Thread by @Favillez

As a follow-up to my article on the #WorldCup2022 for @PillarCatholic, a couple of notes on religious aspects of this tournament.
pillarcatholic.com/world-cup-feve…

1. This is the first time the World Cup is being played in a Muslim country, and only the second outside of the traditionally Christian world. The first was South Korea & Japan in 2002.

2. 2002 also marked the furthest a traditionally Muslim country ever progressed in the World Cup, with #Turkey placing 3rd, after beating South Korea in a very exciting game.

3. This year there are six majority Muslim countries participating: Senegal, Qatar, Iran, Saudi Arabi, Tunisia, and Morocco. All are majority Sunni Muslim, with the exception of Iran, of course.

4. Of course, being majority Muslim countries doesn't mean all the players are Muslim. But as far as I can tell, this year that is in fact the case. Iran has had some important Christian players in the past, such as Ando Teymourian, but I don't think there are any this year.

5. And of course there are Muslims playing in several teams from majority Christian countries as well, though perhaps not as many as one might expect. None in #England, as far as I can tell.

6. Religion will not be a factor in most games, I imagine, except perhaps in #Serbia v. #Switzerland, but more because of ethno-nationalist issues, the Swiss duo of Xhaqa and Shaqiri being originally from Kosovo. This was already an issue in 2018, may be again.

7. Yesterday #Ecuador beat Qatar, & today a Iran will play England and #Senegal will play #Netherlands, so 2 more Muslim teams against 2 traditionally Christian teams. Interestingly, neigher Eng. nor Neth., who have significant Muslim populations, have Muslims on their squad.

8. That's 3 Muslim countries played, three defeats, one of them a very heavy 6-2. Still, Iran at least scored a couple of goals.
Saudi Arabia and Tunisia play tomorrow. Anything other than a defeat by the Saudis would be a huge surprise. Might Tunisia be the 1st to get a point?

9. Many noticed that Iran players did not sing their anthem today, apparently as protest against the regime. Very interesting. Football is massive in Iran, will be interesting to see how the performance in Qatar influences the mood in the streets back home.

10. Anybody interested in the cross-over between football and religion might enjoy my interview with Portugal manager Fernando Santos, on faith, religion in football, overcoming superstition, and Human rights.

And to cap things off for today... Christians fans from #Kerala, #India, fight over #Argentina and #Brazil while a lone @Cristiano fan watches, and somebody films from a cemetery.

Oh, I said in my article with Bishop Hinder that it would take a miracle for Saudi Arabia to make it through their uber-Catholic group. Well, things looking good for them at the moment! Could we be watching the first major upset of #QatarWorldCup2022?
#argsau

So there we have it! The first miracle of this World Cup. Also the first win by a Muslim country so far, and I would say in the least likely game of all, perhaps along with Iran-England.
This puts Saudi Arabia in a great position to advance.

11. Denmark face Tunisia now. Although he is apparently not devout, Denmark's Yussuf Poulsen, who is part Tanzanian, is a Muslim, his father being from the sizeable Muslim minority in Tanzania.
Of course, likelihood is most other Danish players are not very devout +ians either

12. #Morocco on the field at the moment. The last of the Muslim teams to play in this first round of the group stage, will be looking to add to the positive results logged by Saudi Arabia and Tunisia yesterday. At the other end is Catholic #Croatia.
#QatarWorldCup2022

On a side note, yesterday's game between #Mexico and #Poland would have had Our Lady of Czestochowa and Our Lady of Guadalupe on the receiving end of a lot of prayers. A nil-nil draw seems an adequate result, though it leaves #SaudiArabia top of the most Catholic group of all.

Morocco manage to hold on to a draw with Croatia. Not an exciting game, but that's 3 defeats, 1 victory and two important draws for Muslim countries in this first #WorldCup played in the Muslim world.

13. Germany has just scored against Japan. The penalty was taken by Gundogan, who is of Turkish origin, making this a "Muslim" goal in a game between a traditionally Christian and a Shinto/Buddhist country.
As far as I can tell, Germany has three Muslim players...

Leroy Sané, Karim Adeyemi and Ilkay Gundogan.

Another World Cup miracle! Germany lose to Japan, so that is a massive boost for the Buddhist/Shinto team.
I tried to find some information on the religion of the Japanese goal-scorers, but no luck. If anybody has info, do let me know, though most likely heavily secular.

14. Switzerland could well be the most Muslim team of the traditionally Christian countries. With Eray Comert (Turkish), Xhaka (Kosovar Albanian), Djibril Sow (Senegal), Jashari (Albanian), Shaqiri (Kosovar Albanian) and Seferovic (Serbian Muslim)

That's at least six nominal Muslims.
As mentioned before, the Switzerland - Serbia game is going to be the one to watch in several days! The Albanian contingent always makes the match with the Serbs one of high tension.

15. Religiously, Portugal is a uniform team. Coach Fernando Santos is a very devout Catholic, and star Ronaldo is a Catholic also, though non-practicing.
Ghana, as a country, is mostly Christian but 20% Muslim, and this team has representatives from both communities.
#PORGHA

16. Interesting match now from a religious POV. Not a big rivalry, but on one side we have #Brazil, with a history of very religious players who are not shy of praying on the pitch, and on the other #Serbia, the only representative of the Orthodox world in this #WorldCup
#BRASER

Brazil is the largest Catholic country in the world, but as we know there is a large and growing evangelical population, and many Brazilian players, I'd say especially the more outspoken ones, are Evangelicals. #Neymar, for example, is a Baptist.

Some interesting facts.
1978 was the only World Cup in modern history not to have any Orthodox teams, if you count USSR and Yugo as orthodox nations.
1994 was the World Cup with most, with Romania, Russia, Bulgaria and Greece.
No orthodox country has ever won a World Cup

17. #IRAN scores 2 very valuable (and well deserved) goals in the last minutes of stoppage time against #Wales.
All eyes now on the streets of Tehran where I imagine people will be out celebrating, and who knows how that is going to turn out!
#WALIRN #WorldcupQatar2022

18. The first game in this #WorldcupQatar2022 between two Muslim teams, and it's do-or-die between Qatar and Senegal, as they both lost their openers.

19. I really should have noticed this sooner, but it completely slipped past me. Qatar, of all nations, does seem to have a Christian player. Pedro Miguel "Ro-Ro", was born in Portugal, of Cape-Verdian parents.
How on earth he was granted Qatari citizenship, is another matter

Conditions for acquiring Qatari citizenship are incredibly tough. Unless you have Qatari parents, you have to have lived there for 25 years just to apply. Not his case. This site says that unless you are a Muslim, you shouldn't even bother
saakin.qa/blog/how-can-i…

So it certainly seems that his citizenship was fast-tracked, which is not entirely surprising, but my question is whether he had to convert to receive it.

20. #Equador score and tie against the #Netherlands, and in celebration the Equatorian players all kneel on the floor and point to the sky. There's a bit of religion in football for you!
#NetherlandsVsEcuador #WorldcupQatar2022

21. Have the Saudis used up all their miracles? 1-0 to Poland at the moment, though Saudi Arabia have been putting on a good performance.

Nope. No miracles for the Saudis today, as Catholic Poland win an important three points. This is turning into a surprisingly exciting group.

22. #Morocco 2 - 0 #Belgium Another amazing result for a Muslim team. My brother just commented that these good performances could be due to the fact that the Muslim teams are feeling more at home in this tournament, and benefitting from more support. Could well be!
#BELMAR

Note how the Moroccan players celebrated by prostrating in prayer.
#FIFAWorldCup #Qatar2022

23. Beautiful footage just now of a group of Canadian Sikhs, in red turbans, supporting Canada as they try to turn the score against Croatia.
#HRV #CAN #WorldcupQatar2022

24. The first "Orthodox" goals wer just scored by Strahinja Pavlovic and Milinkovic-Savic for #Serbia against #Cameroon, drawing the game to keep Serbian hopes alive in a very tough group.
#CAMSER #WorldcupQatar2022

#Cameroon makes an amazing comeback with a goal and an assist by Vincent Aboubakar. Now, Aboubakar is clearly a Muslim name, so he would seem to be from the Muslim minority in Cameroon. Information on the internet, however, seems to show that he is from a mixed family, his mother

being Christian, and that he may be married to a Christian, as his son is called Christian and was baptized. In a nutshell, Aboubakar is an image of many African communities where Islam and Christianity exist side-by-side, often in the same family.

The game sends 3-3, leaving the qualification open for both teams, but admittedly more difficult for Cameroon. This also means that Serbia - Switzerland will be even more heated than usual, as the game will likely be do-or-die for both.

25. Brazil's win over Switzerland means that the South-Americans are through. Serbia v. Switzerland is therefore going to be even more tense than usual. Remember that Switzerland has a Kosovar contingent and eliminated Serbia in 2018.

26. As the last games of group A begin, Qatar is already eliminated, but Senegal will be trying to secure a place in the next stage of the World Cup, ensuring a Muslim presence in the knock-outs of the first tournament organised in a Muslim country.

#Senegal make it through to the knockout stage after beating Equador. That's at least one #Muslim country through. #Qatar is out after a dismal group stage. #Iran will be looking to join the Senegalese later today.

27. Another #Muslim team out. #Iran fought till the end, but #USMNT prevailed.
I admit a soft spot for both teams, but that desperate dive by Taremi near the end made me happier for USA today. Of course I'm biased because the Iranian plays for my club's main rival.

So far we've got three Christian countries and one Muslim country in the next round. #Tunisia and #SaudiArabia will be trying their luck tomorrow.
#WorldCup2022

#Tunisia, #Australia and #Denmark fighting for a spot in the knockout stage. Tunisia hoping to be the second #Muslim team to make it, but face a difficult game against France. Broadcast has already shown images of Tunisian fans praying in the stands.

Massive celebrations in the #Tunisian stands, as they score against France, putting them through, followed by massive dissapointment as #Australia scores in the other game, putting #Tunisia back in third in the group. Finally some excitement in what have been dull games.

And Tunisia is out. Despite having beaten the World champs, Australia's win over Denmark puts another Muslim team out of the knockout stage.
Saudi Arabia will be trying to counter this trend later today.

Oops! Spoke too soon. France scores as the curtain falls, denying the Tunisians even the benefit of a win. Sad day for the Tunisian fans and players.

And spoken too soon once more! VAR rules France goal offside, so Tunisia at least win the game.

28. Argentina scores, which is bad news for Saudi Arabia.
The Muslim country stunned the world by defeating Argentina in the opening group game, but could be saying goodbye to #WorldCup2022

Even worse news now as Mexico takes the lead against Saudi Arabia!

A disappointing performance from the KSA, who find themselves out of the #WorldcupQatar2022 despite having beaten Argentina in the first game. That leaves only #Morocco to try and join #Muslim #Senegal in the next stage.

29. #Morocco takes the lead against my poor #Canada, putting the #Muslim team top of the group and piling pressure on #Croatia and #Belgium.

#Morocco only 35 minutes away from an historic first place in their group, joining #Senegal as the only #Muslim countries in the knockout stage. Canada, looking for at least a win in this #WorldCup2022. They came with much promise played some good football, but are heading home.

And the Lions of the Atlas are the second #Muslim country to make it to the knockout stage. Magnificent performance by #Morocco, which secures first place in their group, sending #Belgium home.

30. Japan pull off a miracle of their own and take first place, securing a Shinto presence in the next stage. Fantastic stuff!

31. Two interesting religious aspects in today's games.
The main one is the clash between #Serbia and #Switzerland, made all the more exciting by the fact the Swiss have three ethnic #Albanians on their team, two of which from #Kosovo, with a history of bad blood with Serbs

Then we have #SouthKorea, looking to be followo Japan's lead and make it through to the knockout stage. South Korea is a bit of an oddjob in religious terms. #Christianity is a minority in the country, but more numerous than #Buddhism, and in fact second only to "none"

In fact, South Korea is one of the most irreligious countries in the world, with almost half the population claiming no religious beliefs. Christians make up 29% and Buddhists around 23%. So, to be honest, I really don't quite know how to classify the Korean team at all.

32. All eyes on #Serbia v. #Switzerland. Not only are the Serbs the only Orthodox country in the #WorldcupQatar2022, but as I have said Switzerland has three Albanian players, two of which are Kosovars. The last time the two played in a World Cup did not end well for Serbia.

Oh dear! #Switzerland scores, precisely by #Shaqiri, one of their Kosovar players. He celebrated by shushing the Serbian fans. This could get even more heated... Being a fantastic game, by the way.

Meanwhile, Swiss player #Seferovic is one of their six Muslim players but is actually descended from Muslim Serbs. Just to make things even more mixed up for you...

Serbia ties! The Orthodox nation keeps their hopes up!

And another! With this result, the Serbs go through, at the expense of the Swiss.
#SERSWI #WorldcupQatar2022

Another Swiss goal. Embolo equalizes and puts Switzerland ahead. This may be one of the best games we've seen in this #WorldcupQatar2022. Obviously the #Kosovo situation is not the only factor, may not even be the main one, but it does spice things up!

And #Switzerland makes it 3-2. Things now looking grim for #Serbia, but if the second half is anything like the first, then we could still have some surprises.

Wow. That game had it all. But Switzerland prevails again against Serbia and makes it through. No more Orthodox countries in #WorldcupQatar2022. Serbians completely lost their heads and composure, and were not very good in the second half.

In the other game, very Christian Brazil loses, but keeps first place. Goal scored by Muslim Aboubakar.

Still on #Switzerland v. #Serbia, after the whistle Granit Xhaka pulled off his Swiss jeesey to reveal a shirt with the name Jashari on the back. Jashari being the founder of the Kosovo Liberation Army...
Serbs also used a flag with the outline of #Kosovo in Serb colours.

#Senegal trying for a place in the quarter finals v. #England. One of only two Muslim teams still in the competition, both of which are also the only African teams still in #WorldCup2022. #Morocco plays Tuesday.
#EngSen

Another #Muslim team says goodbye to the first ever #WorldCup played in the Muslim world. Only #Morocco left now, at least till their very heated game against #Spain on Tuesday.

Another article on the crossover between football and faith, this time for World Mission magazine, run by the #Comboni missionaries.
worldmissionmagazine.com/archives/novem…
@Antonio_manila

34. #Buddhist/#Shinto #Japan showing they can dream big as they head to the dressing rooms with a 1-0 lead over Catholic #Croatia. If they prevail, they will be the only non-majority Chistian country in the quarter-finals, for now, with #SouthKorea and #Morocco looking to join.

Well, that's #Japan out. So far, no non-Christian countries in the quarter finals yet. It would take a major upset for #Brazil not to progress today against #SouthKorea, and for #Morocco to beat #Spain, but we shall see!

35. Nightmare start for #SouthKorea, it will take more than a miracle for them to get Brazil out of the #WorldcupQatar2022 now.

Lucas Paquetá kneels, raises his arms, visibly prays, and then crosses himself in celebration of his goal, #Brazil's fourth against #SouthKorea. The Brazilian has a neck tattoo that says: "God prepared everything". Not sure He's prepared the Koreans for what is happening.
#BRAKOR

Another minnow bites the dust leaving #Morocco as the sole representative of the non-Christian world at #WorldcupQatar2022.

36. So much to say and think about the upcoming #Spain #Morocco game.
As the only #Muslim country left in the competition, Morocco naturally seems to have picked up the support of most Muslim and Arab fans in Qatar and around the world, especially since they are far from the

local rivalries in the Gulf.
But it's much more than that. Morocco and Spain are both worlds apart, culturally and religiously, and simultaneously very close, geographically and - ironically - culturally. Whereas Souther Europeans naturally think of the Moroccans as "the other",

to most Northern Europeans I'd say they would seem to have much more in common than they'd imagine.
From the local perspective, however, Morocco and Spain are historical enemies. It was from Morocco that Muslims invaded and occupied the Iberian Peninsula for centuries, and their

expulsion from the Peninsula is still part of Muslim collective memory.
Just as the Turks are the historical psychological enemies of Eastern Europeans, the Moors are the psychological enemies of the Spanish and Portuguese.
With Spain, though, this is aggravated by the fact

that Madrid still holds enclaves in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, and by the fact that Spain is the point of entry for thousands of Moroccans and other North-Africans seeking to enter Europe illegaly. All this will be in play this afternoon, and tensions could be high.

With Portugal the stakes are not so high. The history and religious differences are there, but the current tension is not. And given the fact that Spain has been a bigger threat to Portuguese independence over the past centuries than Morocco - plus everybody's love of the

underdog - means that Portuguese will be hoping that Spain will say goodbye to Qatar today, and that Morocco will hopefully only bow out in the quarter-finals, to Portugal. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Spain v. Morocco is a game that's been played for hundreds of years. This is just another leg.

The game has just started, but the level of support for #Morocco in the stands is amazing. An absolute chorus of whistles every time #Spain has possession.
#marspa #WorldCup #worldcup2022qatar

Amazing! #Morocco in the quarter finals after defeating neighbours and historic rivals #Spain. The #Muslim world seems to be fully behind the Lions of the Atlas as they try to make history!
#FIFAWorldCup

37. #Catholic Portugal v. the "Christian" team with most Muslim players, #Switzerland, looking to see who will get to play #Muslim #Morocco in the quarter finals.
Just got a message from my Serbian friend telling me that Serbs are all supporting Portugal. Not surprising!

A great start for Portugal, up 1-0. We are getting a chance to see how the team works without #Ronaldo.
#PORSWI
#FIFAWorldCup

I'd mentioned before that #Switzerland has six #Muslim players, but only just realised their manager is of Muslim heritage as well, more specifically Turkish.

Wow... On paper this was supposed to be the most even game of all. #Portugal tore #Switzerland apart and will play #Morocco for a spot in the semis.
#PORSWI #FIFAWorldCup

Meanwhile Portuguese everywhere celebrate, while Serbs allow themselves a grin of satisfaction.

Just came across this. Very interesting!

38. #Brazil v. #Croatia is the only quarter final game between two #Catholic countries, despite Brazil's growing evangelical population.
#BRACRO #WorldcupQatar2022

Well, there's another stunner! And from a heavenly point of view that was very much a family affair as St. Joseph, patron saint of #Croatia got the better of Our Lady of Aparecida, patroness of #Brazil.

I tried to find an image of St. Joseph in a Croatia jersey, but alas, there doesn't seem to be one out there. Which begs the question... Croatian fans, are you sleeping on the job?

Meanwhile, @RNS published this today, which is an interesting read.
religionnews.com/2022/12/09/as-…

#Argentina v. #Netherlands about to start. Religiously, they may both be Christian nations, but they are very different. Netherlands very much a #Reformation/ #Protestant country, and Argentina very #Catholic. After, all, it is the Pope's home team.

(39.)
Of course, Argentina play in orange which is the colour of the Royal family. This is the same House of Orange that is evoked by Orange lodges and the Protestant loyalist marches in Northern Ireland and Scotland, among others.

*Netherlands, not Argentina

40. #Netherlands leave #Qatar, which means that there is only one #Protestant country left in the competition, #England, who play #francevsengland tomorrow. #Morocco remains the only #Muslim nation still in #FIFAWorldCup

41. #Portugal take on the last representative of the #Muslim world in #WorldcupQatar2022.
Portugal and #Morocco have lots of history, but no current tension to make matters more worrying. There is no significant Moroccan community in PT & the last major battle was in 1578.

(We lost that one... Badly)

And we're losing now as well. For now, at least. If #Morocco make it to the semis it will be a massive achievement for a #Muslim team, only rivalled by #Turkey in 2002.
But still a long time to go before the final whistle.

Well, as much as it hurts me, as a Portuguese, #Morocco makes history. The first non-European #Muslim country to make the semis of a #WorldCup. And you can like their style of play, or not, but there sure is a lot of merit in what they have done so far.

42. #England are the last #Protestant team in #WorldcupQatar2022. They will be playing #Catholic, yet also very secularist #France for a semi final spot.

Well, we won't be having a #Protestant world champion. At the moment there are three #Catholic countries and one #Muslim in #WorldcupQatar2022.

43. Catholic countries #Argentina and #Croatia face each other today for a spot in the final.
All eyes on stars #Messi, with his #Jesus tattoo and #Modric, with his Jesus and Virgin Mary shin pads. Lots of prayer in the stands tonight, I'm sure!

Well, Jesus will be in the final of #WorldcupQatar2022 next Sunday, if not on Modric's shinpads, then at least on #Messi's arm.
Tomorrow we find out if it is an all-Catholic affair, or if #Morocco becomes the first #Muslim country to reach the final.

44. Will #Morocco make history to become the first African and #Muslim team to make the final of a #WorldCup, or will the Oldest daughter of the Church, also home of Laicité, be meeting Argentina for the trophy?

I'm sure nobody needs me to explain the significance if #Morocco eliminates #France tonight, not to mention that it would mean that the North African nation had bettered Portugal, Spain and France, which is basically all of continental Western Europe.

Again, massive support for #Morocco in the stands. Wouldn't be surprised if the same applies to the world in general...
French whistled every time they have possession.

What a campaign, what a dream. But there will be no #Muslim team in #WorldcupQatar2022.
After setting the record for best African nation, #Morocco can now hope to equal the best #Muslim result in a #WorldCup, #Turkey third place in 2002.

I remember that game was a heck of a lot more exciting than the final. Hopefully #Morocco #Croatia will be as good.
I also remember that after that game, with #SouthKorea placing fourth and besting #NorthKorea 66 result, Pyongyang bombed a South Korean naval ship.

45. Very #Muslim #Morocco about to play very #Catholic #Croatia. A win for the Africans will equal the best ever result by a #Muslim country since #Turkey in 2002.
#WorldcupQatar2022

Always disappointing to lose a game like this, but #Morocco should be proud. They fell short of the #Muslim record, which remains with #Turkey, but they set the record for best #Africa team in a #FIFAWorldCup
#Croatia place third after being runners up in 2018.

#Morocco players prostrate in prayer before their fans in appreciation. The fans have been fantastic, which may surprise some, but not anyone who is familiar with the local fan culture.
Right @HFerrraz86?

religionnews.com/2022/12/17/suj…

46. Here we go!
No matter what the result, today's game will be another win for a #Catholic nation in a #FIFAWorldCup
By my count, Catholic majority countries have won 16 times. #Protestant majority countries have only five (all by #Germany and #englandcricket).

*England cricket is obviously a mistake

#France traditionally has lots of #Muslim players, but by my count there are only three, possibly four, in this year's squad.
#Fofana, #dembele and #Konate are Muslim. I found suggestions that #Camavinga might be as well, but find this unlikely, based on family heritage as he is

From Christian majority DR Congo, originally, and has a #Christian first name, Eduardo.
An interesting case is #williamsaliba. His father is Lebanese, but surely Christian and quite possibly #Maronite.

Further to the above, Guendouzi appears to be #Christian, although he has a Moroccan father.

And that's it. #Argentina world champions 36 years later in what may have been the best final ever, or at least in a very long time.
#Messi and his huge Jesus tattoo will be lifting that gorgeous trophy.

This means that Pope Francis is world champion, a day after completing his 86 birthday.
86. That's right. Coincidence? Go tell that to the Argentinians.

@UnrollHelper