At the end of 2022, Qatar hosted a World Cup tournament like no other, marking the first ever FIFA World Cup tournament to take place in the Middle East and Muslim world, as well as setting the precedent as the first ever winter World Cup.
But with the excitement of a new opportunity and era in Qatar, came many controversies and uncertainties surrounding the build up of the competition.
These included concerns around the treatment of migrant workers in building new stadiums, the interference with football players' already busy schedules and their domestic leagues, as well as overall wider allegations of FIFA corruption and sport washing (the use of sport to redirect public attention away from unethical conduct & social/environmental problems). On the other hand, people countered these claims and suggested that the negative focus on the tournament came from a place of racism and Islamophobia from Western critics, and that other countries with similar or even worse human rights records such as China and Russia, received less criticism and condemnation for hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics and 2018 FIFA World Cup. FIFA’s president Gianni Infantino remained adamant in his position and defended Qatar's right to host the competition, while also critiquing what he perceived as moral double standards and hypocrisy from Western nations.
Yet despite these background issues, the football soon overshadowed and the competition carried out successfully, making history. In 64 games, a total of 172 goals were scored - an all time highest for the competition so far! Alongside this, many national and individual achievements were made.
Starting nationally, despite England breaking everyone's hearts once more by losing to France 2-1 in the quarter-finals, there was still a proud feeling amongst England fans after seeing the massive turnaround performance from Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka, who while facing criticism and racism for their missed penalties in the 2020 Euros, went on to score 3 goals each in the competition - the highest out of all the England players.
Morocco made significant history by becoming the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals, after eliminating Ronaldo’s Portugal side - a feat everyone around the world was in awe of. The Croatian underdogs also continued with their success story, reaching back to back second and third place in the competition in spite of their less than 4 million population! Luka Modric’s Croatian side managed to beat tournament favourites Brazil in the quarter-finals but were eventually knocked out by current champions Argentina in the semis, yet luckily they still managed to collect their bronze medals after defeating Morocco in the third place play off.
The final, which took place on the 18th of December, had a record breaking estimated 1.5 billion TV viewers and the game proved to be a show stopper, arguably being the highlight of the tournament. The tense game ended in penalties after France’s Kylian Mbappe single handedly carried his team following a hattrick, while Argentina’s Angel di Maria scored and captain Lionel Messi bagged a brace for his team. The game ended with Argentina winning the tournament for the third time in their history by 4-2 on penalties, denying France of a second consecutive World Cup victory.
After an almost fairy tale-like ending to Messi’s tournament and another accomplishment to add to his decorated career, the Argentine captain won the Golden Ball, while his teammates Emi Martinez and Enzo Fernandez received the Golden Glove and Golden Boot. Despite Mbappe’s efforts failing to win the title for France, his contribution was greatly recognised and he won the Golden Boot following his 8 goal stint in just 7 appearances at the tournament - the highest out of every player. Mbappe also became just the second man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup Final and the fifth player ever to score in more than one world cup Finals. His incredible performance certainly leaves everyone with a feeling that he has much more to show for his country in the future.
Other notable achievements include Harry Kane becoming England's top goalscorer alongside Wayne Rooney at 53 goals. Despite Brazil’s journey ending in tears in the quarter-finals, Neymar made history by equalling Pele’s 77 goal record and becoming joint record scorer for his country. Morocco's Yassine Bounou achieved a milestone by becoming the first African goalkeeper to record three clean sheets in a single World Cup tournament. Messi, with 25 appearances, surpassed Diego Maradona’s legacy of the most world cup appearances for Argentina. Lastly, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first football player ever to score in five distinct world cups, and at almost 38, became Portugal's oldest goalscorer in a World Cup.