Live / Day 1 of the World Cup. The ball will start rolling in Qatar

Ronaldo revealed in the interview with Piers Morgan how the loss of a child was one of the hardest moments of his life, which conditioned his return to football. The Observer spoke to parents feeling the same pain.

“Losing a child is like an amputation.” How do fathers and mothers who feel the same pain as Cristiano Ronaldo live?

One is made from shipping containers, has Qatar’s emergency number on it, and is fully collapsible. Another is inspired by a nomad tent but has a 5-star hotel facing the lawn and a camel track. And there is also one that pays homage to the traditional dhows. The eight World Cup stadiums are located within a radius of less than 70 kilometers, they have cooling facilities for the heat, closing roofs and various curiosities that you can meet here. As well as all the games that are played in each of them.

One by one, the 8 World Cup stadiums in Qatar

Special Envoy of the Observer in Doha, Qatar

Not everything that is criticized is always like this, but there is praise for the artificial things: how Qatar prepared to host the World Cup and continues to reap victories in a diplomacy that makes Kissinger nostalgic.

The most serious World Cup in the middle of fantasy: the film of a decade until Qatar becomes the Disneyland of football for 29 days

In Portugal’s debut in the World Cup, Doha will register temperatures of 28ºC and humidity of almost 60%. Experts reveal that conditions in Qatar can cause heart failure and brain errors.

The players in Qatar face 30ºC heat and 70% humidity. The dangers to the brain, heart and muscles

Last night, another bomb fell on the French team: Karim Benzema was injured in the first training session on Qatari soil and will miss the World Cup in Qatar, thus leaving the World Cup without the last Ballon d’Or winner.

Qatar. Frenchman Karim Benzema will miss the World Cup due to injury

Also in the press conference that preceded the second Portuguese training session in Qatar, Rúben Neves underlined the confidence of the National Team a few days before the World Cup debut.

“We really want to win and we will do everything to win, of course. It’s like we always do in every competition and in every game. We know that it is a very difficult competition but we have a lot of ambition and we are sure that, if we are at our best, it will be very difficult to beat our team”, shot the Wolverhampton player.

“All the games will be important and, obviously, our objective is to win them all and therefore be first in the group. We know that it is a very difficult competition, with no margin for error”, added Neves, recalling that in the World Cup there is no place for “bad days”.

“In our national teams we usually say that everyone can have a bad day, but in the World Cup we can’t have bad days, because it could cost us elimination. Our focus is maximum so as not to make mistakes, to go as far as possible”, concluded the midfielder trained at FC Porto.

Before training, however, it was Rúben Neves representing the team at the press conference. In response to journalists, the Wolverhampton midfielder emptied the controversy that still surrounds Cristiano Ronaldo.

“In the locker room there is no controversy and it is impossible for us to fear anything around that controversy, since in our locker room there is nothing. There is more controversy outside and in the media than inside the locker room. Everything is said and everything is said. We are 100% focused on our worlds, of course. We have a spectacular atmosphere in the national team and that is what we are focused on”, explained the player.

Later on, Rúben Neves also left guarantees regarding the state of form of Cristiano Ronaldo. “From what I have seen in training he is in spectacular shape. This is not an issue that worries us at all. We know perfectly well that as a collective we have to work very well so that individualities stand out, and Cristiano is no different. If we are well, we know that Cristiano will be phenomenal ”, he concluded.

The National Team held its second training session in Qatar today. Fernando Santos had all the players first thing in the morning, without casualties or unavailability -after yesterday, in the first training session held on Qatari soil, six players had just gone through the gym to carry out recovery work-.

Good day! The day has arrived: November 20, 2022 and the World Cup will begin in Qatar. The World Cup starts today at 4 pm with the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador, at Al Bayt Stadium, but before that there is still an opening ceremony. Stay with us and follow all the incidents of the first day of the World Cup!