The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar surpassed expectations , with many experts declaring it one of the best World Cups ever held. Certainly, it provided us with loads of drama and entertainment; in fact, it set the record for the most prolific World Cup in history, with a whopping 172 goals scored. The gloss of the tournament is not confined to mere statistics, but to the sporting personalities involved and the way the action unfolded. Here is a brief summary of the highlights of the 2022 FIFA World Cup:
Argentina brings the magic to win the cup
After a 36-year wait, Argentina finally got their hands again on the famous World Cup trophy. That outcome seemed very unlikely after Argentina lost their opening match 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in a shock result. However, Argentina quickly recovered to beat Poland 2-0 and Mexico 2-0, and top Group C. They then beat Australia 2-1 in the Round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals against the Netherlands. The match ended 2-2 after the Dutch fought back from 2-0 down, but the Argentinians prevailed 4-3 in the penalty shootout. Argentina then comfortably dispatched Croatia 3-0 in the semi-final, which meant they would face the defending champions, France, in the final. And what a final it turned out to be!
Messi gets his fairytale ending
The 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France delivered on its promise, producing an absolute classic and arguably the best final ever. Argentina scored first through a Lionel Messi penalty and went 2-0 up after an Angel di Maria goal in the 36th minute. It seemed like Argentina were cruising, until Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty and then an outrageous volley in the 81st and 82nd minute, turning the match on its head and resulting in extra time.
Messi then scored in the 108th minute, but Mbappe made sure there would be more Argentinian nails chewed by levelling things up with another penalty in the 18th minute, thereby completing his hat trick. This meant the match went to a penalty shootout, where Argentina prevailed 4-2 and lifted their 3rd FIFA World Cup. It also meant that Lionel Messi got a fairytale ending and won his 1st World Cup, cementing his place as one of the greatest footballers of all time in what is likely to be his last World Cup. To top it off, he also won the Golden Ball, awarded to the tournament's best player, having scored 7 goals and led his side to ultimate glory.
Mbappe lights up the World Cup
As mentioned, Mbappe was outstanding in the final and throughout the whole tournament, scoring a hat trick in the final (a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since 1966) and scoring the most goals in the tournament with 8. After his heroics in the 2018 World Cup, Mbappe has firmly established himself as a leading player in the world and a potential all-time great.
Germany crashes out early again
Besides the highs, there were also many lows in the tournament, with Germany stumbling yet again by failing to get out of the group stage, just like in 2018. This failure was mainly brought about by their shock 2-1 loss to Japan. Other notable flops in the tournament were Spain, who lost to South Korea in the group stage and were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Morocco, and Belgium, who also failed to make it to the Round of 16.
Morocco flies the flag for Africa
Morocco achieved a notable first when they became the first African team ever to qualify for the semifinals. Even though they were beaten 2-0 by France and lost 2-1 to Croatia in the 3rd place playoff, it was still a terrific achievement by the North African team, as they beat tough opponents along the way, including Belgium, Spain and Portugal.
Ronaldo doesn’t get his fairytale ending
While Messi got his dream outcome, it wasn’t a fairytale ending for the other global football superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo. He only scored 1 goal and his team Portugal crashed out in the quarterfinals, losing in a penalty shootout to Morocco.
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