After many controversies, the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosted in the desert oasis of Qatar popped into life on November 20, 2022, with 32 teams hunting for the grand prize.
The biggest tournament in the history of football was highly-anticipated, teams readied their players to hunt for the grand trophy. The 2018 edition held in Russia was secured by France in what was an exciting final after Les Blues defeated Croatia 4-2 with an outstanding performance from Antoine Griezmann at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia.
With the tournament approaching, different predictions were made by football journalists, pundits, and ex-footballers. Some predicted Argentina would win the World Cup while some were keen on England going home with the grand prize. Some insisted that Brazil had the perfect squad to get the grand prize.
Meanwhile, a group of Messi and Ronaldo fans desperately anticipated a final showdown between the two of them, Lionel Messi’s Argentine side against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portuguese side with both looking to complete their trophy cabinet.
The wait was finally over as the competition kicked off on November 20th, 2022, with hosts Qatar facing off against Ecuador in their Group A clash, with the South Americans hotly tipped to win
Although many expected a big statement from Qatar being the hosts of the tournament. It wasn’t much of a surprise when Qatar were defeated 2-0 by Ecuador, becoming the first host team to lose their opening match in the history of the competition, and that was just the beginning of upsets in the competition.
The Rise of the Underdogs
Saudi Arabia produced the first and one of the biggest upsets in the 2022 World Cup. They were a goal down in the first half after conceding a penalty which was taken brilliantly by seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi.
It came as a big shock when Saudi Arabia came back in the second half to get the equalizer. A few minutes later, the Argentines were stunned after Salem Al-Dawsari produced a beauty to give the green eagles the lead.
Saudi Arabia defeating one of the strong contenders of the tournament left the world stunned, it was nearly unbelievable as they ended Argentina’s 36-game unbeaten run.
Japan on the other hand also staged one of the biggest upsets in the competition which left fans and spectators in utter shock and disbelief, they produced a beautiful comeback as they defeated Germany 2-1 in their opening match.
They already went down after Ilkay Gundogan converted a goal from the spot. Germany thought they were running away with the lead until Ritsu Doan gave Japan the equalizer in the 75th minute of the game. 8 minutes later, Takuma Asano scored the winning goal of the game.
The host became the first team to be eliminated from the competition.
Qatar became the first team to host the FIFA World Cup and not win a single match as they were eliminated in the group stages of the competition. They were defeated by Ecuador in their opening match while they also fell to Senegal and Netherlands.
With Senegal and Netherlands progressing to the next round of the competition.
The fall of the Big Guns
Since winning the World Cup in 2014, Germany has only one 2 of their FIFA World Cup fixtures so far, one in 2018, and one in the 2022 Winter World Cup. Their campaign in the competition came to an end after they were defeated by Japan in their opening match.
They were also held in a goalless draw in their next fixture against Spain. Although they defeated Costa Rica, they were unable to progress after Japan also stunned Spain by defeating them with Japan and Spain progressing into the Knockout stage.
Having been predicted as one of the teams to win the 2022 World Cup, England were knocked out of the competition by the defending champions and rivals France in the quarter-finals. Real Madrid’s Aurelian Tchouameni’s wonder-strike gave France the lead in the first half of the game while Harry Kane got the game level in the second half after France’s goal scorer, Tchouameni fouled Bukayo Saka in the 18-yard box. Olivier Giroud later gave France the lead again and Harry Kane with a chance to level it again for the spot missed this time. England crashed out of the competition with their hopes of going home with the grand prize completely faded.
Brazil were one of the favorites to win the World Cup 2022, but that prediction was written off after they were knocked out by Croatia in the quarter-finals in penalties. The game ended in a goalless draw after 90 mins, proceeding into extra time.
Neymar gave Brazil the lead in the extra time and they were running away with the lead when their joy was cut short after Bruno Petkovic equalized with a brilliant goal. Croatia went on to win the game on penalties and they progressed to the next round.
The Moroccan Marvel
It was truly a Moroccan marvel in Qatar as they made headlines and stirred up conversations from different parts of the world. Morocco were top of their group as they advanced to the knockout stage of the competition. The African and Arab worlds united as the Atlas Lions defeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portuguese side and were just one more prowling step from the World Cup final itself.
Meanwhile, Morocco didn’t get the headlines on a platter of gold, the African representatives did the impossible, having held their nerve to brush out three European giants -Belgium, Spain, and Portugal to become the first African nation to reach the Semi-finals.
The Messi vs Mbappe showdown
The World Cup final was a tough and very exciting one to watch as it was deemed the best final ever in the history of the World Cup.
Argentina got a comfortable two-goal lead in the first half with the help of Lionel Messi who scored the opener of the game, Angel Di Maria doubled the lead after a decisive finish from the Juventus winger.
Argentina were comfortable with the first-half win. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe wasn’t just done yet, he got the game level with the two goals coming in a span of 95 seconds. He got the first goal with a penalty and the second goal was a brilliant half volley which the Argentine goalie, Emiliano Martinez failed to save and the game was dragged to extra time.
With both sides feeling the effects of the exhilarating final, Messi looked to have scored a winner in the 108th minute but again, Kylian Mbappe stepped in to complete his hat-trick in the dying minute to force the contest to penalties. However, Lionel Messi‘s Argentine side were victorious at the end in the penalty shootout with France having two penalties missed, one of them being saved by Emiliano Martinez, Argentina’s goalkeeper.
“It’s just crazy that it became a reality this way,” Messi told reporters. “I craved this so much. I knew God would bring this gift to me. I had the feeling that this [World Cup] was the one.”
Men of record in the Qatar Winter World Cup
Although Kylian Mbappe wasn’t able to get consecutive World Cup success, he set new milestones as he became the youngest player with the most goals in a single World Cup at 23 years old. He also became the second player in history to get a hat trick in a World Cup final.
Lionel Messi on the other hand, apart from his seven-time Ballon d’Or trophy, also broke a lot of records in the competition. The former Barcelona captain now has the most man-of-the-match awards in FIFA World Cup history. He is now the only player to win two FIFA Golden Balls – 2014 and 2022. He was also the first player to score in all stages of the World Cup. Messi is also the only player to provide assists at five different FIFA World Cups among other records.
Germany’s goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, also broke a record during the 2022 World Cup. Germany crashed out of the tournament at the group stage but Neuer did well to set a new record before leaving, he now has the most appearances (19) for a goalkeeper in World Cup history.
19-year-old German teenager, Jamal Musiala was not left behind. The Bayern teenager set a record for himself as the player with the most dribbles in a World Cup match by a teenager (Germany vs Costa Rica).
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