World Cup 2022 · History

The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd edition of the men’s FIFA World Cup, played in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022. It was the first World Cup held in the Arab world and the first staged in November and December, a move away from the usual June–July window to avoid the Gulf summer heat. Thirty-two teams played 64 matches in eight stadiums across five cities. Argentina won the title, beating France on penalties in the final at Lusail Stadium.

Bidding and preparations

FIFA’s Executive Committee awarded the tournament to Qatar on 2 December 2010 in Zurich, in the same session that gave the 2018 edition to Russia. Qatar beat bids from the United States, South Korea, Japan and Australia. In 2015 FIFA confirmed that the competition would move to the northern winter, which forced the European leagues to stop their seasons halfway through. Seven of the eight venues were built for the event, among them Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Lusail Stadium and Stadium 974, a demountable ground assembled from shipping containers. Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, renovated for the tournament, was the only existing ground used.

Qualification and draw

Qatar qualified automatically as host and made its World Cup debut. The draw was held on 1 April 2022 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, with three places still undecided because several play-offs had been postponed. Canada returned to the finals for the first time since 1986 and Wales for the first time since 1958.

Group stage

The opening match, on 20 November at Al Bayt Stadium, ended Qatar 0-2 Ecuador, with both goals from Enner Valencia. The hosts lost all three of their group matches. On 22 November Saudi Arabia beat Argentina 2-1 at Lusail. Japan won Group E after coming from behind to beat both Germany and Spain 2-1, and Germany went out in the group stage for the second tournament running. Morocco topped Group F ahead of Croatia, having beaten Belgium 2-0. Cameroon beat Brazil 1-0 and Tunisia beat France 1-0, although both defeats came with the favourites already through. Japan, South Korea and Australia all reached the round of 16, the first time three Asian Football Confederation teams had done so.

Knockout rounds

In the round of 16 Morocco held Spain to 0-0 and won the shoot-out 3-0, while Portugal beat Switzerland 6-1 with a hat-trick from Gonçalo Ramos. On 9 December Croatia eliminated Brazil on penalties after a 1-1 draw, and Argentina got past the Netherlands 4-3 in a shoot-out after a 2-2 draw. On 10 December Morocco beat Portugal 1-0 through a header from Youssef En-Nesyri, becoming the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final, and France beat England 2-1. In the semi-finals Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 at Lusail on 13 December and France beat Morocco 2-0 at Al Bayt on 14 December. Croatia took third place by beating Morocco 2-1 at Khalifa International Stadium on 17 December.

The final

The final was played on 18 December 2022 at Lusail Stadium before a crowd of 88,966, with Polish referee Szymon Marciniak in charge. Lionel Messi scored a penalty in the 23rd minute and Ángel Di María made it 2-0 in the 36th. Kylian Mbappé equalised with a penalty in the 80th minute and a volley in the 81st. Messi put Argentina ahead again in the 108th minute of extra time, and Mbappé levelled at 3-3 with another penalty in the 118th, the first hat-trick in a World Cup final since Geoff Hurst in 1966. In the shoot-out Emiliano Martínez saved from Kingsley Coman, Aurélien Tchouméni missed the target and Gonzalo Montiel scored the decisive kick. Argentina won 4-2 on penalties to claim their third world title, after 1978 and 1986.

Awards and figures

Messi received the Golden Ball, ahead of Mbappé and Luka Modrić. Mbappé won the Golden Boot with eight goals, one more than Messi. Martínez took the Golden Glove, Enzo Fernández was named Best Young Player and England received the FIFA Fair Play Trophy. Messi’s appearance in the final was his 26th World Cup match, a record for the competition. Qatar 2022 was the last edition with 32 teams before the expansion to 48 for the 2026 World Cup. The tournament produced 172 goals in 64 matches, the highest total in World Cup history, and drew a total attendance of 3,404,252.