December 5, 2022, 8:52 am ETE England’s progress was inevitable. Credit…Paul Ellis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images For two weeks, the World Cup played with new ideas: Lebanese fans disguised as Qataris. Saudis pretending to be trash. The Germans make it look like they’ve forgotten how this is all going to go. It was all fun and fresh and new. But now Neymar mentions James Brown and the band leader plays the classics: Argentina, Holland, England, France. It’s not even Monday, and already the tune has changed at the World Cup. Neymar returned to training on Saturday after a week on the shelf with an ankle injury. Until Sunday, his coach, Tite, was not so subtly saying he would start against South Korea. Neymar certainly believes he will: Taking to social media, the showman quoted the words of a showman, writing: “I feel good, I knew I would do it now.” Could there be a twist or two left? Of course. Morocco carries not only its flag but also the banner of the Arab world at the first Middle East World Cup. South Korea almost won their group. Japan did, though it was no surprise to their coach, Hajime Moriyasu. “Our goal for the tournament is to reach the quarter-finals – and less,” he had said when he named his roster in November. Everyone in Europe laughed at it. Now he and his team are 90 minutes away. Maybe, just maybe, there’s still time for another hit. See more
