DURING THIS year’s World Cup, three outcomes are guaranteed. First, fans of one country will experience nirvana(极乐，涅槃), while those in 47 others (up from 31 previously(比之前的31个有所增加)) will be heartbroken. Second, there will be moments of everlasting genius and infamy(臭名昭著，恶名). There could be a goal as mesmerising as Diego Maradona’s solo dribble against England, a touch as sumptuous as Johan Cruyff’s turn against Sweden or a save as improbable as Gordon Banks’s against Pelé; a penalty miss as agonising as Roberto Baggio’s against Brazil, a handball as blatant as Luis Suárez’s against Ghana or a headbutt as shocking as Zinedine Zidane’s against Italy.(可能会有一个像迭戈·马拉多纳对阵英格兰时的个人盘带那样令人着迷的进球，一个像约翰·克鲁伊夫对阵瑞典时的转身那样华丽的触球，或者一个像戈登·班克斯对阵贝利时那样不可思议的扑救；一个像罗伯特·巴乔对阵巴西时那样痛苦的罚失点球，一个像路易斯·苏亚雷斯对阵加纳时那样明显的手球，或者一个像齐内丁·齐达内对阵意大利时那样令人震惊的头槌。)
在今年的世界杯上，有三个结果是确定的。首先，一个国家的球迷将体验极乐，而其他47个国家（之前是31个）的球迷则将心碎。其次，将会有永恒的天才与耻辱时刻。可能会有像迭戈·马拉多纳对阵英格兰时的个人盘带那样令人着迷的进球，像约翰·克鲁伊夫对阵瑞典时的转身那样华丽的触球，或像戈登·班克斯对阵贝利时那样不可思议的扑救；有像罗伯特·巴乔对阵巴西时那样痛苦的点球失误，像路易斯·苏亚雷斯对阵加纳时那样明显的手球，或像齐内丁·齐达内对阵意大利时那样令人震惊的头槌。
The third certainty is plenty of stodgy(乏味的，沉闷的) matches which few people remember fondly(深情地，怀念地). That is because the World Cup—for all the fervour(热情，热烈) about sweepstakes(博彩，抽奖), sticker albums(贴纸相册（收集球员贴纸的本子）) and occasional screamers(世界波（精彩的进球）)—typically produces an ugly version of the beautiful game. One way to measure this is in goals: in the past three editions(届（赛事）), there have been only 2.6 per game in normal time, falling to just 2.3 in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final. During that time, the rate in the English Premier League, the world’s richest domestic competition, has been 2.8. Notably, the moments of brilliance and ignominy(耻辱，不光彩) mentioned above happened in otherwise cagey(谨慎的，保守的) games. In only one did a team score multiple goals, and that was because Maradona punched one in with the “Hand of God”.
第三个确定的是大量的乏味比赛，很少有人会深情地记住它们。这是因为世界杯——尽管有关于博彩、贴纸相册和偶尔的世界波的热情——通常会产生丑陋的美丽足球。衡量这一点的方法之一是进球数：过去三届赛事，常规时间场均仅2.6球，在四分之一决赛、半决赛和决赛中降至2.3球。同期，世界最富有的国内联赛英超的场均进球数为2.8。值得注意的是，上文提到的辉煌和耻辱时刻都发生在原本谨慎的比赛中。只有一场比赛有球队打进多球，那是因为马拉多纳用“上帝之手”打进一球。
This attritional(消耗性的，耗损的) nature shows up(显现，表现出来) in other statistics. Compared with the preceding(在前的，前面的) season of the Premier League, the last World Cup had 16% fewer shots per 90 minutes and 17% more fouls. One match featured(以……为特点，包含) 18 yellow cards and a red. This is partly because players are exhausted after an extended campaign.(部分原因是球员在漫长的赛季后疲惫不堪。) (The heatwaves(热浪，酷暑期) expected in the upcoming matches will not help.) They also rarely train with international teammates, causing disjointed(脱节的，不连贯的) play. Tension is a factor, too, as eternal glory looms(逼近，隐约出现).
这种消耗性在其他数据中也有所体现。与英超前一赛季相比，上届世界杯每90分钟射门次数减少16%，犯规次数增加17%。一场比赛曾出现18张黄牌和1张红牌。部分原因是球员在漫长的赛季后疲惫不堪。（预计即将到来的比赛中的热浪也无济于事。）他们也很少与国家队队友一起训练，导致配合脱节。紧张情绪也是一个因素，因为永恒的荣耀近在眼前。