Portia Modise reflects on the standout stars of the World Cup

Former Banyana Banyana captain and DStv Compact ambassador Portia Modise says she’s delighted that football’s big stars lifted their hands up at the 2022 Fifa World Cup, though she feels Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo was treated poorly by his coach.

Modise, who had been enjoying the tournament in ultra-high-definition (UHD) quality via DStv SuperSport’s awesome 4K channels, is of the view that the game’s biggest stage is the perfect platform for superstar athletes to showcase their talent.

“There’s nothing bigger than the World Cup and the big players know this. If you can’t shine there, then you are not really worthy of being called a big star. And in Qatar, the stars really came out to play.”

Reflecting on the tournament’s standout players, Modise reserved her biggest compliments for Argentina’s ball genius, Lionel Messi, who took his country to yet another final, where they triumphed over France.

“Messi really carried Argentina in Qatar. And he not only performed his magic as we’ve previously seen him do at club level, but he showed leadership. He was very vocal and could always be seen cajoling his teammates and even encouraging the crowd to get behind the team. What was really impressive was the way his teammates seemed to follow his lead, you could see it in the kind of excitement they had and how the celebrated goals.

“I’ve liked how he seemed to be coaching them during those kind of moments, as if telling them that, ‘yes, we have scored, but we need to go on and score some more’. And Argentina did exactly that in their march to the final.”

Because of Messi’s inspirational leadership, Modise says the rest of the Argentine players raised their game, with Julian Alvarez receiving special mention from the South African football legend.

“He has really had a great tournament,” she says, adding that he was influential in Argentina’s semifinal win over Croatia. “He created the penalty and scored a brace.”

France’s Kylian Mbappe is another star that Modise feels shone brightest in Qatar. “He is way younger than Messi, but he made sure that the final would be a direct contest between him and his teammate at PSG. Mbappe scored goals and has shown that he deserves to be seen as the game’s next biggest star when Messi gets off the stage.”

“Oliver Giroud and Antoine Griezmann have also played a critical role in giving France a chance to defend their title,” adds Modise, who says she feels sorry for Croatia’s Luka Modric for not having made it to yet another final.

“Modric gave it his all and [it] was so unfortunate that Croatia did not win that semifinal clash against Argentina. But at least he still had a chance to play for a medal in the third-place play-off against Morocco.” 

Speaking of which, Modise has strong views about Ronaldo and Portugal’s quarterfinal exit at the expense of Morocco.

“How do you give such a big player [so] little time at the World Cup? I am sure they are regretting that, because had they started Ronaldo against Morocco, they probably would have won. He is a big star and one for the big occasions.

“I can relate to what happened to him, because I have been there. Watching that game against Morocco and seeing him on that bench, I found myself wishing I could reach out to him and tell him, ‘I feel your pain’. I wished I could tell him that he must not change or feel that he was wrong to be vocal. He did right, because he stood up for the generation after him.

“The problem is that, in football, the powers that be expect us players to just remain silent. When you start questioning things or speaking your mind like Ronaldo did, you get sidelined. Sometimes coaches with egos are jealous of players who are bigger than them in stature. And because they have the power to keep you out of the team, they do that. But look at what happened to Portugal. They were knocked out and I believe it was a costly mistake for them to not have Ronaldo in the team from the onset.”

While acknowledging that getting injured early in the tournament negatively affected Neymar’s chances to shine, Modise says the Brazilian superstar believes his hype a tad too much.

“I am a big fan of Neymar, because the boy has great talent. But sometimes I think he focuses too much on the adoration, the fame and being the big star instead of just playing the game. I think he could have done better for Brazil than what he did.”

As she looked back at the tournament, Modise says it was fantastic to be able to watch the matches in 4K quality with DStv SuperSport, because it felt as though she was in Qatar. “The quality of the pictures was amazing; it made me feel like I was part of the game.”

This article was paid for by DStv.