FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
In the world of football, there have been a number of coincidences so extraordinary that they have become known as 'curses'.
One of them is related to the World Cup, and has to do with the fact that no team that has fallen into Group F has managed to win the title at the end of the tournament, a group in which Albania has also been drawn if it qualifies.
Our opponents are the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia, with our team knowing only one of these teams. It is precisely the Netherlands with which it has played 4 matches. The first two are identical 2-0 losses in the distant year 1964, when it was playing for the 1966 World Cup qualifiers.
Meanwhile, the next time the teams met was in the EURO 2008 qualifiers, where the Dutch won 2-1 in Amsterdam and 1-0 in Tirana.
As for the other representative teams in this group, Japan and Tunisia, Albania has no match against them at the A team level.
It all started back in 1982, when the number of teams in the World Cup increased to 24 and, as a result, Group F was created. The strongest team of that World Cup, Brazil, led by Socrates, was one of the main favorites to win the title. But, they fell in Group F and were eliminated by Italy, thus starting a streak that would continue for four decades and that has yet to be broken.
In Mexico '86, England were the next team to suffer the consequences of the curse. Despite finishing second in their group and winning the round of 16, they were stopped in the quarter-finals by an unforgettable Diego Maradona, who made history with his famous goal. Four years later, in "Italia '90", England were again drawn in the same group and, for the second year in a row, returned home without a trophy.
The World Cup tournaments followed, but no team from Group F managed to advance to the finals. The Netherlands and Germany would also suffer this curse, being eliminated at different stages of the tournaments. As time passed and the year 2002 came, England and Argentina faced each other again in Group F, but neither team advanced beyond the round of 16.
In subsequent tournaments, the curse continued to have the same effect. Argentina was the team that came closest to breaking this "curse", especially in 2014, when they were led by Lionel Messi. But, in the final against Germany, Mario Götze gave Germany the trophy with a goal in the last minutes, breaking the hearts of the Argentine fans.
In the last two World Cups, the curse has continued to remain intact. At Russia 2018, Germany finished last in Group F, while at Qatar 2022, Morocco and Croatia put in a stellar performance, but neither team managed to lift the trophy.
This phenomenon has continued to attract the attention of football fans, who are now curious to see if one day a team from Group F could break this losing streak and manage to win the World Cup.
Lini një Përgjigje