Introduction

November 29th, 2023

My name is Christian, and I am on the soccer team here at Longwood. Soccer has played a big role in my life and has gotten me to where I am today, including this school. Thus, I decided to do my theme around soccer, since it’s the easiest thing for me to talk about.

Table Of Contents

November 29th, 2023

In this eportfolio, I have decided to do a video tutorial, photo essay, review, and travel experience. Of course, these works had to be centered around my theme, so everything was soccer-related. My tutorial video teaches how to juggle. My photo essay displays Messi’s road to winning the 2022 World Cup. My review is based on the 2022 World Cup Final. My travel experience described my experience at the camp I went to in Portugal.

Video Tutorial

November 29th, 2023
My video tutorial on the basics of how to juggle

Traveling To Portugal

November 28th, 2023

A memorable travel experience that will be with me forever was my trip to Portugal. I was invited to play at a camp in Portugal, and the bonds and memories I made will always stay with me. Unfortunately, I only spent three weeks there, but I wish it were longer. 

On the way to Portugal, I flew with my two friends, Abdul and Gabe. We had a connecting flight that brought us to Spain before flying to Portugal. When we landed in Madrid, we took too long going through security and missed our second flight. We got on the next flight to Portugal and landed in Lisbon. The rest of the day was to just settle in at the hotel. The next day, we started training. We stayed at the training facility all day and trained twice a day. After each training session, we would eat at the same cafeteria that the professional players ate at. Sometimes, I would see some of the players there and shake their hands. 

Monday through Friday, regular training sessions were held that aimed to improve the tactical side of the team. However, every day after the first training session of the day, we were given a presentation about the life of a professional soccer player at that club. The presentations explained how the players would train and how each day of practices would be structured. On Saturdays, we had one practice that day, and after, we would drive over to the Benfica stadium to walk around and later eat dinner to celebrate the week that went by. Each week at that stadium never failed to amaze me. 

This camp had players from countries all over the world, including Portugal, Brazil, Poland, England, Italy, and more. Every lunch and dinner included moments of entertainment and push-ups. Yes, push-ups. People who would misbehave and not abide by the rules were punished by doing a certain number of push-ups. Despite the push-ups already being a punishment on their own, the coaches made everyone punished do the push-ups in front of the players, as we would laugh at them. As stated before about sometimes seeing professional players in the cafeteria, sometimes some professionals would be laughing too.

I will always cherish the friends I made during these three weeks. We helped push each other to play at our best in every training session, despite feeling fatigued. Although we laughed together during the practices, we were extra competitive. We gave each other tips on how to improve areas where we were weak and complimented each and every one of our strengths. By the end of the three weeks, we were brothers, bound not by blood but by the journey we took together. 


The three weeks flew by, and before I knew it, I was saying goodbye to my new family. The goodbyes meant more, knowing there was a high chance we would never see one another again. Each hug broke my heart a little more, yet I was still happy. I was happy that I was able to create memories that would last a lifetime. This trip will forever remain in my heart, along with the friends that I made.

Photo Essay-Messi’s Road To Victory

November 22nd, 2023

Messi and Argentina’s opening game for the World Cup. Messi scored a penalty, but Saudi Arabia shocked the world by trailing Argentina 2-1.

Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Mexico with Messi scoring an outside-the-box shot to hand Argentina the three points they needed to keep their dreams of winning the World Cup alive.

Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Poland sent them through to the knockout stages of the tournament.

Argentina’s first knockout stage game, beating Australia 2-1 with Messi scoring one.

Argentina’s heated game against the Netherlands. They tied 2-2 with Messi scoring and assisting. Argentina won 4-3 on penalties.

Argentina’s semi-final match against Croatia. Messi scores one to help send Argentina through to the World Cup finals for the second time in his career.

Messi’s masterclass against France in the final scoring two goals. The match ends 3-3 after 120 minutes of open play.

Argentina beat France 4-2 in penalties, crowning Messi and Argentina champions of the world.

Review: 2022 World Cup Final

November 7th, 2023

The 2022 World Cup final was an incredible, nail-biting match that will go down in history as one of the greatest ever. The game between Argentina and France, which took place at the stunning Lusail Stadium in Qatar, showcased football brilliance and demonstrated that soccer can be an art, taking spectators on an emotional roller coaster. The atmosphere inside the stadium was electrifying as supporters from around the world came to witness what would be the greatest match of all time. With the World Cup being the biggest tournament in the world, both countries wanted to take home the trophy for themselves. Both countries fought hard to get to this moment, each with the desire to lift the cup. The ref blew the starting whistle, and the game kicked off.

Argentina’s energy circled around Messi, who could crown his stellar career with this win, and France’s circled around the chance to win back-to-back world cups. The first twenty minutes of the game were scoreless, still going back and forth, until the twenty-first minute. Di Maria, the Argentine attacker, was fouled in the box, awarding Argentina a penalty for a chance to go ahead on the scoresheet and a step closer to winning the game. Messi stepped up to take the penalty and put the ball in the back of the net, giving Argentina the lead over France. With their momentum, in the thirty-fifth minute, Argentina found themselves on a counterattack, catching France with their gaurd down. Di Maria received the ball and struck it into the back of the net. The ref blew the whistle to signify halftime while Argentina were up by two goals while France still searched for a change.

The second half was quiet, and as the minutes got closer to ninety, it appeared as though Argentina would win this game comfortably. However, young superstar Kylian Mbappe wasn’t going to let Argentina win so easily. In the seventy-ninth minute, France was awarded a penalty. Mbappe steps up and slots the ball into the back of the net. France now had momentum, and taking advantage of that, they scored once again two minutes later. Mbappe, in a matter of minutes, leveled the game by scoring two goals. The ref blew his whistle for full time, signifying that there would be another thirty minutes of extra time. 

Extra time started, and Argentina found their form again as Messi scored again in the hundred-seventh minute of the game to go ahead once again. Mbappe scored to level the game, scoring a hattrick in the World Cup final. After a hundred-twenty minutes of open play, the ref blew the whistle and signaled the teams to prepare for penalties.

During the penalties, I was on the edge of my seat. Both countries start off by scoring their penalties, but then France missed their next two while Argentina scored their next two. France then scored one, but it didn’t matter once Montiel, an Argentine defender, scored the winning penalty to give Argentina their third World Cup.

This game will go down as my favorite game of all time and possibly as the best World Cup final of all time. A game I was lucky enough to be alive to witness. Anxious throughout the entire game, I bit off all my nails. I was taken through a roller coaster of emotions as Argentina went up by two, then France tied the game in the dying minutes of the game. I wish I could feel the joy I felt when Montiel scored the winning penalty for the first time again. I wish I could watch that game for the first time again.