The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the championship competition for national football teams throughout the world and included professional players. After being given the privilege of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup in 2010, Qatar hosted the tournament from 20th November to 18th December. The 2002 FIFA tournament in South Korea and Japan was the first time the World Cup was hosted entirely in Asia, and this year’s event was the first to be staged in the Arab and Muslim worlds.
There were 32 teams in this competition, but by 2026, that number will have doubled to 48. The tournament took place in late November and early December to avoid the most superheated parts of Qatar’s year.
Only 29 days were allotted for it, yet there were still 64 games played at eight different locations in five different cities. As the tournament’s hosts, Qatar was granted automatic entry, while the other 31 teams were decided via a qualification procedure.
After a 3-3 stalemate in regulation and extra time, Argentina defeated the defending champions France 4-2 on penalties to claim the championship. Argentina became the first non-European nation to win the event since 2002, and it was their third championship overall.
Kylian Mbappé, a French footballer, earned the Golden Boot for scoring the most goals (eight) in the tournament and became the first player to achieve a hat trick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final.
Lionel Messi, captain of the Argentine national team, was named the tournament’s best player and awarded the Golden Ball. Teammates Emiliano Martnez and Enzo Fernández earned the Golden Glove and the Young Player Award, respectively, for being the tournament’s top goalkeeper and best young player.
All 32 teams in the competition scored at least once, setting a new record for the most goals ever scored in a tournament with that many teams.
A History of the FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup tournament is an annual international men’s and women’s football competition hosted by FIFA. Since the 1998 tournament, when it was first played, 32 teams have competed in the tournament every four years.
It was originally played in Uruguay in 1930. There were eight groups of four teams each, followed by a single elimination bracket for the remaining 16 teams. France, who were reigning champions, won the 2018 FIFA World Cup with a 4-2 victory against Croatia.
The event took place in Qatar from 20th November to 18th December. It was the first time the World Cup was hosted in an Arab country, as the competition took place in Qatar. The majority of the COVID-19 pandemic regulations, including quarantines, mask use, and negative testing, were not enforced on spectators.
The FIFA World Cup 2022’s schedule
Qatar’s extreme summer heat and frequently quite high humidity necessitated moving the 2022 FIFA World Cup from its traditional June and July dates to the cooler months of November and December.
All the major European leagues, including the English Premier League and La Liga, had to build lengthy breaks into their domestic schedules to accommodate the World Cup, which was held at an unusual time—in the middle of the seasons of many domestic association football leagues that began in late July or August.
Many major European tournaments pushed their group-stage games forward to before the World Cup so that they wouldn’t have to be played the year after.
In July 2020, FIFA officially confirmed the schedule of games. On 21st November, the beginning of the group stage was scheduled to begin with four games each day.
After Qatar pushed FIFA to have their team start the tournament, the Qatar vs. Ecuador game was moved to 20th November. The championship game occurred at Lusail Stadium on National Day, 18th December 2022.
Each group’s games took place at one of these venues:
Groups A, B, E, and F stadiums were the Al Bayt, Khalifa International, Al Thumama, and Ahmad bin Ali venues.
Lusail Stadium, Stadium 974, Education City Stadium, and Al Janoub Stadium played host to Groups C, D, G, and H, respectively.
After the draw for the group stage was held on 1st April 2022, FIFA announced the venues and start timings. 11th August saw the official announcement that the tournament would begin with Qatar’s match against Ecuador rather than the intended opener between Senegal and the Netherlands, which had been moved ahead a day.
Conclusion
From 20th November to 18th December, the 32 best national teams representing five confederations competed at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, making it one of the most famous tournaments in the world. You’ll find a summary of this worldwide tournament in this article.