The 2022 FIFA World Cup was a global party for all football lovers. People had a great time in Qatar. Fans from all over the world flocked to Qatar to watch the game live and support their favorite teams. Now the festival is nearing its final stages. Argentina and France will meet for the big trophy on Sunday. On the other hand, Morocco and Croatia will play the tiebreaker for third place in the tournament.
The tournament had many good and emotional moments. Although it is very difficult to make a complete list, the top 10 moments of the tournament in no specific order will be listed here.
1. Lionel Messi’s 1,000th match: On Saturday, December 3, Argentina and Australia played their RO16 match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup which was Argentina Star, Lionel Messi’s 1,000th match of his career. He also scored and won the match and entered the quarterfinals.
2. Introduction of women referees: For the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup, women referees were introduced. Subsequently, this tournament witnessed six new referees. Stéphanie Frappart is the first female referee in the men’s World Cup. She took over on December 2, in the group stage match between Costa Rica and Germany.
Beating the top FIFA World Cup qualifiers
3. Africans and Asians build stairs to the top: This tournament had a lot of twists and turns. People could witness many unexpected defeats and victories. Previously, the African and Asian teams performed below par, but this time they proved everyone else wrong. This is the first time that an African country has entered the semi-finals of the World Cup. Some of those amazing clashes are,
Argentina vs Saudi Arabia Germany vs Japan Portugal vs South Korea Cameroon vs Brazil Morocco vs Belgium
4. Goal line controversy: Japan’s second goal against Spain was the biggest controversy of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The second goal was scored by Ao Tanaka, which was disallowed by the referee on the field. The referee disapproved of the ball crossing the goal line but the VAR (video assistant referee) approved it as a goal. He looked at the pictures for a long time and confirmed that the curvature of the ball was still within the line. Therefore, people and the media had great debates on this topic. However, they posted visual proof on the official FIFA.com Twitter page to defuse arguments.
5. CR7 stayed on the bench: Cristiano Ronaldo stayed on the bench for RO16 between Portugal and Switzerland, played on December 7. The Portuguese coach used him as a substitute due to his past aggressive reactions in the South Korean game. However, he had his chance to come onto the field in the 73rd minute. He received a warm welcome from the crowd. It was an emotional moment between Ronaldo and his fans.
6. The African team entered the semi-finals for the first time: After a historic victory over the great team of Portugal, Morocco made history as the first African country to enter the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup.
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7. “Where is Messi?” : On the third day of the tournament, Saudi Arabia, ranked 51st, beat Argentina, ranked 3rd. It was a great surprise for Argentina and, at the same time, a great joy for Saudi Arabia. As part of the celebrations, Saudi Arabian supporters posted a “where’s Messi?” statement on their social media pages.
8. “Gol de pelo”: On November 28, Portugal played its group stage match with Uruguay. In the 54th minute of the game, Ronaldo attempted a header. Initially, the goal was thought to be Ronaldo’s, but the credit was given to midfielder Bruno Fernandes. They discovered that the ball did not touch his head and therefore the goal was not his. Later that day, people called it a “hair goal” by Ronaldo.
9. The South Koreans wanted to buy “Ghana chocolates”: After the South Koreans defeated Portugal, they had a chance to enter RO16. The main reason for their qualification was Ghana’s win over Uruguay. As part of the celebrations, South Korean fans thanked the Ghanaian team. They bought “Ghana chocolates” for the same reason and posted the same on their social media pages.
10. Things to learn from Japan: Japanese spectators at the 2022 FIFA World Cup have earned respect for their actions in the stadium. After the game, people from Japan have seen cleaning the stadium. This has become a sensation after Bahraini content creator Omar Al-Farooq shared a video of the same. When he asked one of them about it, he replied, “We are Japanese, we don’t leave trash behind us, and we respect the place.” This inspiring action was once again witnessed by the Japanese players as they left their immaculate wardrobe.
