Bellingham, aged 19, plays the heart of England to open the scoring
Saka, 21 years old from the same team, scored several goals and became the MVP of the game
George Weah’s son, Timothy, aged 22, opens the scoring against Wales
Hakpo, aged 23, scores to escape the Dutch crisis
▲ On the 21st (local time), Jude Bellingham from England, who scored the first goal in the A game and the first goal of the World Cup against Iran, celebrates. AP Newsis
The morning stars have been shining since the start of the Qatar World Cup. On the 21st (local time), the second day of the opening, Jude Bellingham, born in 2003, Bukayo Saka (over England), born in 2001, Timothy Weah (USA), born in 2000, and Cody Hagpo (Netherlands ), born in 1999, ignited a series of first World Cup celebrations. Five of the 12 goals from the three games that day came from them. The purity of the opening goal and the winning goal was also high.
‘Football’, England has boosted its dream of winning the World Cup for the first time in 56 years through the performance of boys in the 21st century. In the first match of Group B, with Bellingham’s opening goal and Saka’s multi-goal goal, Iran’s ‘swamp football’ was defeated 6-2. Iran, who play sticky football, were not an easy opponent to score against, but when the young blood broke through first, the seniors followed.
Saka, who scored two goals while playing as a side striker, received ‘Player of the Match’ (POTM), the best player. The only player on the team to play in the German Bundesliga (Dortmund), he is the center of the buildup with a pass success rate of up to 97%, while penetrating directly into the Iranian camp to threaten the goal and break away. Iran’s attack with active defense showed activity. He was not pushed back even in the intense physical battle, and the momentary change of direction was brilliant. In the 35th minute of the first half, Luke Shaw’s cross was connected to a header with a high RBI, and even the scorer was activated to overwhelm the baseline. Football critic Jermaine Jenners, a former member of the England national team, praised him, saying, “It’s like Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard rolled into one.”
Bellingham, who scored his first goal in 18 A World Cup games, became England’s second youngest World Cup goalscorer (19 years and 145 days), following Michael Owen (18 years and 190 days) at the France 1998 tournament . Shaw’s youngest ever World Cup appearance was followed by Shaw in Brazil in 2014 and Owen in France in 1998. Bellingham said of his scoring spectacle, “To be honest, I thought I had lost it. It took a while to get to the goal, but it was a proud moment.”
Saka, who is leading Arsenal’s Premier League (EPL) run this season with 4 goals and 6 assists, overcame the pain at Euro 2020 last July. In the final match against Italy at the time, Saka came out as the last kicker in the penalty shootout, but lost the contest and the junior suffered defeat, becoming the target of racist criticism. At 21 years and 77 days old, Saka, who became the youngest player to score multiple goals in a World Cup match in England, said, “I feel the love and support of the fans, coaches and teammates. That’s all I need,” he said, “I will pour 100% in the future.”
In the Group A match between the Netherlands and Senegal and the USA-Wales Group B match, Young-gun scored the first goal. Hakpo rescued the Dutch from a sluggish game against Senegal without Sadio Mane. Recording 9 goals and 12 assists as a member of Eindhoven in the Dutch league this season, he scored the winning goal with a back header in the 39th minute of the second half to break the deadlock of 0-0. The Netherlands, out of breath, scored Davy Klassen’s goal in extra time in the second half to win 2-0. Hakpo is POTM.
African football legend and his father George Weah, the current president of Liberia, Timothy, who was wearing an American uniform, also broke the Wales net in the 36th minute of the first half. A member of Lille in the French league, Gareth Bale scored the first goal of the World Cup in Wales for 64 years, turning the game into a square one, leaving an upset.
Reporter Hong Ji-min
