Everton's Star Andros Townsend Praises Qatar's Preparations for World Cup

Andros Townsend

Everton star Andros Townsend expressed happiness to learn more about the preparations to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, with the rising enthusiasm in the region and the world, in anticipation of the launch of the historic tournament next November.

Townsend added that the holding of the tournament in November and December, for the first time in the history of the World Cup, coincides with the middle of the football season in European leagues, a period that witnesses the peak performance of players, compared to the traditional date of the World Cup in June and July, after a long and difficult football season, especially for European clubs, which will enhance the level of performance during the World Cup competitions.

This was stated in Qatar2022 websit8e interview with the player in his recent visit to Doha, to undergo a treatment and rehabilitation program at Aspetar sports medicine hospital, following the knee surgery he underwent after suffering a cruciate ligament injury last March, during his team's match against his former club Crystal Palace, in the FA Cup.

During his visit to the Legacy Pavilion at the Supreme Committee for delivery and legacy, the English player learned about the ongoing preparations for hosting the Qatar World Cup 2022, which starts with the opening match on November 20 and continues until December 18.

The Everton midfielder expressed his enthusiasm for the start of the World Cup competitions in less than three months, stressing his anticipation for the World Cup as an English citizen and a fan of the England national team, especially after his country reached the final of the European nations last year, he said he is looking forward to watching the matches, hoping that the English team will achieve another achievement.

He expected to see a very interesting and exciting tournament, especially with the participation of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, which will probably be their last appearance at the World Cup, so the Qatar Championship is gaining momentum, which motivates him as an enthusiastic fan to watch their competition.

Townsend praised the proximity of distances in the tournament, and stressed that the possibility of staying and training in one place throughout the competition will play a positive role in the players ' readiness for the next match, confirming that there is no doubt that the proximity of distances and the lack of need for players to leave their residence is in their favor, they will not have to travel by air or travel long distances, believing that not everyone realizes how much this affects the readiness of the players and how well they are able to perform, emphasizing that this will reflect positively on their performance on the pitch.

Townsend stressed the importance of hosting the tournament for the first time in the Arab world and the region, highlighting the need to move the World Cup to different regions of the world, and not stick to organizing the tournament in certain countries, regions or continents.

On his visit to Qatar and the rehabilitation program at Aspetar sports medicine hospital, the Everton star praised the hospitality in Qatar, noting that this was not limited to Aspetar hospital, but he was warmly welcomed wherever he went, underlining he had wonderful times with a lot of happiness.

Things are going well four months after knee surgery. Townsend, now halfway through recovering from surgery, praised the advanced level of treatment at Aspetar hospital, the advanced equipment and the efficiency of the staff.

Regarding the scheduled date of his return to the green rectangle, the player said that he expects to return to the stadiums during next October, or immediately after the curtain falls on the Qatar World Cup competitions.

Speaking about his expectations for the performance of the English national team in the tournament, Townsend commented that he trusts his country's national team, although the fans of the English national team are often in a state of constant anxiety, but he believes that the team has performed well in the past few years, perhaps because the expectations of the fans were not high.

Townsend believes that Harry Kane will be the most prominent player of the English national team at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, in his opinion, to be the best striker in the world, "he is now at the peak of his career and will have a significant impact on the performance of the English national team at this year's tournament," he stated.

Regarding the preparations of the England national team coach for the tournament, Townsend pointed out that Southgate has everything he needs to win the World Cup, he reached the final of the European Championship, and did not lose a single match on the way to the final, and they were one penalty away from winning the final against Italy, who managed to win the title.

On the teams that are expected to reach the final at the Lusail Stadium on December 18, Townsend answered that along with the English team he thinks that France has a great chance of reaching the World Cup final, and not qualifying for the final will come as a surprise to him, describing them as a difficult team to beat.

Seeing that the Belgium national team also has a chance, he said that it usually suffers from bad luck at major tournaments, and they managed to win third place at the 2018 World Cup of Russia.
England national team is competing in the Qatar 2022 World Cup in the second group, which includes the national teams of Iran, the USA and Wales.

(QNA)