2022 World Cup: Qatar begin to answer critics with Asian Cup.

(From Guardian Unlimited)

From the moment a grinning Sepp Blatter opened the envelope in Zurich on 2 December to reveal that Qatar would host the 2022 World Cup, the pressure has been on the hitherto little-known nation to stage an impressive 2011 Asian Cup and go some way to proving the doubters wrong.

This doesn't mean the tournament -- which runs from tomorrow, when the hosts kick off against Uzbekistan, to 29 January -- will be a dress rehearsal for 2022. Most of the work -- including the new stadiums, the hotels and the infrastructure -- will be done over the next 11 years, and anyone who witnessed the changes in the city over the previous 11 will have no doubt that they will be done and done very well indeed. The next three weeks are about changing what locals feel are …