The FIFA World Cup 2022, the 22nd edition of the biggest football extravaganza, kicks off Sunday in Qatar, making it the second time in history that an Asian nation is hosting the mega event.
This will mark the debut of Qatar’s national team, the current Asian Champions, in the World Cup. The last time the World Cup was held in Asia was way back in 2002 when Japan and South Korea co-hosted the tournament, which was won by Brazil for the fifth and last time.
For the last four editions, only European teams have ended up winning the trophy — France in 2018, Germany in 2014, Spain in 2010, and Italy in 2006. This is the longest time that any South American nation has failed to get their hands on the trophy. Brazil is now the number one team in the FIFA world rankings, followed by Belgium. Copa America champions Argentina are also looking for their third title, while defending champions France, along with former champions England, Germany and Spain are set to fight hard for the trophy.
This may be the last chance for Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Argentina’s Lionel Messi to lift the trophy, something they have failed to do in four tries each. They will be appearing in the World Cup for the record fifth time, a record so far held by Germany’s Lothar Matthäus, and Mexico’s Antonio Carbajal and Rafael Márquez. For Uruguay’s Luis Suarez, this would be the fourth such tournament, while 34-year-old Karim Benzema might also be representing France for the third and last time in a World Cup.
There are eight stadiums that will host the 64 matches over the next four weeks, seven of them being freshly built. The venues are Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail, Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium and Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan and Stadium 974 and Al Thumama Stadium in Doha. All venues are located within a 55-km radius of Qatar’s capital city of Doha.
Except for the Khalifa International Stadium, operational since 1976, all stadiums have been constructed over the past three years. The cool-looking Stadium 974, with a capacity of 40,000 people, would be dismantled after the tournament is over. It’s named 974 because that is the number of shipping containers used to build it.
Al Bayt Stadium has a capacity of 60,000 people and its retractable roof would be the centre of attention. Set to host nine matches, Al Bayt will also stage the opening ceremony and the opening match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador on Sunday. Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan City was one of the grounds tested during the FIFA Arab Cup last year. Known as the ‘Diamond in the desert’, it has the capacity to accommodate 45,000 people at a time.
Among these stadiums, Lusail Iconic Stadium has the highest capacity, with about 80,000 spectators. It will host a total of 10 matches, including the final and the closing ceremony. Since 1930, only six host nations have managed to win the coveted Jules Rimet trophy. What Uruguay did in the first FIFA World Cup in 1930, was emulated by Italy in 1934, England in 1966, Germany in 1974, Argentina in 1978, and France in 1998. In 1958, Sweden was unlucky to lose the final to Brazil in front of their home crowd, but Qatar will be happy to reach even the semis in their debut World Cup.
In 1998, France was the last host to win a World Cup when they beat the defending champions Brazil under the captaincy of Didier Deschamps. Incidentally, Deschamps was the manager of the French team that won the FIFA World Cup in 2018, making him the only individual to win the title both as a player and a manager.
Over 2500 goals have been scored in the 21 editions of FIFA World Cups, excluding penalty shootouts. German striker Miroslav Klose is the top scorer in world cups, which he managed to do by scoring in the tournaments held between 2002 to 2014. The record for most goals scored in a single FIFA World Cup is held by Frenchman Just Fontaine, who scored 13 goals in 1958.
Five-time champion Brazil is the only team that has qualified for each and every edition of the World Cup. Former champions Italy didn’t qualify this time, while Russia who hosted the 2018 World Cup was suspended from participating, due to the military incursion in neighbouring Ukraine.
The last edition of the FIFA World Cup was watched by 3.5 billion people around the world and is regarded as the most-watched sports event. The 22nd edition is expected to be watched by five billion people, with the world’s population touching eight billion.
Out of the 21 editions of the FIFA World Cups, only eight countries have won the event. Brazil with five trophies leads the race since they were crowned champions in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002. Next in line is Germany (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) and Italy (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) who have four titles to their names.
Former champions Argentina (1978, 1986), Uruguay (1930, 1950), and France (1998, 2018) have won the title twice, whereas England (1966) and Spain (2010) have lifted the trophy just once. The record for the most finals without winning a title is held by the Netherlands, who were unlucky in 1974, 1978, and 2010, and they might be hoping to become champions this time around.
The inaugural FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay in 1930 and started with 13 teams, including the host. From 1934 till 1978, each World Cup had 16 participants which were increased to 24 in 1982, and later to 32 in 1998.
