Qatar vs. El salvador: who knew?!

Never thought I’d say this: I can’t wait till the next game between Qatar and El Salvador. It turns out, before their 2021 Gold Cup Quarter-Final, they had a heated match in which un-nice things were exchanged thereby setting the stage for an exciting Gold Cup ecounter just recently. Tempers flared and a good game ensued as Qatar walked away with a narrow 3-2 victory. Dare I say it? A rivalry has been established: Qatar and El Salvador. It reminds me of the ‘international games’ at SIUC I witnessed when I was a kid. These matches—which were primarily bouts to express anger—were often between two teams representing geographical locations somewhere in the middle of the world that resulted in squabbles over certain affairs regarding hegemony back in the homeland; the bird was given in multiple ways, foul words were exchanged, promises of curses or something therein were made, invisible lines were drawn thus tempting the other side to cross to see what’s next, arms flailed around—it was beautiful. Sometimes I’ve thought about those games and wondered ‘what was the point?’ You know, no one cared, no one was there, outside of a few friends, say. The point was: They were in the moment, competing. Likewise, Qatar and El Salvador—two teams you’d ordinarily forget about—were in the moment, competing like there was no tomorrow. It was great to see and hopefully there’s more down the road. 

By the way, Qatar, so it was finally announced, is a “guest team” in the 2021 Gold Cup. It’s about time. For second there it was like: Okay, Gold Cup, we’ve got US, Mexico, Honduras, Qatar, Jamaica…wait a second! Huh?! Somebody call 911! What the?! Qatar?! Somebody call the doctor! What the?! So basically, as a promotion for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Qatar is showcasing its talents as a guest team in the 2021 Gold Cup just as the Gold Cup has welcomed previous guests to the tournament such as Brazil, Colombia, and South Africa. Go figure.