Review: The 2022 World Cup
Why can’t I review the World Cup? It was on TV wasn’t it?
Qatar
Whether we like it or not, this tournament is and will always be inextricably linked to the controversy surrounding its hosts. At the time of awarding the World Cup, Qatar was evidently underprepared to host and, while the tournament did take place and flowed largely without a hitch, this continued to show itself in various ways. The decision not to sell beer inside stadiums was only finally made on the eve of the tournament, the stance on permitting rainbow symbols into the ground seemed to change daily, and for many games, the stands were visibly littered with empty seats.
For the World Cup to be held in Qatar isn’t bad in and of itself, in fact, the first of its kind to be held in a middle-eastern country is evidently a breakthrough moment. But while it’s the job of football to make itself accessible for the whole world, its also the job of each host country to make itself accessible to fans of all backgrounds and cultures across the world, and there was perhaps cause to believe this wouldn’t be the case for this tournament.
The stadiums in which the games themselves took place in were spectacular, expansive, and elegant in their visual design, yet they represented perhaps the tournament’s biggest tragedy. Official figures from organisers count 40 deaths explicitly linked to the construction of the stadiums, but estimates from The Guardian had that figure in the thousands. As the organisers attempted to ensure in the final moments that their mark on the tournament will always be remembered, it’s important to remember what that mark means. Though it delivered some of the most captivating football in World Cup history, it will always be a tournament delivered courtesy of a reckless disregard for human safety and worker conditions.
Winter World Cup
One of many knock-on effects of the selection of Qatar meant that, due to the immense heat of middle-eastern summers, the tournament was instead held in the Winter. This is the first time I’d seen anything like this happen, but given the glowing terms with which FIFA representatives speak about this World Cup, it’s likely it won’t be the last.
The obvious effect is that the World Cup has carved a big old gap in the middle of the domestic football season. For some teams and fanbases this may be welcome, for others, not so much. All I can assume is that the comedown from watching high-intensity knockout football with one of the greatest climaxes of all time to watching EFL Winter cup-ties will be brutal to say the least.
Of course, this World Cup took up much of the month of Christmas, and given that, I doubt it’s a coincidence that I got about halfway through the tournament before I realised we were in the month of Christmas. We never had to question before of whether we’re more invested in International Football or Christmas, but I’m sure for many, Christmas found itself on the backseat this time round. I’m just sad that England not going all the way meant we were robbed of the joy of a Vindaloo charge at Christmas Number 1.
Mascot
La’eeb, the official mascot for the 2022 World Cup. NOT a ghost as many of us would think, but a Qatari ‘ghutra’ headdress, and going by the translation of his name, a super-skilled headdress at that. I think La’eeb is a very good mascot, with cute eyes, and an interesting form that really captures the imagination and makes a refreshing change from the many mammal-based mascots.
My further thoughts on this are that I think they should be more involved in the tournament overall. Though La’eebs unique shape does raise the issue of how you’d fit a human inside them, it would have been nice to see them appearing in team photos, or at the trophy presentations, or pestering the players and managers outside tunnel maybe.
Final thought on the matter. It’s 56 years of hurt now for the men’s game. It may be time to realise that we’re not gonna win anything until we get World Cup Willie back into the mix.
Structure
It’s hard to recall many times before in my life that I got to witness morning football. For many watching in the UK, the 10am kick-offs were an undisputed game-changer and one of the most pleasant offerings of this tournament. It was perhaps to its slight detriment that we didn’t get to see any glamour ties in this slot, but it did peak very early, as in its first edition, favourites Argentina shockingly slumped to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia. The 3-3 draw between Serbia and Cameroon in this slot was also a special experience.
Unfortunately, this only ultimately brought the feeling of whiplash once we reached the final round of group fixtures, as concurrent kick-off times meant we lost both the 10am and the 1pm kick off times. We really don’t realise just how good we had it for a week or so there. However the concurrent kick-off times did bring some great memories, with Ghana time wasting despite the possibility of their own progression, just to ensure Uruguay were knocked out along with them, and those few minutes where Spain and Germany were set to be knocked out by Japan and Costa Rica will live long in the memory.
Coverage
As standard, games were split roughly half and half across BBC and ITV. The intro sequence for each channel’s respective coverage was a slam-dunk win for ITV. Their neat, fun, and high concept animation depicting the many competing nations trekking their way through the desert with Qatar in their sights was arguably more memorable than the BBC’s, which did to be fair pay homage to some great World Cup moments of past times as well as having a catchy “here we- here we- here we go” chorus. Their ad-break transition cards depicting the country’s flags inside a pearl were nice, and highlights and voiceovers were often accompanied by some solid music choices.
Inside the studio, the two channels had much different feels. ITV had a broader selection of faces which in turn offered different perspectives and a lot more analytical variety, however at times there was a visible lack of chemistry between the pundits. Gary Neville rarely hit the highs he reaches over at Sky Sports, but Roy Keane at times brought his best, going at Souness on morning tele over the awarding of an Argentina penalty, and condemning the dancing of the Brazil players. The latter opinion drew a lot of pushback online, but think how much more jarring it would have been, and how damaging to the Roy Keane brand, if he had come out in favour of managers dancing with their players on the touchline.
Over at the BBC, things felt a lot more homely. Lineker, Shearer and Ferdinand were virtual ever-presents, and the chemistry was a lot stronger, with the pundits able to let their shoulders down and get more emotive, not afraid at times to let their biases (namely Messi worship) show. The same could be said for Ally McCoist over on commentary at ITV, who speaks with so much enthusiasm that you can tell its not a job for him, and that he genuinely feels privileged to be watching these high-profile games. Sam Matterface and Clive Tyldesley did well in their lead-commentary roles, both fully understanding the skill of the well-placed voice crack and how much it can add to the drama of a key moment.
Football
Perhaps the main thing that we should be reviewing. The opening fixture between Qatar and Ecuador really set the tone for the quality of football at the tournament. Rarely did we any country consistently play at a level we associate with great winners of previous tournaments. But what this tournament lacked in distinguishable quality, it more than made up for in its devotion to drama.
The storylines in this tournament were never ending. Argentina’s recovery after their shock defeat to Saudi Arabia. Belgium’s group stage implosion. The unpredictability of group E. The rematch between Ghana and Uruguay. Croatia claiming World Cup medals for the second time in a row (spoilers? Idk). Morocco’s heroic run, culminating in becoming the first African country to ever reach the final 4. Olivier Giroud and Neymar matching their country’s all-time top-scorer records.
And obviously, the biggest storylines came to a head in the final. Lionel Messi having the chance to win the one trophy that had eluded him in his career, while coming up against teammate Kylian Mbappe, the best young player in the world who seems to have his eyes set on every record held by Messi.
The tournament signed off in spectacular fashion, serving up not only the greatest World Cup final ever seen, but among the greatest football matches I’ve seen in my life. It was a rare case of a game being billed as a head to head between two players actually delivering on this promise, as Messi and Mbappe both brought their absolute A game, contributing 2 and 3 goals respectively. It should be said, some poor defensive work on the part of both teams contributed to this match being the spectacle it was, resulting in heart-stopping chance after heart-stopping chance. One of the more peculiar moments, France’s double change in the first half, while absolutely cutthroat, payed dividends, as Marcus Thuram and Kolo Muani linked well with Mbappe, making France a constant threat going forward from then on. That being said, full credit must be given to referee Szymon Marciniak, who in the 86th minute amidst the calamity of everything, managed to spot a dive from Marcus Thuram in what looked to everyone else watching to be a stone-wall penalty.
Eventually, the match which barely felt real at times resulted in a deadlock, before being decided by a penalty shoot-out which went in Argentina’s favour. This brought a culmination of the Emi Martinez’s meteoric rise since finally getting a chance in the premier league, with his dark arts and mind-games tipping the balance in Argentina’s favour.
Perhaps my favourite story involving the final was that of Ángel Di Mariá. One of the most underrated and consistent players of the last decade, he missed out on the 2014 World Cup final, which Argentina subsequently lost, as his participation was blocked due to an injury concern. Eight years later, he was drafted in for the final despite not being a consistent starter and gave the performance he perhaps would have given in 2014, cutting inside to win a penalty for Messi’s opener, before scoring himself to round-off a spectacular counter attack. As if to further illustrate his importance to the side, all of Argentina’s problems only began after he’d left the pitch.
Penalties
One of he greatest contributions of this tournament might be doing away with the narrative that penalty shootouts are a lottery. They are simply not and this is evidenced by the fact that Spain and Japan both took the same approach for their shootouts and both found themselves crashing out. Despite ``lionel Messi’s high success rate with his roll to either side, I’m sure this World Cup provided vindication to the many advocates out there of the low-and-hard-hit penalty.
Oh, and the ‘putting-your-best-player-5th’ debate reared its head again, as is customary for any tournament. I don’t think this a black-and-white issue. One could approach it with hindsight and suggest England may have faired better in the Euros finale had Rashford or Sancho been allowed to take the lower-pressure penalties at the start, with Harry Kane saved for the high-pressure 5th penalty. You could also look at it statistically, however. Your first 3 penalties are the only ones you 100% know you’re going to take, with a slight drop-off for the 4th, and I would imagine a big drop-off for the 5th, considering how many shoot-outs end before reaching sudden death. It makes sense to give your best penalty taker the highest-pressure penalty, but assuming you’re gonna last until the 5th penalty can be a very dangerous game.
Goals
Let’s talk goals of the tournament. Richarlison’s overhead kick vs Serbia and Luis Chavez’s free kick against Saudi Arabia were probably the best, but my favourite would go to Vincent Aboubakar, also against Serbia, as its so satisfying to see a chipped goal that’s not just a chip but a full-on scoop over the goalkeeper.
All-in-all, there were alarmingly few true contenders for goal of the tournament. Though there were several very tidy/well taken goals, none carried the same ridiculousness factor of a Maicon or a van Bronckhorst strike from 2010. This could be down to the growing influence of Expected Goals, with players being discouraged from taking shots with a low xG value. Or perhaps it just emphasises how much of a one-of-a-kind the Jabulani was. That being said, can anyone remember what the ball for this World Cup looked like? Anyone?
Overall
I think this was a tournament that many approached with apprehension. We were cautious about how the break may impact our team’s respective seasons and the World Cup not coinciding with Summer would dent the overall enjoyment of it. There was an overwhelming mood of “let’s get this over with”, but I think two results in the first week; England’s 6-2 win over Iran, and Saudi Arabia’s 2-1 win against Argentina, really helped in drawing people in and capturing the imagination.
The lasting memory of this World Cup will be the bonkers finale that resulted in denouement for the greatest individual career football has ever seen, but the lasting image of the tournament, Messi lifting the trophy while sporting a Bisht, while admittedly quite stylish, ensured that we’ll always think of the hosts while remembering this tournament, for better or indeed for worse.