FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™
The 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup™ took place in Qatar in November and December and proved to be an unforgettable 29 days.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ was always certain to be a tournament like no other. It was the first time that the most famous competition in global sport was held in the Arab world, that it was played in such a small geographic area, and that fans of all 32 nations could congregate in one space to bond over a shared passion. It was also the first time that Lionel Messi finally got his hands on the most coveted prize of them all: the FIFA World Cup Trophy.
After six goals in the Argentina v. France match, including a hat-trick for France’s Kylian Mbappé, and 120 minutes of pulsating action in what many are calling the greatest final ever, it proved to be a fairy-tale ending for Messi as – after having scored a brace – his converted penalty helped send Argentina on their way to a 4-2 penalty shoot- out victory against the reigning champions.
In 2022, records were broken on and off the pitch – and with a total of 172 goals scored during the 64-game tournament, the goalscoring record was one of those to fall.
Five, and arguably some of the most pivotal, were scored by Argentina’s captain, Lionel Messi. Not even the Albiceleste’s fiercest rivals could begrudge this wonderful player his well-deserved moment with the prize he had coveted for so long. During the trophy presentation ceremony, he was also given the honour of being named the adidas Golden Ball winner, an award decided by the FIFA Technical Group.
Qatar 2022™ fact file
Goals: 172 (a new record)
Stadium attendances: 3.4 million spectators
FIFA Fan Festival™ attendances: 1.8 million visitors
Volunteers: 20,000 from 150 different nations (selected from a record 420,000 applications)
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ award winners
adidas Golden Ball: Lionel Messi (ARG)
adidas Golden Boot: Kylian Mbappé (FRA)
adidas Golden Glove: Emiliano Martinez (ARG)
Young Player Award: Enzo Fernandez (ARG)
Morocco: pride of Africa and the Arab world
In a FIFA World Cup™ packed with surprises and intrigue from the off, few other squads managed to win the hearts and minds quite like Morocco, who became the first nation from Africa, and the first- ever Arab nation, to reach the semi- final stage.
For the first time in 88 years, an African team reached the World Cup semi-finals. Morocco were the continental trailblazers. After sinking Belgium in the group stage, they eliminated Spain in the round of 16 and Portugal in the quarter-finals. The Atlas Lions also gave France a strict examination in the semi-finals before losing an end-to-end encounter with Croatia 2-1 in the battle for third place.
Honourable mentions
Croatia
Croatia’s achievements are among the greatest in FIFA World Cup history. Despite a population of less than four million, they finished second and third in back-to-back editions.
While Zlatko Dalić lost several key players of his 2018 side, such as Danijel Subašić, Ivan Rakitić and Mario Mandžukić, new stars emerged in the shape of Dominik Livaković and Joško Gvardiol to complement the divine talent of Luka Modrić. The Croatian highlight was the stunning elimination of tournament favourites Brazil en route to finishing third.
Japan
It was not to be for four-time champions Germany or 21st-century titans Spain in Group E. Japan had other ideas, and in slaying both those giants they finished top in the group. The Samurai Blue also became only the third team in World Cup history, and the first since West Germany in 1970, to win two separate games in which they had been trailing at half-time.
Kylian Mbappé
With eight goals in seven appearances, the France talisman joined an elite group of six men to have scored eight or more goals in a single edition of the tournament. Mbappé became just the fifth player in FIFA World Cup history to score in separate finals, the first to score a hat-trick in a final since Geoff Hurst in 1966, and is now established as the highest-scoring player in the history of football’s showpiece fixture with four goals across the 2018 and 2022 matches.