首位在男足世界杯正赛开球的中国内地艺人：演员李现的亚特兰大时刻

Today, we're not going to review a specific match, but to talk about a World Cup story closely connected to China and especially interesting.

The protagonist of this story isn't some soccer star, but a Chinese actor, whose name is Li Xian.

Li Xian is a very famous Chinese actor who has starred in many hit TV dramas and films, enjoys extremely high popularity at home, and is especially beloved by the broad mass of young audiences.

So here's the question: how could an actor be connected to the far-off World Cup?

The reason is actually not complicated — Li Xian is the ambassador for an internationally renowned sports brand.

A so-called ambassador, in plain terms, is a public figure who helps promote a brand and acts as its image representative.

And as it happens, this World Cup had this sports brand as a sponsor.

So the brand invited Li Xian to go to the World Cup venue in person and carry out a rather special task — to kick off an official match.

Before many big soccer matches officially begin, the organizers often invite a special guest to perform a short, ceremonious kickoff, symbolically getting the match underway.

And the kickoff guest chosen this time was Li Xian.

They say that before the official announcement, the brand even released an "appointment letter" with very amusing wording, half in jest, formally "appointing" Li Xian as the World Cup kickoff guest, and Li Xian himself playfully replied, "Mission will be accomplished."

This back-and-forth interaction made many netizens who saw it feel it was both formal and full of fun.

The match Li Xian kicked off was a group-stage game, Spain versus Saudi Arabia, and the venue was Atlanta in the U.S.

However, it needs to be specially explained that Li Xian's kickoff this time was actually not quite the picture many people imagined.

Many took it for granted that a so-called "kickoff" means the guest stands bolt upright in the center of the field and gives the ball a hard kick.

But in fact, what Li Xian completed was another form of ceremony.

He solemnly carried the official match ball with both hands and, accompanied by FIFA staff, slowly walked onto the pitch step by step.

Then, he gently placed this ball on a specially set-up pedestal at the players' entrance, turned to wave in greeting to the tens of thousands of spectators, and posed for a photo with the ball.

According to people at the scene, Li Xian was dressed very smartly that day, his expression carrying a touch of nervousness while unable to conceal the excitement within.

The process of the whole ceremony was actually not complicated in its actions, but the meaning it carried was extraordinary.

Because Li Xian is the first Chinese mainland artist to complete a pre-match kickoff ceremony at a men's World Cup match.

Before him, no Chinese mainland actor or artist had ever been able, in such a role, to truly stand on the green pitch of the World Cup.

So this appearance by Li Xian genuinely created, for Chinese people, a brand-new "first."

This quickly spread across China's major online platforms, making countless Chinese fans feel both excited and proud.

You should know that China's men's team did not, in fact, make it into the finals of this World Cup.

And precisely because of this, getting to see such a familiar Chinese face on a World Cup pitch felt especially rare, and especially precious.

Many fans sighed that, although the Chinese team missed out on the World Cup this time, being able to see a Chinese person appear on the World Cup stage in such a special way still felt incredibly heartwarming.

Others felt that this, from one angle, shows that the distance between China and top world soccer is slowly closing, bit by bit.

In fact, at this World Cup, several Chinese people have already appeared on the pitch in different roles, one after another.

For example, Chinese referee Ma Ning officiated a match at this World Cup, winning much praise for his outstanding performance.

That is to say, on the World Cup pitch, Chinese professionals have long been quietly contributing their strength.

And Li Xian is, among these Chinese faces, the first and the only Chinese entertainment artist to formally appear in the role of "kickoff guest."

A referee relies on solid professional ability, an artist on broad influence; in their respective different ways, they tie China and the World Cup tightly together.

For this rare experience, Li Xian himself also clearly treasured it and was excited by it.

Well before setting off for the U.S., he publicly said that getting such a precious opportunity was, for him, a very honorable thing.

Being able to represent China and stand on a top global stage like the World Cup, he felt sincerely proud.

Of course, online there were also some light-hearted and amusing discussions, such as: does Li Xian placing the ball on a pedestal like this — this "placing the ball" — really count as a true "kickoff" or "kicking the ball"?

But actually, what exactly this thing should be called isn't the most important part of it.

What truly matters is that more and more Chinese people are stepping closer to the World Cup and into the grand stage of world soccer, in all kinds of different ways.

Among them are professional referees who officiate fairly, well-known artists who take the stage, and in the not-too-distant future, perhaps even a Chinese national team that can truly compete on the pitch.

After the match, photos and videos of Li Xian's kickoff were wildly shared on China's social media, becoming, for a time, a hotly discussed topic.

Many people, while sincerely happy for him, also expressed a shared common wish: that in the future, more and more Chinese figures will appear on the World Cup stage, which the whole world watches.

In fact, this is exactly one of the most charming things about the World Cup.

It has never belonged only to the players running and kicking on the green pitch, but equally to every ordinary person in the world who loves soccer.

Even if your identity is merely that of an actor, you can absolutely, in your own unique way, build a special connection with this grandest sporting event in the world.

Alright, that's the story between Chinese actor Li Xian and this World Cup.

A Chinese actor, with one simple yet special kickoff, left for countless Chinese people a moment that felt deeply warm and deeply proud.

Thank you for listening; see you next time.