Silent Lonesome Man

In February 2022, Vietnam entered a round-robin playoff, competed against Thailand and Chinese Taipei, both were World Cup participants. Chinese Taipei previously played the 1991 FIFA Women's World Cup in China, which was the first World Cup in the history of women's football, 61 years after the first men's World Cup was held - and that stays as the country's only participation since. Thailand has qualified for two editions, in 2015 and 2019; the former evoked a painful wound for many Vietnamese as it was Vietnam who lost 1-2 to Thailand in the decisive playoff spot right in Ho Chi Minh City. But Vietnam had an edge: its squad was mostly healthy - while Thailand and Chinese Taipei were plagued by coronavirus. A 2-0 win over Thailand initially sealed the hope high, but Chinese Taipei beat the same opponent 3-0, putting Vietnam and Chinese Taipei into a dramatic final confrontation. Chinese Taipei just needed a draw to qualify, but defying all odds, Vietnam won 2-1, thus ...

On 20 February 2022, in the tourist islands-nation Maldives, two women's teams, both are less known to the world, marched into the pitch of Rasmee Dhandu Stadium in the capital Malé. That was no normal match however. It was a historic debut of the women's team of Saudi Arabia, the Middle Eastern Kingdom known for being strict and repressive toward women for decades. The opponents, Seychelles, is also a pretty less known African team, both in men's and women's level. In the end, the conservative met the unknown, and Saudi Arabia triumphed 2-0, courtesies by a corner kick strike from Al-Bandari Mubarak before Mariam Al-Tamimi doubled the lead. These ladies were the first-ever scorers for Saudi Arabia. 16 players were granted their historic debuts. Pelé, the greatest statue of international football, offered a congratulation on Twitter . When you get the congratulations from the Brazilian legend, it is certain that the country has won certification. Yet as CNN pointed out ...