Reflections on the World Cup
By Jack Blitzer ‘24
As the world’s most popular sporting event, the World Cup brings together the entire world once every four years for a month-long celebration of soccer. However, the 2022 iteration has been shrouded in controversy since it was announced twelve years ago that Qatar would host the tournament.
Each edition of the World Cup is held in a different nation, which is determined through a bidding process conducted by the governing body of soccer, the Federation Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA. By a vote of 14-8, FIFA voted in favor of Qatar, who was able to beat out the United States for the honor of hosting the competition. FIFA has since admitted that many board members accepted bribes to vote for Qatar. A corruption investigation into FIFA in 2015 underscored the disturbing nature of which the group goes about its business. Since then, Qatar has been under fire for a litany of issues, ranging from its inability to hold the competition during the summer, as is customary, due to the nation’s extreme heat. Additionally, the country’s lack of a soccer history, with the nation’s national team never previously qualifying for a World Cup, and the nation’s lack of infrastructure and population, rendering holding such a large event immensely difficult, has received criticism.
Unfortunately, those concerns were far from Qatar’s biggest issues, as the nation’s human rights record is nothing short of appalling, and the country has multiple laws in place banning homosexuality in the country. In order to build the infrastructure needed to hold the World Cup, Qatar employed around 2 million migrant workers, in return for almost no pay. The exceptionally dangerous work conditions led to at least 400-500 deaths, per Hassan Al-Thawadi, Secretary General of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, although the actual figure is likely much higher than that.
In the lead-up to the World Cup, FIFA President Gianni Infantino wrote to each of the 32 qualified nations, asking them to “not let football be dragged into every ideological battle that exists.” However, in the month before the World Cup, Infantino’s predecessor, Sepp Blatter, who presided over the 2010 vote, admitted that the Qatar World Cup was a “mistake,” and senior Qatari officials have called the Western criticism of the tournament “very racist.” The day prior to the tournament kicking off, Infantino delivered a widely criticized speech defending Qatar, in which he defended Qatar on each of the issues that they were criticized for, and he insisted that FIFA was “200 percent in control” of the tournament. However, once the tournament did kick off, the World Cup’s action has not disappointed fans and spectators.
Throughout the tournament’s group stage, where the 32 teams were split up into 8 groups of four, and the top two teams in each group advanced, shocking results were the dominant storyline. The host nation Qatar was a huge disappointment, becoming the first host nation not to advance from the group stage. The U.S. battled through their group to advance in second place, narrowly defeating Iran 1-0 in their final group match. Favorites England, Argentina, France, Brazil, Netherlands, and Portugal all topped their groups, while Spain scraped through theirs, finishing second to Japan, the revelation of the group stage. Morocco was also an eye-opening group winner, and favorites Germany and Belgium were unpredictably eliminated at the first hurdle.
In the Round of 16, the U.S. bowed out against the Netherlands, and favorites England, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, and France all easily advanced. The upset of the round came as Morocco stunned Spain on penalty kicks following a 0-0 draw, and Croatia battled past Japan on penalty kicks as well.
The quarterfinal round was the tournament’s most dramatic, as Brazil was stunned by Croatia, losing a late 1-0 lead before falling on penalties, and Argentina fought off a brave Dutch comeback from 2-0 down, winning perhaps the game of the tournament on penalties after an exhilarating 2-2 draw. Morocco continued to shock European giants, as they stunned Portugal 1-0, in what was most likely Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo’s last World Cup game. In the final quarterfinal, France survived against England 2-1, after England striker Harry Kane missed a late penalty.
The semifinals pitted Argentina against Croatia, while France faced off against Morocco. France and Argentina both advanced comfortably, winning 3-0 and 2-0 respectively, setting up a final between two countries looking for a third world cup trophy.
The final was undoubtedly the standout game of the entire tournament, with the two heavyweights going back and forth throughout the contest. Argentina took a 2-0 lead in the first half, before France struck back, taking the game into extra time. Once there, each team scored once more, and the 3-3 draw meant that the tournament would be decided by a penalty shootout. Argentina would prevail 4-2, meaning that Lionel Messi would be able to lift the one trophy that his phenomenal career was previously missing.
The World Cup always delivers, no matter what, and the 2022 edition was no different, despite the numerous off the field concerns at play.
