After spending a night pondering upon what I witnessed in the Education City Stadium, watching the match between Brazil and Croatia in the World Cup Quarter-Finals, I realised there was a lot of material and ideas to be wrestled with. Instead of mainly analysing the match, I will like to spend a bit of time writing about my later thoughts and ratiocinations.
The Match Itself:
Brazil and Croatia played last night in the Quarter-Finals which ultimately ended with Croatia beating the tournament favourites Brazil in a penalty shootout. While Brazil definitely had the better team and had the better chances throughout the game, goalkeeping heroics from Croatian goalkeeper Livakovic and a late minute equaliser from Croatia ensured that the game was brought to a penalty shootout. While you can go back to watch the game, or check out some of the scenes in Education City stadium on my YouTube shorts vlog, I believe there are quite a few lessons you can learn from this match.
Life is about individual moments:
Despite Brazil having quite a strong control over the match and creating more chances, it was ultimately the Croatians who were clinical and made the most of the little chances that they had. Livakovic kept them in the game by making save after save, likewise when they finally had a good opportunity to score in the 117th minute, Petkovic was able to score with their only shot on target in the game.
I believe this is quite similar to life. As we go through life, we are often faced with monotony and repetitiveness. We go to school or work, study from 9-5, then head home and relax. Life repeats itself and slowly drones away into nothingness. However, there are brief moments in life where an opportunity may arise or something changes. We must, like the Croatians, be prepared for such moments and pounce on such opportunities. Even if you see other people around you seeming to have more chances and opportunities to achieve their goals, you must be more clinical, to make the most of the individual opportunities and succeed!
Momentum isn’t everything:
Carrying on with the previous point, momentum is something which we often observe in society. People who seem to be getting on fine carry on with their paths, people who fail, continuously fail, people who succeed seem to keep on succeeding. While this is normally a rule of thumb, we should not rely on this momentum as either an excuse or as a way to alleviate responsibility.
Of course, if something is going well for someone, it would be difficult to catch up and beat them. However, this is not impossible. I used to be a very average student in my class, I didn’t get the highest grades nor was I the most sociable person. Nevertheless, I didn’t let the lack of momentum in my life drag me down. I worked hard and created my momentum. Ultimately overtaking most of my more talented and successful classmates!
So don’t let the lack of momentum drag you down! Make sure you stay strong and keep on fighting! Create your momentum! Never let it be an excuse to not embrace responsibility and control over your life!
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Don’t Leave it Too Late:
Brazil, with all their firepower and strength, only started attacking vigorously towards the end of the game. Despite having the better attackers, players and talent, left it a bit late to turn it up a gear and go for the killer blow. This allowed the game to be dragged into extra time and ultimately penalties.
Life is the same! Oftentimes, we like to wait around for the best opportunity to give us the illusion of comfort. But sometimes we really need to push ourselves outside our comfort zone and succeed. Life is only so short! There is only so much time you have before you run out of time to achieve your goals! Think about it! University is only three to four years! Sixth form is only two years! In a blink of an eye, that will disappear! Don’t regret not making the most of that time! Those precious moments would never come back! Never! Never leave it too late!
Never Give Up:
When Brazil scored in the 105 minute, everyone thought it was over for Croatia. Brazil ran over to celebrate, the Croatian players looked tired and crestfallen. But they still put up a fight and scored a dramatic 117 minute goal to draw the game which allowed them to bring it to penalties, which led to their victory!
Remember! Life can sometimes be the very same! You may find yourself in a long race, and at the very end, something comes up which gives your competitors the lead! But never give up! Never use it as an excuse to drag you down! Keep fighting hard and you will never know what will or can happen!
Such are my thoughts of the day and on the Brazil v Croatia match! Hope you enjoyed!