The World Cup is currently being hosted in Qatar. Qatar is a small country in the middle east that is mainly desert. This is also the first time Qatar has played at the world’s biggest football competition. The World Cup is played every 4 years. 832 footballers are involved in Qatar 2022, which is the most ever. 134 players at the world cup are from the Premier League clubs in England. Superstars Lionel Messi (Argentina) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) are both at their fifth world cup.

 

England’s first match was against Iran. It was on a school day but fortunately, the teachers kindly let us watch it in the hall. Everyone was making predictions and cheering for England and we all leapt out of our seats when we scored. It was an exhilarating experience with England defeating Iran 6-2. Bukayo Saka scored twice. I am ecstatic that we are through to the round of 16. The group games end on 2 December and the surviving 16 teams then play knockout games on 3 December onwards. England is playing Senegal on Sunday and I predict 3-1 to England. If England win they will most likely go on to play France in the Quarter Finals. The World Cup final will be on 18 December at the Lusail Stadium in Doha, Qatar’s capital.

 

This week in School the Sports Leaders started a World Cup-themed tournament for the Juniors. It has been great to play football with friends and compete against each other. It started with Wales vs Portugal. I was on team Wales and it was a draw at 3–3 so we played penalties. There was a lot of drama and excitement. There has been a real buzz about the matches played and some super talent. Luckily, Wales is through to the semi-finals. Our next match is against Japan which beat South Korea. Wish us luck!

 

On Thursday, A team of Years 5 and 6 made their way to Hameldon college for a friendly against Holy trinity and Padiham Green. I was part of the team and for the first time, I got to play alongside my brother (Yahya). I was super proud of him and Blue holding their own against older players. We kicked off our first game against Holy Trinity and they managed to score a goal. We pressed hard but they got the ball and raced down to our side and scored again making it 2-0. Just before halftime, Yahya took possession of the ball from Joseph and smashed it into the net with his right foot. Halftime score;  2–1.

 

Our second half started with Holy Trinity getting another goal despite our best efforts. Joseph was given the ball from Stanley and dribbled down the pitch at lightning speed. He passed it to Yahya, who kicked the ball straight into the net. It went past the line and was met by cheers from the supporting crowd but the referee did not give the goal much to Paul’s dismay! Yahya retrieved the ball with persistence and again got our second goal making the score 3–2. It was Holy Trinity’s kick-off and they dribbled up but their attempt was fiercely blocked by Blue. They somehow scored from a rebound making the score 4–2 for them.

 

After the first match, Paul could see that some of us were crestfallen. He gave us a pep talk as I imagine Erik Ten Hag must give to the players at Manchester United. He lifted our spirits and filled us with confidence. We believed in ourselves again and in each other. The second match was against Padiham Green. Joseph navigated his way to the opposition’s end with the support of Harvey and Stanley and managed to successfully score in the first minute. It was a thrill and amongst the cheers, we could hear Paul, Mrs Whitehead and Miss Grillo celebrating from the sidelines. Next, Harvey retrieved the ball and he scored from the box. There was a buzz in the air! Our defence was strong, (I am not just saying that because I was playing left back ). Poppy, Liam and Fergus were spectacular creating moments of brilliance. We were not letting Padiham Green get anywhere near our box. Despite being the youngest player in the team, Yahya confidently tackled the opposition and took the ball, he did a one-two with Joseph and scored. Full-time, 3–0! I loved the experience of representing the school by playing football, a sport I have successfully avoided till now. I am proud to be a part of the Park Hill Football team and I think we managed to display many, if not all of the school values that night.

 

Fact 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321

 

 Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next fortnight!