Well, that was fun.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup was undoubtedly one of the best and most exciting tournaments of all time. From the earliest phases of the group stage to the dramatic final, this competition was filled with action. Our expectations and predictions were met by countless upsets and sudden turns of events, as the short list of teams contending to lift the famed trophy narrowed down until only one remained.
This World Cup was shrouded by controversy, not only because of the well-documented brutal treatment of the workers who built Qatar’s new stadiums and infrastructure but because FIFA officials were reportedly accused of accepting bribes to support Qatar’s bid to host the tournament. Nevertheless, FIFA president Gianni Infantino pleaded with participating nations and fans to “focus on the football!”
The excitement began from the get-go, with the group stage being ripe with action.
Group Stage
Group A
Group A panned out as expected, with the clear favorites, the Netherlands, topping the group. They were followed by Senegal, who, impressively, qualified for the knockout stage without their best player, Sadio Mané. Ecuador came close to earning second place, achieving a draw with the Netherlands, but later lost to Senegal and were eliminated from the competition. The hosts, Qatar, though never considered a contender to make it to the knockout stage, fell even short of their minimal expectations, failing to earn a point and scoring only one goal in their three games.
Group B
This group was headlined by the historic, albeit a tad overhyped, international rivalry between England and the United States. After falling short in the final of the Euro 2020, England came into this tournament with high expectations and a chip on their shoulder. They got by the group stage relatively easily, despite a tense 0-0 draw with their overseas foe. The USA, though never considered capable of making a deep run, was seen as a youthful and athletic side with much potential. They held on for two draws against England and Wales and, fueled by a Landon-Donovan-esque game-winning goal from superstar Christian Pulisic, beat Iran 1-0 to earn second place. Wales and Iran were left out after disappointing performances.
Group C
Here, the upsets began, with mighty Argentina losing their opening match against Saudi Arabia, 2-1. Coming into the tournament, Argentina were seen as a championship-caliber team, and with this being Lionel Messi’s last World Cup, this was a particularly shocking upset. That said, Argentina was able to finish first in their group despite this brief scare. Much to the surprise of many, Poland beat out Mexico for second place, Mexico having one of the more underwhelming showings of the competition. Saudi Arabia, despite their stunning upset victory, failed to do much else in their other matches and were left out. Funnily, despite their failure to win another point, the players were each awarded a Rolls Royce automobile by the Saudi Arabian government as a reward for their sole win.
Group D
Although many thought France would be the next victims of the champions curse — the recent trend of defending champions losing in the group stage — France made it out of this relatively easy group without any trouble, with underdogs Australia earning second place and Tunisia third. Last place Denmark was perhaps the most disappointing team of the tournament, as the Euro 2020 semifinalists were expected to be a dark horse contender.
Group E
This was the 2022 World Cup’s group of death. The stacked group opened with a Spain blowout over Costa Rica, 7-0, and was followed by a 2-0 beatdown by Japan over Germany. Germany would later defeat Costa Rica to stay alive in the competition but were eliminated after Japan’s shocking upset victory over Spain. Japan would end up topping the group, Spain coming in second.
Group F
Perhaps the most shocking result of this World Cup was Belgium, who earned third place in the 2018 tournament, failing to make it out of their group. They were defeated by valiant Morocco, who won the group, and drew with second-place Croatia. Canada finished last with zero points. Morocco’s defense stood out throughout the group stage and would go on to be a major factor in their ensuing success. While Morocco’s triumph and Belgium’s elimination seemed like upsets at the time, there is no doubt that Morocco were the best and most deserving team in the group.
Group G
It seems as though Brazil is permanently relevant in international soccer, always assembling a strong side. They came into this World Cup stronger and more confident than ever, and by the end of the group stage, Brazil looked like the clear best team in the tournament, topping Group G with ease. I will never forget the adrenaline rush of sitting in class, games secretly playing on my computer, trying to stay focused and maintain my composure as I watched Brazil dissect defenses and make scoring beautiful goals look easy! Richarlison’s bicycle kick, in particular, stood out as one of the best goals of the tournament. As for the rest of the group, Switzerland also advanced, beating out underwhelming Cameroon and Serbia.
Group H
Portugal came into this tournament as one of the favorites, especially considering that this was the last World Cup outing of Cristiano Ronaldo. They topped the group comfortably; in fact, they clinched first place so comfortably that they chose to bench their starters in their final match against South Korea, leading to a 2-1 loss. This result meant that Uruguay, led by Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, missed out on second place, with South Korea snatching their spot. Ghana finished last, unable to get revenge on Uruguay for Suarez’s infamous handball of 2010.
Round of 16
With the exception of a few tight and exciting games, the round of 16 went relatively smoothly, with contending sides Portugal, England, Argentina, Brazil and France thrashing their meek opponents Switzerland, Senegal, Australia, South Korea and Poland, respectively. Sadly, the Netherlands also beat the USA in a closely fought battle.
Other exciting games included Croatia’s victory over Japan in penalties and Morocco’s upset win over Spain. Spain, who failed to convert a single penalty in their shootout against Morocco, were highly criticized for their stubborn style of play, which involved possessing the ball for minutes at a time and completing up to a thousand passes per game while getting very few good shots off.
Quarter-Finals
Tensions were at their highest, with the first day of quarter-final matches being the most exciting of the tournament. Croatia knocked out the favorites, Brazil, thanks to a late equalizer, advancing to their second straight World Cup semifinal after back-to-back penalty-shootout wins. Later in the day, the Netherlands scored a last-minute goal to come back from down 2-0 against Argentina to force extra-time and later a penalty shootout but fell short as they could not defeat Argentina’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. It would be Messi’s Argentina against Luka Modric’s Croatia for a spot in the final.
The bottom half of the bracket was equally entertaining, with Morocco continuing their underdog story by beating Ronaldo’s Portugal and becoming the first African team ever to make the semifinals of a World Cup. France narrowly snuck away with a 2-1 win against England (despite being outplayed on the stat sheet) after striker Harry Kane, who is usually perfect from the spot, missed a penalty to prolong the game. The way Kane skied the penalty over the bar, you would think he misinterpreted the famous chant “football’s coming home” to mean “the football is coming home.” France, the world’s best attack, against Morocco, the world’s best defense, would surely be a treat in the semifinals.
Semi-Finals
Argentina’s early loss to Saudi Arabia in the group stage put them off the radar for a while, as it exposed several holes and weaknesses in the squad; but, nevertheless, the Copa America champions have grown stronger with every game, their semifinal match against Croatia proving why they deserve a spot in the final. Despite a slow start to the match, Argentina dominated, winning 3-0 thanks to a virtuosic performance by Lionel Messi. His contributions included a perfectly placed goal from the penalty spot and a dazzling assist to seal the win. All Croatia’s defenders could do was sit back and watch as Messi picked them apart and led his team to victory.
Up until their showdown against France, Morocco’s rock-solid defense had not given up a goal to an opposing player in the whole tournament. Their impressive streak ended after only five minutes of play when Theo Hernández put France ahead with a well-timed volley. Randal Kolo Muani sealed the deal in the 79th minute, punching one in and putting Morocco out of their misery. While the African underdogs seemed like the better side for most of the game, holding France to only three shots on target, France made use of their opportunities and, consequently, clinched a well-deserved spot in Sunday’s final.
The Final and Match for Third Place
Croatia, still an unjustly underrated team, capped off their amazing World Cup run by finishing in third place after a 2-1 victory over Morocco. The match was enthralling, filled with offense — an unexpected theme considering the competing teams’ defensive identities — with two goals being scored in the first ten minutes, followed by a screamer towards the end of the first half. The great Luka Modric capped off his World Cup career in style, with a silver medal in 2018 and a bronze in 2022. Now that the bronze medal had been given, it was time to award the gold.
Every four years, the world stops for ninety minutes to watch the greatest spectacle in sports: the World Cup final — and this particular matchup was hyped up to the maximum. On one side was Argentina, seeking to redeem themselves for their 2014 loss to Germany; on the other, France, seeking to make history by winning their second straight title and retaining their crown. The headlines were centered around the Paris Saint-Germain teammates Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe: would the young sensation prove that he is the best player in the world by winning his second World Cup at only 23 years old, or would Messi seal his G.O.A.T. status by finally winning the big one?
Going into the final, senior captain and starting left-back of Fieldston’s boys varsity soccer team, Emmett Levine, noted France’s depth as a potential advantage over Argentina. “Mbappé and Messi are two obvious big-shot names, but as a France supporter, I enjoy watching Tchouaméni fill the gap that Pogba and Kanté left behind.”
Rarely does a World Cup final live up to expectations — this one did.
Argentina opened the game in dominant fashion, bringing high energy on offense and shutting down the French on defense. Lionel Messi — who else? — opened the scoring in the 23rd minute from the penalty spot, and Argentina used their momentum to add to their lead with a beautiful team goal converted by Ángel di María in the 36th. With twenty minutes left, just when the game seemed over, a penalty by Kylian Mbappé brought France within one. Only a minute later, Mbappé placed a gorgeous volley in the back of the net, tying the game and leaving viewers stunned. In a shocking turn of events, the game would go to extra time.
In the 108th minute, Messi — who else? — put Argentina in front, 3-2, but France would still not back down. Mbappé scored a second penalty ten minutes later to tie the game, complete his hat trick and clinch the golden boot with eight total goals. France had a chance to win it with the last shot of the game, but eventual golden glove winner Emiliano Martinez made a superb save to deny them.
After three minutes of stoppage time which felt like an eternity, the final whistle was blown, and the game went to penalties. It felt unjust that such a spectacular match would be decided by penalties, but it had to be done, and Argentina stepped up to the task. After a 4-2 victory on penalties, the Argentine players rushed to celebrate their win as the heartbroken French sunk to the ground. For one nation, a collective sigh of relief; for the other, tears of agony and despair.
The world rejoiced as Messi put the cherry atop his stellar career by kissing the World Cup trophy and winning his second golden ball. This was the greatest final of all time — the perfect end to a perfect tournament.
Conclusion
Coming into the event, many, including myself, questioned the idea of a winter World Cup. In hindsight, experiencing such a fun and unifying event with my friends and peers, cheering on the USA during frees or sneakily glancing at our phones during class to check the scores of games, is a memory to which I will hold on forever.
Levine shared these sentiments. “I didn’t think I’d like it,” he said, “but it became a great break from school. In a time of intense work and some competition over grades, especially as a senior with college decisions and applications, it was a lighthearted way to connect with my friends and take my mind off the looming presence of college admissions.”
Hopefully, these cherished memories of the 2022 World Cup will sustain us for the next four years, but alas, all we can do now is look forward to 2026, when the World Cup will be played right here in the United States.
