Soccer legends star in their own World Cup in Qatar

Havana, December 15 (RHC)-- Iker Casillas, Carles Puyol, Cafu, Francesco Totti and Kaka, all world champions, are some of the unforgettable figures of soccer that will steal the spotlight today at the start of the FIFA Legends Cup.

Scheduled for Thursday and Friday at the Khalifa International Tennis-Squash Complex, the event will feature eight teams and 18 matches in the run-up to the Qatar 2022 final between Argentina and France.

Group A is made up of African Lions, Northern Bears, Eastern Tigers and Arab Falcons, while Group B features European Wolves, South American Panthers, European Dragons and South American Eagles.

According to the competitive system, the top two teams in each bracket will advance to the semifinals on the second day, and the last two will play in the consolation round.

All matches will have a total duration of half an hour, with 15-minute halves separated by a five-minute break between each segment, according to the organizers.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the purpose is to bring together icons of the discipline. "Soccer is about joy, smiles, fun and they made us fall in love hundreds and hundreds of times".

For the second time in the middle of the ecumenical program on Arabian soil, the highest body of the discipline will bring together great exponents of the past, as on November 18 they gave life to the meeting between the Arab Legends and the World Legends in Al Zumama Park.

On that day, former players such as Javier Zanetti, Youri Djorkaeff, Iván Zamorano, Hristo Stoitchkov, Cafú, Diego Lugano, John Terry, Jens Lehmann, Juan Pablo Sorín, Roger Milla, Sabri Lamouchi and Sulley Muntari were present.

The list did not stop there and the Ballon d'Or and Liberian President George Weah himself was present on the synthetic pitch. More stars? Kaka could not miss out, nor could Esteban Cambiasso, Wesley Sneijder, Dario Simic and Houssine Kharja.

All of them and more will make up the cast of the FIFA Legends Cup, which will take place shortly before the third-place play-off between Morocco and Croatia, as well as the battle for the coveted Jules Rimet Trophy on Sunday, December 18th.