Every four years, there is one major
event that brings the entire world together to sit down and celebrate whether
that is with family, friends or even total strangers – as long as you’re a fan
of football the world cup instantly becomes a bonding session during the
season.
Just like every world cup season,
2022 also brought some highs and lows and some unexpected turns. Football fan
or not, this year everyone gathered around to predict and bet on their
favourite teams, eagerly waiting to see what unexpected turns this world cup
season would bring. And just like any other year, or even a bit more than other
years, the 2022 world cup brought about some major twists and turns as teams
played some of their most competitive games by far.
This year’s game was hosted in Qatar,
marking the first time a world cup match was hosted in a Muslim-majority
country. This was a big moment for Qatar, and let’s just say they did not
disappoint the world - as everything from the stadium to the beautiful messages
they sent throughout this season touched everyone’s hearts.
Aside from the beautifully
constructed arenas and all that Qatar had to offer, the matches of 2022 were
also exceptionally entertaining and engaging. A BBC sport survey shows that the
Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 was voted as the ‘best world cup this century’,
making this year a major success. This survey result probably does not come as
a shock to anyone who watched all the matches, or anyone who has not been
living under a rock as world cup news was circulating all over the internet and
it was hard to miss the wins and keep up with the excitement whether you knew
football or not.
This year’s world cup was a win for
more than just Qatar as a few teams took home groundbreaking wins, despite not
winning the final title. One of the moments that captures everyone’s attention,
taking the whole world by surprise was the game by Morocco. After playing an
intense match, Morocco officially broke a record by becoming the first African
and Arab team to go into the semi-finals, marking a major moment in history.
This win by Morocco was celebrated all around the globe, as this year’s team
definitely showed the world that they are more than capable of playing a good
game, coming so close to taking home the world cup.
In addition to this, this year also
marked one of the best final matches ever played as France and Argentina put on
a fight till the very end. In the very final game, the intensity was hiked up a
notch as the scores remained competitive till the very end as the game was
extended into penalties where Argentina officially scored 3-2 against France
and won the world cup. This was a major win for many, as Lionel Messi, along
with thousands of his fans had been waiting for this win throughout his entire
career– making this win one of the major moments of glory for millions of
football fans.
In addition to these amazing plays
and efforts showcased by every single country that played in the world cup, the
2022 games also opened up a major opportunity for Qatar to showcase the reality
of the Arab world. Everything the country did from starting the world cup with
a beautiful recital of the Quran to letting fans from all over the world
discovers the beautiful messages of Islam was appreciated by Muslims from all
around the globe.
While many are still talking about
the amazing games and the well-deserved winner of this year’s world cup,
everyone is also eagerly anticipating the arrival of the world cup which is to
be hosted in 2026. While the exact dates have not been finalised for the next
year’s world cup, it has been revealed that the games will be co-hosted by the
U.S.A., Canada and Mexico.
How will the three countries co-host
these games? Well, it appears that we are headed for another new thing in
football as this will be the first time that three countries co-host the same
games and so far the plan is to host 60 matches in 11 locations across the USA
and 10 matches each in Canada and Mexico.
While we still have four more years
to prepare for the next world cup games, this year has definitely left everyone
way more excited than ever to see what the 2026 games will bring as the playing
field has been completely changed by countries this year. And for those who
gained an interest in football this year, the four years will also give them
time to explore different teams and gain more knowledge before the next world
cup games to support the best teams and enjoy the games in a new light!