FIFA World Cup: Qatar 2022

This Article was written by Eleeza Zahir, Year 8

Have you ever heard of the FIFA World Cup? If you haven’t then what have you been doing? 32 nations were ready to compete against each other for the World Cup. Now for those who don’t know what the World Cup is, I’m here to explain. The FIFA World Cup is THE biggest single-sport competition in the world! A reason why the World Cup is famous is because it brings fans together! However, it only happens every 4 years.

Here’s a question, who is your favorite player?

My favorite players are Ronaldo and Messi but did you know that Messi had a condition/disorder called GHD (Growth Hormone Disorder)

5 Fun Facts:

• Qatar invited a number of famous people for the opening show. They even got a performance by South Korean singer, Jungkook of BTS! How cool is that?!

• The first World Cup started in 1930

• Brazil has won 5 out of the 22 world cups

• Ronaldo is the first man to score in 5 different World Cup tournaments

• The fastest ever World Cup goal was under 11 seconds into a match!

THE World Cup:

Did you know..

• Christiano Ronaldo once said “If I touch it, it gives me bad luck.” Later on, everyone touched it EXCEPT Messi and in case you didn’t know, HE WON!

• The World Cup is known to be the most valuable sport trophy, it costs around $20 Million!

• The World Cup is made of pure gold and is awarded to the winners of the FIFA World Cup association football tournament.

• Since 1930, two trophies have been used: the Jules Rimet Trophy from 1930 to 1970, and the FIFA World Cup trophy from 1974 to this present day.

“Blue Lock” saves the day:

This is for all you anime fans out there. Japan’s team conquered the world cup pitch as they dressed up like the anime Blue Lock. This is the power of anime! Japan beat Spain and Germany however, unfortunately lost to Costa Rica and Croatia.

The best ever World Cup!:

Without a doubt, this has been one of the most enjoyable World Cups so far. In fact, France won a match in just 2 minutes, that’s insane! 172 goals were scored in the 2022 World Cup, a new all-time competition record, crossing the 171 goals scored in both 1998 and 2014. There were five penalty shootouts in the World Cup, the most of any single edition in the history of the competition!

Argentina:

Oh yes, Argentina. Lionel Messi led to a great victory this year. Argentina rose from the ashes just like a phoenix, surprising everyone. Yet it wasn’t luck that helped them win was it? It was the strong bond between the players, it was a tough match but they had one thing not many have, Resilience. They never gave up, they worked hard. In fact all the countries gave their best! Yet you know the saying: “Teamwork makes the dreamwork”.

Stadiums:

There were 8 stadiums for the world cup!

Lusail Stadium 5x Group Matches

1x Round of 16

1x Quarter-Final

1x Semi-Final

Final Al Bayt Stadium 5x Group Matches 1x Round of 16

1x Quarter-Final

1x Semi-Final Al Janoub Stadium 5x Group Matches​​​​

1x Round of 16

Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium

5x Group

Matches

1x Round of 16 Khalifa International Stadium 5x Group Matches

1x Round of 16

Match for Third Place​​

Educational City Stadium 5x Group Matches

1x Round of 16

1x Quarter-Final Stadium 974 5x Group Matches

1x Round of 16 Al Thumama Stadium 5x Group Matches

1x Round of 16

1x Quarter-Final