Cesarini area at 120th? The longest World Cup

It didn’t seem real to the Saudi players. “But how much is missing?”. Beating Argentina at the World Cup was almost unthinkable. To do it took 14 minutes over the 90th. 21 more in total, counting the 7 at the end of the first half. It’s Qatar 2022, gentlemen. The most talked about and expensive World Cup ever (220 billion dollars, Forbes estimate). At a minimum, it also had to be the longest.

The opening match, between the hosts and Ecuador, had already hinted at the trend: 12 minutes of added time overall. Then the England-Iran record (29, but 11 due to the delicate injury of goalkeeper Beiranvand). This was followed by 14 in Senegal-Holland, 15 in the United States-Wales, 12 in Denmark-Tunisia. After six matches, an average of 17.2 extra minutes are recorded per match. An expansion never seen before. Yet expected. In the spring, the number one of Fifa, Gianni Infantino, had invited “a reflection on the actual playing time”. Sharable theme, scripted by the players in hand. “Time wasting is a constant: fans pay to watch 90 minutes of football. Therefore the recovery granted by the referee must be commensurate with the minutes lost. Of course, I’m not saying I get to play 100.” And instead…

Pierluigi Collina, president of the Fifa referees’ commission, added on the eve of the World Cup: “We have recommended our match officials to be very precise. Every incident deserves attention: an injury, a substitution, a booking, a goal celebration. All of this is not part of the football minutes played. So don’t be surprised by substantial recoveries”. We are not surprised. The feeling is that, however, the referees have taken Fifa’s indications too literally. Think of the draw between the United States and Wales: a real match, face to face, intense rhythms from start to finish. Finishing it at 101st is surreal. Who knows what will happen then in the knockout phase, when the abused tricks of the trade (rolling on the ground, delaying a lineout) will be the masters. Cesarini area at 134th?

Logica wants the next step to move the race stopwatch to actual time. Basketball, handball and water polo already do. With proven success. Does FIFA really want structural reform? Difficult at the moment. Having found the problem, he prefers to solve it his way. Perhaps for the benefit of those who hold the TV rights to a tournament with a shaky following: spreading the share over 108 minutes is worth 20 percent more. Meanwhile, the duration of the matches remains arbitrary, in the most literal sense of the term. With Fantozzian results: anything can happen in this World Cup, except Italy who beat England 20 to 0 (but this is our fault).