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The defender of Colombia poses before the 16th round of the 2018 Russia World Cup between Colombia and England at Spartak Stadium in Moscow on July 3, 2018.
YURI CORTEZ / AFP / Getty Images [19659003] The summer has finally arrived and Montreal is in the middle of a heat wave, but I am attached to the television.
It's the middle of the World Cup, which only takes place every four years, and it starts the wire. After 32 teams have been reduced to 16 for the knockout stages, we are now on the eve of the quarterfinals. Is your team still in the competition?
That's the thing about Montreal. Canada does not have a horse in this race, so when it comes to who we support, we are the sum of our varied and varied parts.
Maybe you support the country where you were born. Maybe that's where your ancestors come from. Maybe it's a place you've visited and loved. Maybe you have adopted a team based on a player you admire. Maybe you've been hit by an unlikely backstory – because the human drama of the tournament is sometimes more convincing than what's happening on the pitch.
The Icelandic coach pretending to be a dentist? The Iranian goalkeeper who was homeless for a while blocked a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo? The happy warm-up of Senegal's pre-game dance? Sometimes the true heroes, those who capture hearts and minds, are not Neymars and Lionel Messis.
Yes, there are many dramas, and sometimes soap-operatic. Take the early collapse of Argentina and its quest to regain its mojo, while cementing Messi's legacy. Diego Maradona's antics in the stands and health problems have paved the way for an exciting secondary plot
There is still a lot of controversy: on video-badisted criticism, questionable calls or too long stoppages
. The biggest controversy of all could be how Russia ended up being the host. The attribution of games to Russia by FIFA, the world governing body of football, was the result of an epic corruption scandal discovered by former British spy Christopher Steele of the pee tape "and continued by James Comey, former director of the FBI. And there is no doubt that the World Cup is an opportunity for RP for the strong Russian man Vladimir Putin.
Having to look away from the unsavory policy that stains sports too often is the disadvantage of football. The darkest moment of the Russian World Cup was when Egyptian superstar Mohamed Salah was suspended by his national team, who settled in Chechnya and allowed the legendary dictator Ramzen Kadyrov to intimidate him. the most talented Muslim athlete in the world.
There were other downs, too, like death threats and insults directed against Swedish player Jimmy Durmaz for an error that resulted in a winning goal for Germany. It did not matter that Durmaz was born in Sweden, he was attacked as an "immigrant" and a "suicide bomber". It does not matter that Sweden has reached the quarter-finals and that Germany has returned home early. Such attacks betray an ugly side of the beautiful game that should not be tolerated.
The World Cup is supposed to be fun, a chance to join your fellow countrymen or fellow fans to cheer on your team, celebrate success, or sympathize in defeat. Of course, there is a bit of nationalistic chauvinism, waving flags and sporting your colors on matchdays, but in Montreal, it's usually fun.
If you do not look, you can often tell who won or what customers from which bar spread out on the streets to revel. Little Italy is quite calm these days, as the Azzuri have failed to qualify, but Spanish, Portuguese, French, Brazilian, Argentinean, Colombian, Tunisian and Moroccan fans have rallied on match day , often a stone's throw away. The population staked the Georges-Étienne-Cartier monument at the foot of Mount Royal and walked Parc Ave. in euphoria when they beat Germany. (The goal of Hirving Lozano caused a slight earthquake at home.)
Our tribal identities have long defined our soccer allegiances in Montreal. But come 2026 – eight years and two World Cups from now – we should have a team in the contest. Canada, along with the United States and Mexico, has just won a joint bid to host this tournament. Montreal will be the site of three games. And as a host country, we should automatically qualify.
Canada is far from Mexico or the United States when it comes to building a viable team. Our women have been the top force in recent years. So, coach John Herdman has now switched to the men's team to get them back into shape.
Will Montrealers abandon their traditional allegiances to encourage our own team in 2026, especially since they are on the ground at Big O? The World Cup could fill the gap of the season rather well in this city obsessed with hockey. Maybe we will not cancel school on game days, as they do in Uruguay, but there should be enough love of the beautiful game to become a football country one day unified.
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