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Your Ultimate Guide To Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup

Your Ultimate Guide To Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup

FootballOrbit brings you all you need to know about Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup

Last updated: August 1, 2022

The World Cup is the most prestigious association football tournament in the world, it is also the most widely viewed and followed single sporting event on the planet. The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be the 22nd edition of the tournament.

The competition is organized by the Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA), which is football’s governing body.

Some Facts About The FIFA World Cup

Uruguay 1930 FIFA World Cup

The first ever FIFA World Cup tournament was held in 1930 (92 years ago). It was hosted and won by Uruguay.

Since then, it had been held every four(4) years — except in 1942 and 1946 due to World War II.

The first goal in World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France.

Only eight countries have ever won the World Cup: Brazil (the most successful nation in World Cup history with 5 trophies), Germany (4), Italy (4), Argentina (2), France (2), Uruguay (2), England (1) and Spain (1).

Brazil is the only country to have played in all World Cup tournaments in history (21 appearances).

Three players share the record for playing in the most World Cups: Mexican duo Antonio Carbajal (1950–1966) and Rafael Márquez (2002–2018); and Germany’s Lothar Matthäus (1982–1998) all played in five tournaments.

Matthäus has played the most World Cup matches overall, with 25 appearances.

Miroslav Klose of Germany (2002–2014) is the all-time top scorer at the World Cup with 16 goals. He broke Ronaldo of Brazil’s record of 15 goals (1998–2006) during the 2014 semi-final match against Brazil.

West Germany’s Gerd Müller (1970–1974) is third, with 14 goals.

The fourth-placed goalscorer — France’s Just Fontaine — holds the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup; all his 13 goals were scored in the 1958 tournament.

Brazil’s Pelé (1958—1970) is the 5th highest goal scorer in the competition’s history with 12 goals.

Pelé with the World Cup trophy
Pelé with the World Cup trophy

Pelé is the only player to have won three World Cup winners’ medals (1958, 1962, and 1970).

Brazil’s Mário Zagallo, West Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer and France’s Didier Deschamps are the only people till date to win the World Cup as both player and head coach.

Zagallo won in 1958 and 1962 as a player and in 1970 as head coach. Beckenbauer won in 1974 as captain and in 1990 as head coach. Deschamps repeated the feat in 2018, after having won in 1998 as captain.

Italy’s Vittorio Pozzo is the only head coach to ever win two World Cups (1934 and 1938).

All World Cup-winning head coaches were natives of the country they coached to victory.

Format

The first World Cup in 1930 was contested by just 13 teams, the number of teams were increased to 16 from 1934 to 1968, then 24 teams in 1982 and 32 teams in 1998.

The 32 teams are divided into eight groups consisting of four teams each. The top two teams from each group will advance to the knockout stages.

On 10 January 2017, FIFA confirmed that the 2026 World Cup will be competed by 48 teams. For the first time in history, the World Cup will be hosted by three countries.

The 2026 World Cup hosts are: USA, Canada and Mexico

79 countries have appeared at the World Cup so far.

Trophy

FIFA World Cup Trophy

The first World Cup trophy was named as the Jules Rimet Trophy, in honour of the 1st President of FIFA, Jules Rimet.

It was designed by French sculptor Abel Lafleur and made of gold-plated sterling silver on a lapis lazuli base.

The 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden marked the beginning of a tradition regarding the trophy. As Brazilian captain Hilderaldo Bellini heard photographers’ requests for a better view of the trophy, he subsequently lifted it up in the air.

Every Cup-winning captain ever since has repeated the gesture.

Brazil won the tournament for the third time in 1970, allowing them to keep the real trophy forever as had been stipulated by Jules Rimet in 1930.

It was put on display at the Brazilian Football Confederation headquarters in Rio de Janeiro in a cabinet with a front of bullet-proof glass.

But on the 19th of December 1983, the cabinet was forced open and the cup was stolen. Four men were tried and convicted in absentia for the crime.

The trophy has never been recovered, and it is widely believed to have been melted down and sold.

Only one piece of the Jules Rimet Trophy has been found, the original base which FIFA had kept in a basement of the federation’s Zürich headquarters prior to 2015.

A replacement trophy was commissioned by FIFA for the 1974 World Cup and was officially named as the FIFA World Cup Trophy.

FIFA’s regulations now state that the trophy, unlike its predecessor, cannot be won outright: the winners of the tournament receive a bronze replica which is gold-plated rather than solid gold original.

Qatar 2022

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be the 22nd edition of the global mundial. It will be played from the 21st of November to the 18th of December 2022.

The 2022 World Cup will be the first that will not be played in the summer, due to the intense summer heat in Qatar.

Qatar will be the 23rd nation to host the competition.

This will be the first World Cup ever to be held in the Arab world, and it will be the second held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament was held in South Korea and Japan.

In addition, the tournament will be the last to involve 32 teams, with an increase to 48 teams scheduled for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Qatar is the smallest nation by area to host a FIFA World Cup — the next smallest by area is Switzerland, host of the 1954 FIFA World Cup.

Switzerland is more than three times as large as Qatar and only needed to host 16 teams instead of the current 32.

Qatar will also become the first ever country to host a FIFA World Cup despite having never qualified for a previous edition.

Four-time champions and winners of UEFA Euro 2020, Italy, failed to qualify for a second successive World Cup for the first time in their history — losing in the qualification play-off semi-finals against North Macedonia.

Nigeria lost out to Ghana on away goals in CAF’s final playoff round, having qualified for the previous three World Cups and six out of the last seven.

Russia got disqualified from the 2022 FIFA World Cup following its invasion of Ukraine.

Canada return after 36 years, their only prior appearance was in 1986.

Wales will be making their first appearance in 64 years – a record gap for an European team. Their only previous participation at the World Cup was in 1958

France are currently the defending champions.

Teams

Asia
Qatar (hosts) , Iran, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Australia.

Africa
Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco, Cameroon.

North America
Canada, USA, Mexico, Costa Rica.

South America
Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay.

Europe
Germany, Denmark, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Wales

Groups

Group A
Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands.

Group B
England, Iran, USA, Wales.

Group C
Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland.

Group D
France, Denmark, Tunisia, Australia.

Group E
Spain, Germany, Japan, Costa Rica.

Group F
Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia.

Group G
Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon.

Group H
Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, South Korea.

Stadiums

Qatar intends to use the World Cup stadiums to reflect its historical and cultural aspects, and for the designs to meet the following terms of reference: legacy, comfort, accessibility, and sustainability.

The stadiums will be equipped with cooling systems that aim to reduce temperatures within the stadium by up to 20 °C (36 °F), but it is not yet known if this will actually work in the open-air stadiums.

After the World Cup, some of the stadiums’ infrastructures and facilities will be disassembled and donated to other countries with less developed sports infrastructures.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be played in 8 stadiums across 5 Qatari cities namely; Doha (capital city), Lusail, Al-Khor, Al-Rayyan and Al-Wakrah.

A brief look at the eight 2022 FIFA World Cup stadiums:

Lusail Iconic Stadium (Lusail)

Lusail Iconic Stadium
Lusail Iconic Stadium

Lusail Stadium will be cooled using solar power and has a zero carbon footprint. It is the biggest stadium in Qatar with an 80,000 capacity.

The stadium will host 10 matches, including the final.

Al-Bayt Stadium (Khor)

Al-Bayt Stadium
Al-Bayt Stadium

Al-Bayt Stadium has a 60,000 capacity and will host 9 matches, including the opening ceremony and the opening game.

Stadium 974 (Doha)

Stadium 974
Stadium 974

Stadium 974 was previously known as the Ras Abou Aboud Stadium. It has a capacity of 40,000 and will host 7 World Cup matches.

The stadium is constructed on a 450,000 square-meter waterfront site and is situated on an artificial promontory.

It has a modular design, and incorporates 974 recycled shipping containers in homage to the site’s industrial history and the international dialing code for Qatar (+974).

Some of the containers house stadium amenities such as bathrooms and concessions.

The shipping containers and seats used by the stadium will later be dismantled and provided as assistance to other under-developed countries in the world.

Stadium 974 will be the first ever temporary venue in FIFA World Cup history.

Al-Thumama Stadium (Doha)

Al-Thumama Stadium
Al-Thumama Stadium

Al-Thumama Stadium is located in Doha. It has a 40,000 capacity and will host 8 matches.

Education City Stadium (Doha)

Education City Stadium
Education City Stadium

The Education City stadium has a 45,350 capacity and will host 8 matches.

The stadium is located within several university campuses at the Qatar Foundation’s Education City.

After the FIFA World Cup, the stadium will retain 25,000 seats for use by university athletic teams.

It has also been given the nickname “Diamond in the Desert”. With 20 percent of its building materials identified as green, the stadium is among the world’s most environmentally sustainable stadiums.

Ahmad bin Ali Stadium (Al-Rayyan)

Ahmad bin Ali Stadium
Ahmad bin Ali Stadium

Ahmad bin Ali Stadium has a 50,000 capacity and will host 7 matches. The stadium is named after Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar from 1960 to 1972.

It serves as a home-ground for Qatari football clubs, Al-Rayyan SC and Al-Kharitiyath SC.

Khalifa International Stadium (Doha)

Khalifa International Stadium
Khalifa International Stadium

Khalifa International Stadium has a 45,416 capacity and is also known as National Stadium.

It is a multi-purpose stadium located in Doha as part of the Doha Sports City complex — which also includes Aspire Academy, Hamad Aquatic Centre and the Aspire Tower.

It is named after Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar’s former Emir.

Al-Janoub Stadium (Al-Wakrah)

Al-Janoub Stadium
Al-Janoub Stadium

Al-Janoub Stadium has a 40,000 capacity and will host 7 World Cup matches. It is the home stadium of Al-Wakrah SC.

Mascot

The tournament’s official mascot was unveiled on the 1st of April 2022 during the group stage draw.

It is named La’eeb, which is an Arabic word meaning “super-skilled player”.

The official website of FIFA says: “La’eeb will be known for his youthful spirit; spreading joy and confidence everywhere he goes”, and the official backstory of the character, published there, claims that it comes from a parallel world where tournament mascots live, “a world where ideas and creativity form the basis of characters that live in the minds of everyone”.

Match ball

Al-Rihla
Al-Rihla

The official match ball, named “Al Rihla”, was unveiled on the 30th of March 2022. It was mainly inspired by the culture, architecture, iconic boats and flag of Qatar.

In Arabic, the word Al Rihla means “the journey”.

The ball was designed with sustainability as a priority, making it the first ever official match ball created with water-based glues and inks.

As “the game is getting faster” and “speeds up”, Adidas used some new features, allowing to provide speed and improve the accuracy of the ball.

Official song

The official song of the tournament is “Hayya Hayya (Better Together)”, performed by Trinidad Cardona, Davido and Aisha.

It was released on 1 April 2022 along with the music video.

Some of the most epic and dramatic last-minute goals in football history were scored at the FIFA World Cup.

Which team do you think is the favourite to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar?

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