This Sunday the Qatar 2022 World Cup will begin and, for his part, Rafael Van der Vaart, former footballer of the Netherlands national team, spoke exclusively with RPP Noticias prior to the inauguration and spoke about his expectations for this important international tournament.
"I have been here several times, I have seen impressive stadiums. Hopefully the Netherlands can win the title but there are many very good countries," Van der Vaart said in an interview with RPP Noticias.
Regarding playing the World Cup in an unusual month, the former Ajax and Real Madrid footballer added: "It's strange to have a World Cup at this time, but we're happy to be here."
Regarding his favorites to win the World Cup, the 39-year-old former player stated: "I'm a big fan of Lionel Messi, Argentina is one of my favorites, and also the Netherlands." In the same line, he added: "We have a good team, Louis Van Gaal is a great coach, one of the best in the world, so we have confidence to win."
Injured players in the Qatar 2022 World Cup:
On the other hand, Van der Vaart was asked about the recent injuries for this tournament: "Unfortunate for the injured players, just days before the tournament. I had the same thing happen to me in 2014, I had an injury a week before and it's a shame."