People in Shanghai watch the football match on the night of the opening of the 2022 World Cup on November 20, enjoying the fun of the event every four years. Photo:IC

 

A general view during the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2022 at the Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor on November 20, 2022. Photo: VCG

At 11:00 pm on Sunday, Li Ting, a 32-year-old photographer and fan of the Argentina soccer team cooked a late night supper at home in Beijing as she prepared to watch the FIFA 2022 World Cup.

"I didn't have a chance to go to Qatar, but my friends and I connect with each other online to discuss the World Cup," Li told the Global Times on Monday morning.

After a host lost 2-0 to Ecuador in the first tournament following a splendid opening ceremony, the united sports spirit ignited by the 32 national teams gathering on the highest stage in the soccer world, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, reached new heights after four years of waiting.

From the theme songs and the mascots of previous World Cups to Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman and BTS star Jung Kook's performance inside the Al Bayt Stadium in north Doha, Sunday's Qatar FIFA World Cup opening ceremony was a delight for soccer fans around the world.

Even though it was the middle of the night, the craze for the World Cup in cities in China was not diluted by the 5-hour time difference from Doha, as countless domestic fans kept awake to catch the first match.

News and related topics about the opening swept Chinese social platforms such as Sina Weibo, with as many as over 20 related topics about the 2022 Qatar World Cup trending on the platform at the same time during the opening ceremony.

Topics related to the World Cup reached a total number of 500 million views on Sina Weibo, statistics showed.

One of theme songs for this year's World Cup "Tukoh Taka" also took the first spot on the trending list on China's QQ Music audio platform.

In cities around China, many restaurants and bars are in full swing planning for the World Cup while complying with pandemic prevention measures.

In Shanghai, dozens of foreign restaurants are fully prepared to welcome the arrival of the World Cup and support their own national teams.

Some hot pot restaurants have even launched theme parties with "best viewing seats" and World Cup takeaway meals to attract customers.

During the opening ceremony, three young Chinese flag bearers caught people's eyes. The 16-year-old Nai Bolin, a soccer player from Yi ethnic group in Liangshan, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, Tan Bo and Dong Tiechui, have served as the FIFA flag bearers before the opening tournament on Sunday.

"I hope that one day I can participate in the World Cup representing Chinese national team," Nai told The Paper on Sunday after his first-ever participation in World Cup event.Before the opening of the Qatar World Cup, the news of the Chinese elements seen everywhere in Doha swept Chinese social media.

When talking about Nai's preparation to serve as the flag bearer in this World Cup, his father Lin Xiongwei was overjoyed. "It was hard to imagine. I used to think that the World Cup was far away from us. But now as my son's in Qatar, I'm really excited and very proud to see all that," Lin told the China News.

Lin, who himself has once played in the local provincial soccer matches in Sichuan, played a huge part in raising his son's interest in this sport.

The three players/flag bearers are currently trained in the Atlético de Madrid in Spain.

Due to his introverted personality and language barrier, Tan Bo barely communicated with the team members in the beginning. Yet under the help of his friends he now has integrated well in the team and improved greatly in speaking Spanish.

One of the biggest was FIFA's announcement of the World Cup referees in May, among which three Chinese professional referees Ma Ning, Shi Xiang and Cao Yi were selected as referee and assistant referees.

Ma is set to stand on the field in Qatar at 11:00 pm on Monday as the Fourth Official during the US vs Wales match. Ma will be only the second Chinese referee at the World Cup, following Lu Jun's historic appearance at the World Cup in 2002.

The news about Ma and the two assistant referees has been widely reported in Chinese media as one of the Chinese elements appearing in Qatar together with the arrival of two giant pandas, Jingjing and Sihai.

For Chinese soccer fans, the appearance of Chinese referees at the World Cup after 20 years is "a glory that should be recorded."

"We need to stand on this stage first, and then we will continue to explore ways to narrow the gap with the world's top referees," the 43-year-old Ma said in an interview with CCTV in May.