, arriving unmarked from the left, seemed to have been given all the time in the world to relax and choose his spot before unleashing a powerful drive into the corner to make it 2-0.

75m. Mbappe. France 2 Poland 0

Then, in injury time, as if to rub salt into Polish wounds, he did it again to put the tie to bed.

90+1m. Mbappe. France 3 Poland 0

Lewandowski scored a consolation penalty in the 9th minute of injury time when the ball hit the French defender, Upamecano's arm. The first attempt was saved by Lloris but he was judged to have moved so it had to be retaken. Poland scored, but of course it was all over long before then. 

So France reached the quarter final. Who would they play? England or Senegal?

Game #52 (Round of 16) England v Senegal

By now, I'd dumped my bags in my room and decided there was no point trying to head off to the city to watch the England match as the "fan village" was miles from the city center and I'd spotted a pretty decent looking big screen in the village itself.

So, it was a case of changing into my "lucky" Forest kit and heading off to watch the game down the big empty streets.

There was a big patch of astro-turf to sit or lie on in front of the screen and there must have been a couple of hundred other fans with the same idea as me.

Of course, this was an alcohol-free zone but I must admit it didn't bother me in the slightest. At any other World Cup or European Championship, you'd have to drink Carlsberg or Budweiser anyway. I almost felt virtuous not having to go along with that scam.

I got there very early to make sure I got a good spot but I needn't have worried. The square had room for hundreds.

I definitely got the feeling of being in a distinct minority supporting England. The vast majority were supporting Senegal, I hope only because they were the underdogs.

The match was played in the Al Bayt Stadium, an admittedly attractive stadium, the design of which was inspired by the traditional tents of Qatari nomads, known as bayt al sha'ar. It features a striking membrane roof that resembles a giant tent. The stadium holds 60,000 fans.

England v Senegal @ Al Bayt

It was a quiet start for England and the first real chance fell to Senegal when Pickford made a strong save from Boulaye Dia after 31 minutes.

England gradually settled into some sort of rhythm and a through a neat break on 38 minutes, Bellingham found Henderson in a central position from where he stroked the ball into the goal to put England ahead.

38m. Henderson. England 1 Senegal 0

Seven minutes later, England broke again with pace and accuracy to punish Senegal for the second time. This time it was Harry Kane at the end of the move to finish. 2-0 at half time was surely an unassailable lead for them now.

45m. Kane. England 2 Senegal 0

I was feeling good at half time, for sure.

Realising it was not as packed as I thought it would be I gave up my spot and moved around a bit to see if I could find some fans to chat to.

With England in the driving seat, the second half was always going to be a bit of an anticlimax. Kane had a decent shot saved just before Phil Foden set up Bukayo Saka for a delightful flick in to make it 3-0.

56m. Saka. England 3 Senegal 0

And from there, it was a fairly easy cruise to the winning post.

So, England versus France in the quarter finals. Not the tie we wanted, but the feeling generally among England fans was that if this was going to be our year, we'd have to beat the best teams sooner or later.

Bring 'em on!!

After the match it was a five minute walk back to my cell where my steel bed awaited. I was tired though and managed to get some very good sleep after thinking about another exciting day with the stress at Doha airport being the only source of stress. Final mood score: 12-1.

Monday, 5th December 2022: First Full Day in Dohar

The view from my bedroom after waking up confirmed the sheer size and soullessness of the place I was staying. A few wooden huts selling snacks were across the street and round the corner was wide road with block after block of accommodation. I presume this facility was used by the construction workers during the building of the stadia and now it was being used to accommodate the fans.

I must say I felt that I had to get away from this as soon as possible and do some exploring of Doha itself. It's odd that I'd been through the city so many times, at the airport, but never stepped a foot outside it before.

So here was my chance.

It was an easy matter to find the bus to take me from the fan "village" to the nearest metro stop, and the first on the red line, Al Wakra. Not only was the bus free but anyone who had a Hayya Card (the official security pass for the competition) could travel on the metro free. Also very impressive was the fact that this card allowed you a free SIM card to use in Doha. 

From a technological point of view, you have to admit, this was a very impressive World Cup.

The trains, which I only discovered later, were totally automated - that is, they have no driver - were clean and smooth and fast. I got off in the city center at the Msheireb station and went for a good long walk along the corniche.

Considering there was a World Cup going on, the streets weren't particularly busy. It was nice to be hot again and I soon built up a thirst for some mineral water. 

Of course, one aspect of Doha you very quickly become accustomed to is the regular Adhan, or call to prayer, five times a day.

As I approached the corniche it struck me how empty everything was but I got closer the huge forest of sky scrapers over the built up area called West Bay dominated the scene more and mow.

Finally, down by the sea at the corniche it was impressive to several sculptures on the world cup theme.

The whole thing looked impressive, I must admit.

I am not really any kind of fan of modern architecture but, again, one cannot help but be impressed by some of the futuristic building in Doha. This is clearly a place with oil money to burn.  

Having reached West Bay, I went to one of the huge shopping malls where I had a delicious hot chocolate before heading to the massive registration center to pick up my physical Hayya Card, a good thing to have whilst strolling around the city.

Time was ticking and so I had to find somewhere to watch the next match. My mate Jakey had already been and gone from London having watch a few games earlier, and so was able to give me a few tips about where I might best watch a game and actually have a beer too. 

So, I headed for the Best Western Hotel back on the other side of the bay near the corniche, where I'd walked earlier. I took the metro to get back, though, as my feet were aching a bit by now. Before that, though, I had time to wander around the famous old market place, the Souq Waqif.

After the souq it was time to find the Best Western Hotel and an actual bar to have an actual beer before watching Japan v Croatia, the next game in the World cup.

Game #53 (Round of 16) Croatia v Japan

There is something a bit seedy about trying to find a bar that serves alcohol in a state that officially bans it but (nod, nod, wink, wink) turns a blind eye to it if you know where to go.

The Best Western Hotel is one such venue that provides this service in Dohar and I found it after a bit of a search through dark streets. 

I settled down to a pizza, a pint and the World Cup Round of 16 game between Japan and Croatia. 

According to the form book and the World Cup schedule, Japan should have been favourites for this tie. Not only did Japan top their group, they also beat always fancied Germany and Spain on the way, Meanwhile, Croatia could only finish second in their group behind Morocco having only beaten Canada so far. But, of course, anyone that knows anything about international football would probably have not believed all that. Croatia have a reputation for being a tournament team and, frankly, Japan, have one for bottling it when they are fancied, as evidenced by their bizarre loss to Costa Rica in the group stages.

The game was exceedingly tight, with chances and misses at both ends before Japan took what I thought was a deserved lead before half time through Daizen Maeda. 

44m. Maeda. Japan 1 Croatia 0

The second half was only ten minutes old before a sharp header from Ivan Perišić equalised for Croatia though.

55m Perišić . Croatia 1 Japan 1

Again, both teams continued to threaten but it ended up all square, and so for the first time in World Cup 2022 - a penalty shoot out.

I must admit I had a bad feeling about that from a Japanese point of view, and so it proved when Takimuri Minamino's first kick for Japan was very poorly struck and far too close to the goalkeeper, who had also gone the right way. Easy one for him... this time.

Nikola Vlašić made no such mistake for Croatia, blasting the ball hard and well to the goalie's right. 1-0.

Japan's next penalty by Kaouru Mitomo was more powerful and better placed but the Croatian keeper, Livaković, made a great save, again guessing correctly, to his right this time, so it stayed 1-0.

Marcelo Brozović showed nerves of steel by placing the next penalty straight down the goalkeeper's throat. Unfortunately for him, he'd dived to the right and so it plopped straight into the net. 2-0 to Croatia and Japan needed a miracle now.

Takuma Asano finally did score for Japan sending Livaković the wrong way for a change. 

Then Marko Livaja hit the post with Shūichi Gonda going the right way, so belief was restored for Japan at 1-2.

Next, Maya Yoshida's penalty was again brilliantly saved by Livaković.

And finally Mario Pasalić sent Gonda the wrong way, sent Croatia into the quarter finals and sent Japan into the depths of despair as they were out.

But the Croatian hero was undoubtedly Dominik Livaković who saved three penalties.

Joy for Livaković 

Despair for Japan

That was me done. I decided to try to find any café or hotel or anywhere in Doha on my way back to the metro station that was showing the next game but I had a very frustrating time. Google couldn't help me as the one or two recommendations it made either didn't exist, were closed, or were not showing the football.

Doha. Lots of mosques but no café watching the football.

This was a bit disappointing for a city supposed to be proudly hosting the World Cup and as I was getting very tired and weary from all the walking I'd done today I decided to cut my loses and just head back to the fan village and watch it there. At least that way I'd be in bed 45 minutes earlier.

So I walked to the Al Mansoura (green line) metro station and wound my way back to the soulless "village".

Game #54 (Round of 16) Brazil v South Korea

Obviously, Brazil were big favourites to win this tie. Not only are they five times winners of the World Cup, compared to South Korea's zero, they marched through group G as winners (despite a weakened team losing to Cameroon) whilst South Korea sneaked through as runners up in Group H only after a shock last minute winner against Portugal, who had already qualified. So, I wasn't in a particular rush to get back to see the start of the game.

I think it was already 2-0 to Brazil by the time my bus dropped me off far too far away from the screen and I'd scampered back up the hill to watch what was going on.

I took my place on the artificial grass in a pretty decent spot and watched the inevitable...

It didn't take long, or so I gather, for Brazil to assert their dominance. Vinícius Júnior, the Real Madrid winger, received the ball in an acre of space in the box and slotted it in as one would expect from someone on a salary of well over 20 million Euros.

7m. Goooooooooooaaaaal.... a Brazil.... Vini Jr. 1-0

Six minutes later, the cheating, diving, Richarlison somehow managed to con the referee and the entire VAR team that he'd been tripped in the box and Brazil were gifted a penalty to make their already easy task even easier.

The even more cheating, diving, Neymar stepped up to convert the penalty, as one would kind of hope, for someone paid over 40 million Euros a year (at least) to kick a bloody football around a pitch. So that was 2-0 and only 13 minutes gone. I was still on the bus somewhere approaching "the camp."

13m. Neymar. Goal. 2-0 to Brazil.

Ner, ner, ne-ner-ner. I get 40.8 million Euros for doing this!

Then, in the 29th minute, a crisp passing move from Brazil put Richarlison in the perfect place to slot in No 3 and it was all over.

29m. Richarlison. Brazil 3 South Korea 0

This was champagne football and South Korea were being destroyed. Seven minutes later, it was 4-0 when the West Ham United attacking midfielder, Lucas Paqueta, met a delightful chip to slot home.

36m. Lucas Paqueta. Brazil 4 South Korea 0

I think, perhaps, Brazil took their metaphorical foot off the metaphorical peddle a bit in the second half, being 4-0 up at half time so it didn't really make for a riviting game.

But credit to the Koreans for fighting back and Pak Seung-ho scored a beauty in the 76th minute to at least give their fans something to think about on their way home.

I must admit I was probably in bed before the Brazilians had got changed.

So endeth another day of football focused travel.

Mood Score 11-2. Frustrations getting my SIM card working and feeling very tired traipsing around Doha looking for somewhere to watch Brazil were the two things that dampened my mood on an otherwise exciting day.

I was very glad to "hit the sack" that night, for sure.

Tuesday, 6th December 2022: My One Game at the Qatar 2022 World Cup

My final full day at the Qatar World Cup was the one I'd got my ticket for. I bought it months ago through the FIFA web site and its fair-looking lottery system. If I remember rightly I applied for three tickets (including a couple of England and Australian matches) but kind of assumed I wouldn't get one of those. My next priority was to go to the stadium where the final was going to be held the Lusail Iconic stadium. The best bet there seemed to be a Round of 16 tie between two teams who, at the time of purchase, could have been anyone. But soon after the draw was made it became obvious that Portugal v Switzerland was a likely match up.

And so it proved. That was going to be my one match of the tournament.

But first, I had a morning to do a bit of further exploring around Dohar.

Now, don't get me wrong. Dohar is a fairly nice, modern city with a very good metro system and several other amenities that were honestly pretty impressive. But, seriously, I don't think there is very much for a tourist to do for four weeks. Two days was pretty much enough for me. A week, in comfortable accommodation, would have been pleasant enough but I cannot imagine a football fan wanting to be there for the whole tournament.

Having said all that, I'm rather embarassed to admit that I entered a FIFA competition the first prize of which would have been a ticket for every single match at the World Cup.

I had to put together a short video showing that I was a football fanatic who had some sort of a blogging/media presence. This was my video entry!

Needless to say... I didn't win.

So, it was just three nights and one game for me. And this was my last one. On the agenda today... some culture (a visit to a museum, and a nice local meal), watch the penultimate round of 16 game somewhere on the way to the Lusail Iconic stadium, and then watch my one game there.

The day started with the same bus journey to the metro station as I did the day before.

I must admit, I was very impressed with the spacious and modern underground system. All free with my Hayya card.

Standing near the front of the train, this was the first time I realised they were unmanned...

First stop was the National Museum of Qatar.

It is a very impressive structure...

Again, it was very modern and spacious. As expected there were many exhibits about local culture, and wildlife.

... And some, surprisingly to me, had an evolutionary there too.

Love those dugongs

Some of the exhibits were about the lives of the local Bedouin nomadic peoples.

I was getting hungry, so I decided to head back to the Souq Waqif to try to find a restaurant with local Arabic cuisine. 

Back on the futuristic metro, then...

I ended up at a Lebanese restaurant that was, I have to say, pretty disappointing. 

One good thing that happened there was that, whilst waiting for my food to arrive, I got talking to a very nice chap called Jimmy, although to look at him at first sight, it wouldn't be a name one would imagine you'd be using to refer to him.

If I remember the details rightly (no chance!) his family was originally from Pakistan but they settled in the East End of London and his father became a big West Ham fan. He adored Jimmy Greaves and so that was the name he gave to this particular son. Either that, of this guy himself became a big West Ham fan and decided that Jimmy would be the name people should call him. 

Not sure.

But anyway, he was a very pleasant chap indeed and looked much younger than the age he said he was - in his sixties, I think. 

The street had a distinctly middle eastern vibe and many people were smoking shisha pipes with their meals.

Iced Tea

More "owt" Cuisine, than "haut".

Anyway, at least I had had my fill.

Time to leave the Souq and head north. 

I decided to get the metro to the Legtaifiya station which was close to one of the big fan parks in Doha, the one nearest to the Lusail stadium. I thought that would be a good place to watch Spain v Morocco, after which I could walk to the stadium to watch the Portugal v Switzerland game.

Approaching the fan park

Getting closer

Just outside

I thought it was a good idea, anyway. Unfortunately, thousands of others seemed to have thought the same way and the park was packed and closed to more fans,

Another cock up!

Still, never mind I got a half decent view of the game standing tip-toe on a bench outside the ground for the first twenty minutes of so, although it took me a few minutes to realise that the team in red were Morocco and Spain were playing, unusually, in Manchester City's colours of sky blue shirts and and white shorts.

After a while I decided to try to find a more civilised venue to watch the game from and found a quirky café with cool but massive scalextric track for motor racing fans to play on. I had a couple of large hot chocolates and an ice cream whilst Spain and Morocco fought out a tight, goaless first half.

At half time I decided I needed to be closer to the ground so I caught an Uber from the "Cric Crac Cafe" to one much closer to the Lusail stadium.

The Deersteps cafe was within sight of the ground but was practically empty. So I watched the rest of the Spain v Morocco game there.

So what hapenned in that game?

Game #55 (Round of 16) Spain v Morocco

The match took place at the Education (for men) City Stadium, which didn't seem so close at the time but was only just under 12km away from where I was trying to watch it.

As the game kicked off, I was walking over a bridge about 12 km away.

As expected, Spain dominated the possession and had a number of shots on goal, but Morocco held strong and actually created the two best chances of the first half.

So, it was 0-0 at half time as I Ubered my way closer to the Lusail Iconic stadium and found a cafe within sight of the stadium.

The defences of Spain and Morocco were on top in the second half and there were few chances before the ninety were up and the game went into extra time. Cheddira had a great chance to put Morocco ahead just before the end of the first half of injury time but the Spanish goalkeeper, Unai Simón stuck out a foot to clear at the last moment. 

Pablo Sarabia glances the far post with a chance right at the death but there was an air of inevitability about this game as it inexorably slid into another penalty shoot out.

Morocco went first up was Abdelhamid Sabiri. He made no mistake, sending Simon the wrong way.

Spain's reply came from Pablo Sarabia, who'd almost won the game with pretty much the last kick of extra time. He struck it hard and low and to the goalie's left, but Bounou was equal to it, saving brilliantly. 

Next for Morocco was the brilliant Hakim, Ziyech. This one was hit hard and straight. Simon obliged by diving hard to his left. So, 2-0 and it was looking good for the North Africans now.

Carlos Soler was next up for Spain and he too tried to beat the keeper to his right, not as hard this time. But he too was thwarted with another good save.

Badr Benoun was the next to take a penalty for Morocco. Score this and with the score at 3-0 it would have needed Spain to score their last three and Morocco to miss their last two. It was a poor, weak shot, though, easily saved by Simon.

Next Sergio Busquets had to score to put the pressure back on Morocco but slotted too weakly, too near the Moroccan goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou, so still 2-0. 

Now all eyes were on Achraf Hakimi, the PSG right back. Score this, and Morocco were through to their first ever World Cup Quarter Final. Score he did. Cooly dinking the ball straight at where Simon had been before diving to his right.

Hakimi, 3-0

It was a good job I was watching all this drama in a pretty empty café within sight of the ground as, by now, there wasn't much time before my match was due to start after all the extra time and penalties.

The walk from the café to the ground was pleasant enough but it did seem tortuously long despite being within sight of the ground. It would appear that crowd control freaks had decided that everyone had to be herded to one specific entrance to the ground so I had to traipse along with an ever increasing army of ant-like fans heading to the match around a quite narrow and convoluted route.

At least we could admire the quite wonderful architecture as we plodded inexorably to the match.

Once I arrived at the ground, I have to admit I was very impressed. The stadium looked... how can I put this?... iconic.

Security was tight but friendly, and I passed through into the vast stadium complex quickly with ease.

It has to be said that there was a very friendly party atmosphere around the place. It made you feel safe, happy and looking forward to the match.

Walking ever closer to the stadium we crossed what appeared to be a set of tram tracks, although I didn't spot any tram.

Then it was time to scale the steps and approach the stadium itself.

Once inside, it was time to scale still more steps to my seat...

Once inside, the stadium didn't disappoint there either. 

There is something magical about going to a big stadium. I know a lot of die-hards hanker for traditional old grounds, and I'm certainly in agreement with much of that feeling. I find it especially sad that many classic old football grounds have been knocked down and their convenient, historic city center locations lost forever, replaced by soulless modern venues that are out of town and out of sight. But, walking into a massive, purpose built football ground is still awesome. It feels like a modern day cathedral built specifically to optimise the fans' viewing experience.

How could a football fan not be impressed by a view like this?

The seats were roomy and comfortable but, of course, that comfort requires more space, and a bigger stadium, so the pitch was a long way off. Good job I had brought my monocular.

Lots of empty (and very expensive) iconic seats

The unmistakable star of the show - or at least he would have been if he'd started - was, of course Cristiano Ronaldo. It seemed that every Portugal fan and his dog had to make some sort of visible allegiance to the great man. And let's be in no doubt, Cristiano Ronaldo is, or at least, was, a truly great player. Maybe not quite the Greatest Of All Time - but not far off.

But it would appear the older the "almost-GOAT' got the grumpier and the more likely to piss off the unfortunate guy with the job of managing him. 

Fernando Santos had had that unenviable task for several years and, sure enough on this ocassion, the famous No 7 ended up on the bench for Portugal's knock out tie.

Santos put Cristiano on the bench for this one

Game #56 (Round of 16) Portugal v Switzerland

I must say I had this down for a hum-dinger. A nail-biter. Portugal had won their group (albeit losing to South Korea in their last match) and Switzerland had finished second in theirs (having edged out Cameroon only because they beat them 1-0) so it was going to be close, right? Very close.

The build up indicated that sort of tension, at least. Inside the stadium we all went through the usual pageantry with the flags and national anthems. I must admit I love all that stuff even if the Portuguese and Swiss anthems aren't the most beautiful - they're both much better than England's, that's for sure.

The big news before kick of was the (almost) GOAT, Cristiano Ronaldo, was on the bench.

It did start close. For the first 16 minutes it was 0-0 anyway.

Then... it wasn't.

Gonçalo Ramos smashed in high into the top left hand corner of the net making a mockery of that old mantra that goalkeepers should never be beaten at the near post, and the cast was set for a match of pretty much one-way traffic.

17m. Ramos. Portugal 1 Switzerland 0

A quarter of an hour later, it was 2-0 when "old man" (an almost 40 year old center back) Pepe headed in a corner from the right.

33m. Pepe. Portugal 2 Switzerland 0

The game settled a little after that and it remained 2-0 at half time. 

Time for a wander.

Half time snacks

Any dreams Switzerland had of mounting a come back in the second half were quickly brushed aside.

Gonçalo Ramos tapped in a cross from the right at the near post on 51 minutes to make it 3-0.

51m. Ramos. Portugal 3 Switzerland 0

Then, four minutes later, the tie was effectively over when Raphael Guerreiro rifled in a powerful shot to make it four.

55m. Guerreiro. Portugal 4 Switzerland 0

Portugal were on fire. Switzerland's defence were terrified.

The Swiss pulled one back three minutes later when Manuel Akanji poked in a Shaquiri corner 

58m. Akanji. Portugal 4 Switzerland 1

But it was only a consolation and ten minutes later Gonçalo Ramos completed his hattrick with a deft flick to make it 5-1.

69m. Ramos. Portugal 5 Switzerland 1

The hattrick was the signal for Portugal to take the foot off the peddle and make three substitutions. in the 73rd minute. Ronaldo came on and Ramos went off.

The Portuguese fans had been calling for this for for much of the second half and there was a great roar when the great man came on. He did have a couple of sniffs of the ball but there really wasn't much more to be done in this game and Ronaldo looked like a lonely figure for much of the rest of the game.

Cristiano alone

Right at the death, two minutes into injury time, Rafael Leão fired in another to rub salt into Swiss wounds and it finished 6-1.

90+2m. Leão. Portugal 6 Switzerland 1

So that was it. Switzerland were out and Portugal would square up against Morocco in the quarter finals.

So that was that. Tschüss/Salut/Ciao/Adia Switzerland and parabens, Portugal

I took advantage of my last few minutes at a World Cup ground to take some photos from other angles before heading off for my last night's sleep in Dohar.

Macedonian fans

The view from right at the back and in the middle

Portugal v Morocco next

Adeus, Lusail

I must say the crowd management on the way out of the stadium back to the metro station was very friendly and well organised. It wasn't long before I was on the train heading south back to the fan "village" about 40 km away.

It was a very friendly journey back without the slightest hint of trouble.

My last day in Qatar was long and exhausting and it was so good to crash out that night for the last time in my fan village steel bed.

Overall it was a brilliant day, though, fitting as it would be the last one away. Mood score 18-0.

Final Stop: Back to Perth, Australia for the Pointy End