World War | Emotion cannot be requested, cannot be bought, cannot be negotiated, it is earned

I was 10 years old when I shouted from the bottom of my lungs, from the dust of a village in Romania, for the first time "goooooooal". It was the moment when emotion brought the "germ" into my heart and it never left. It was the moment when Adrian Ilie defeated goalkeeper Mondragon with a spectacular "screamer" in the 45th minute of the Romania - Colombia (1-0) match in the group stage of the 1998 World Cup.

Now, 28 years later, Romania is not at the World Cup that started last night, instead, Curaçao has made history by qualifying for the first time for the competition and becoming the smallest nation to reach the final tournament. This has led former Romanian internationals to criticize the new format of the World Cup, as it would give a chance to lower-ranked teams to qualify.

A story about a beginning, a match watched in front of the block, and a Romania "on the edge"

The emotion, love, and "germ" were to grow for me from the '98 World Cup and even more after a new victory obtained by Romania in the second group match against England, after a goal scored by Dan Petrescu in the 90th minute of the match (score 2-1). After the first two matches, the "tricolors" had secured a place in the round of 16 and dreams began to make room in my child's mind.

Then came the famous match when the Romanian players dyed their hair blonde in the match against Tunisia. The gesture was planned in advance as a form of celebration for qualifying. With the draw against Tunisia (score 1-1), Romania won Group G.

The story of the first World Cup was to reach the round of 16 against Croatia, and my story continued in my hometown.

The frenzied atmosphere engulfed all of Romania. The mining town where I was born vibrated. We all gathered in front of the block, neighbors, grandparents, grandchildren, fathers, cousins, women, and men alike. A television was set up on a bench and we all watched, filled with adrenaline and excitement, the match.

The first half's extra time came, the goal scored by Davor Šuker from a penalty, and thus the story of the first World Cup, the first "gooooooal" was to stop abruptly, but not the "germ".

If for me the love story for football began with the '98 World Cup, for the National Team it was the moment it took a break and "went on the edge". It was the only World Cup I saw with Romania among the participants.

Curaçao is not to blame for us not being there

The Curaçao national team became, in the days leading up to the World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada, the scapegoat for our frustrations as fans. It is the "victim" of these days, when among the football fans in Romania, a different kind of "trend" has spread, that Curaçao has no business at the World Cup.

The qualification of the Curaçao national team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has sparked heated debates, being considered by many critics as a direct effect of the tournament's expansion to 48 teams. Many critics in Romania saw in their presence a dilution of the value of the final tournament, but Curaçao is at the World Cup because it earned this right on the field, being one of the representatives of CONCACAF.

Curaçao has made history, qualifying for the World Cup for the first time and becoming the smallest nation to reach the final tournament, with a population of only 156,000 inhabitants. Previously, the smallest country to qualify for the tournament was Iceland, in 2018, with a population of approximately 350,000 inhabitants.

In recent weeks, there has been more talk about the issues that have arisen around the organization of the World Cup and less about the beauty of the competition, about the excitement of those who will be present for the first time, or about the nostalgia that this will be the last World Cup where we will see some of those who have kept this "germ" alive in our hearts.

Statements like those that the Curaçao representative has no business at the World Cup show us one of the reasons why we are not there, we do not see beyond our noses and we steal from others the joy and emotion of the World Cup. And 10-year-old children from Curaçao have the right to their first World Cup, to emotions and, why not, to their first "gooooooal".

Emotion cannot be demanded, bought, or negotiated, it is earned.