This week, the 23rd FIFA World Cup kicked off across the ocean. Founded a century ago, this amazing competition is still the most popular tournament ever. There are many different shows in the world, among which people wait in line and spend a lot of money to watch. But no art show, no sports t-shirt can be public.
Football has become so big that sports and football are considered separate concepts. Now football is not just a sport, in which players defend the honor of their country, nation, after scoring a goal, they kiss the flag with tears in their eyes.
The World Cup is a competition where the best of football take part. Emotions trump tactics here. World Cup is such a fair tournament that Senegal will bite the ground against France, who colonized them. This is such an empowering competition that the 42-year-old son of Roje Millalar scores a goal against equal opponents.
The Barcelona player, who scored the winning goal in the final of this competition, dedicates it to the main rival of his team, Espanyol, who died a little while ago. Zidane and Ronaldo will rise to the football throne in this tournament. Defenders like Thuram become heroes when the offense can’t do anything. This is a big tournament where Zidane proudly said goodbye to football, Turkey proved that Asians can also play football, and geniuses like Badjo are excited to kick the penalty into the air. And finally, this is the competition of Pele, the king of football!
This year, for the first time, Uzbekistan will participate in the competition of the best. That’s nice. Regardless of the outcome, we are among the best. So let’s be proud of these wonderful moments. As always, we will remember these and other important events of the week together.
World Cup has started
So, the most important event of the week was the start of the world football championship. The opening match was played in Mexico. The host team defeated JAR convincingly. In the second game of the group, South Korea defeated the Czech Republic. On Friday, the World Cup started in Canada and America with the matches of “B” and “D” groups.
Big teams are gradually entering the competition. In the first round, Brazil faced serious rivals Morocco and played a draw. By the way, this year France will play Senegal in the first round. In 2002, these teams played one of the most memorable matches in the history of the World Cup. There are also interesting matches such as England – Croatia, Netherlands – Japan, Belgium – Egypt in the first round. Uzbekistan will start the World Cup on June 18 with a match against Colombia.
Iran hit the Apache
During the week, another escalation in the American-Iranian war broke out. The reason for this was that Iran shot down the legendary Apache helicopter of the Americans. According to CNN, the Iranians shot down the plane patrolling the Strait of Hormuz with the Shahed drone. But some sources say that Shahed contains so much explosive that if hit with it, the helicopter would explode and the pilots would not survive. They believe that while the Apache was shooting down the drones, one of the Shaheds exploded very close, knocking out the helicopter as well.
The operation to rescue the helicopter pilots was also unusual. The Americans evacuated the pilots of the helicopter that crashed in Hormuz in a remotely controlled boat. After all, if the pilots fell into the hands of the Iranians, it would be a very bad event for America. In 2003, the Iraqis shot down a similar helicopter and showed the two pilots on TV, which caused serious problems for America.
America struck Iran after the helicopter was shot down. Then Iran again fired missiles at American bases in the region. No one was seriously harmed by these missiles, but at a time when Trump is not tired of talking about “the destruction of Iran’s military power”, the Persians found another missile and it worked to the detriment of the American president.
New deadline
Media reported that an agreement between Iran and the United States is close. According to the new deadline, the parties can sign the truce today. It is said that the agreement consists of 14 points, and both sides have agreed on its text. According to media reports, Iran may be offering $300 billion in compensation for war damages and the return of $27 billion in frozen funds.
Also, Iran may agree not to build nuclear weapons and develop a nuclear program. There is no provision in the agreement that Iran will give the enriched uranium to America. You know, this deal is reminiscent of the Obama administration’s nuclear deal. Iran also undertakes not to develop its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some sanctions. Only in that agreement, which Trump canceled when he came to the presidency, there is no mention of how much compensation America will pay, because there was no war at that time. Now think about how many wars were started 11 years ago to restore the existing agreement?
Adventures of Iran
It was assumed that the World Cup, which started in America, will be remembered for the visa problem. Because the US visa system is one of the most complicated countries in the world. The World Cup is a very convenient opportunity for millions of people who want to enter this country illegally. That is why the Americans are checking everyone who wants to get a visa with extreme vigilance.
The referee appointed to officiate the World Cup matches could not enter America, let alone the fans. The Somali referee Omar Artan, who was considered the best referee in Africa and was supposed to officiate the World Cup, was not admitted to America despite having a diplomatic passport. He was searched for a long time at the Miami airport, kept in isolation for 11 hours, and then flown to Turkey. UEFA supported the referee and entrusted him with the European Super Cup match between PSG and Aston Villa. European continental competitions do not usually invite a referee from another continent, but an exception was made for a Somali referee.
Iran is probably the most watched team in the American World Cup. Because of the war, this country’s team was expected to face problems in the World Cup in America. The Persians were supposed to settle in America, but the organizers moved them to Mexico. Iranians are now located in Tijuana, Mexico, on the American border. They are only allowed to travel to America on game day. Once the game is over, he has to leave America again. Naturally, their actions are fully monitored by the American special services.
Trump wants to take Kharg Island
President Trump made an interesting statement against the news that a truce could be signed between Iran and the United States. He said that Iran wants to control the Kharg Island, which is a key part of the energy system, and in particular, the main oil terminal in Iran. That is, Trump wants to establish control over Iran’s energy, as he did with Venezuela. Iranian oil is exported through the terminal on Kharg Island. Its control can really make it possible to control the energy resources of the entire country. But it is not clear if this is a threat that Trump always forgets or if it is serious.
Election in Armenia
Parliamentary elections were held in Armenia during the week. The party led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan won with 49% of the votes. The elections took place against the backdrop of a cooling-off between Armenia and Russia. Russian publications tried to belittle Pashinyan’s victory in the election, pointing out that “his result did not reach 50%”. But it is not necessary to get an equal half of the votes to have a majority in the parliament. 49 percent of the vote was enough for Pashinyan to remain at the head of the government.
Earlier, Vladimir Putin openly threatened Yerevan, saying that “Armenia should remain in the Eurasian Economic Union or choose the European Union, and the war in Ukraine started after Kiev’s desire to join Europe.” The victory of Pashinyan’s party, which wants to turn to Europe, is interpreted as the fact that Armenians have chosen Europe.
Photos of the week
Let’s finish with the photos of the week. The first photo was taken in Mexico. Raul Jimenez, the striker of the Mexican national team, celebrates his goal against South Africa in the World Cup match.
The 35-year-old forward participated in the World Cup for the fourth time and scored his first goal. Before the World Cup in Qatar, Raul, who suffered a serious head injury, underwent a scary operation. As a result, the striker, who did not play football for about a year, has been playing with special protective equipment since then. It is not difficult to read all his sorrows in the eyes of a football player, who has passed a serious test in life, celebrating a goal.
The second photo was taken in Hong Kong. Our colleague Philip Fong skillfully photographed lightning between two high-rise buildings. Lightning is an instantaneous event and it takes a skilled photographer to capture it.
Almost all of the apartment buildings in the photo are inhabited, the lights are on, the windows are open, and the refrigerator is installed. It reminds us of the town of Karasuv built in Samarkand. The houses are full there, the streets are crowded, it is a very blessed place. Because the houses there are simple, the price is cheaper, and many young families became citizens with the condition of long-term payment.
Most of the “holy” houses in the center of our city are expensive, and the sale of them starts with the power of advertising before the foundation is laid. Because most of the houses were taken away by many people. Young families who really need housing cannot afford the expensive houses in the city center. That’s why I laugh when they say that there is a great need for housing. Everyone knows that two young people who really need to move out can’t buy from these houses that are being built because of the great need for housing. It would be true advertising to say that such houses are being built for those who have earned a lot of money from America, Israel, and Europe.
You see, since the picture in Hong Kong turned out so well, we even had time to criticize the fact that the city of Samarkand was filled with “dom” under its pretext. Well, let’s not get too deep, better watch the World Cup. Be safe.
