The Qatar 2022 World Cup bowed out with an epic showdown between Argentina and France, where the Albiceleste triumphed over the Les Bleus, after one and hundred twenty minutes of sporting action, with a beautiful opener from Angel Dimaria, a brace from Lionel Messi, a hat-trick from kylian Mbappe to send both teams to beyond extra-time to penalty shoot out.
Emi Martinez’s heroics in front of goal at the penalty spot was enough to clinch gold for the Argentineans after 36 years of waiting for a world cup silverware. Their win means Lionel Messi has cemented himself an all-time great alongside the likes of Diego Maradona and Pele. The world cup trophy is the only missing piece from the Argentine superstar’s cabinet, after losing it to Germany in 2014 hosted by Brazil.
Many prominent personalities in the world of sports have praised the final in Qatar has one of the best football matches in the history of the sport. Best World Cup Final ever,” tweeted Usain Bolt with photos of himself wearing an Argentina jersey at Lusail Stadium.
English football legend Michael Owen on his Twitter handle said: “Congratulations Argentina. Incredible game. Surely the best ever final? Messi puts the top hat on an unbelievable career but spare a thought Mbappe, a hat trick in a World Cup final yet goes home empty handed.”
Gary Neville described the final as “one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in my life”. He continues by saying “Messi should be the centre of attention and it feels right that he has won a World Cup,” Neville told ITV. “It feels like destiny was there for him and he’s contributed enormous amounts during this tournament.
Jamie Carragher also tweeted: “One of the best games of all time!”
Bill Simmons also heaped praise on the tournament by saying: “ can’t remember an NBA or NFL final game where 2 all time guys were all time in the same game. This is really something!”
The world of entertainment also reacted to the final; Hugh Jackman described it as a “sensational tournament with herculean efforts by both teams” while Architects’ Sam Carter said: “What a truly unbelievable game of football! Best final I’ve ever seen. Congratulations Argentina.”
There were skepticism around the hosting from human rights group with Qatar being labeled as one of the most of the most unsafe destinations for travelers. In recent years after Qatar’s announcement has the host for the tournament, Qatar has come under fire for its treatment of migrant workers and reports of human rights abuses. In the Arabian state, women must request permission from male guardians to travel, work and marry. Freedom of speech and expression is conditional and limited in the gulf state. Migrant workers are at the mercy of their employers to leave the country and same-sex relationships and activity are criminalized. Despite criticism from the international community, Qatar’s World Cup ambassador and former footballer Khalid Salman defended the nation’s stance that LGBTQ activity is prohibited.
It is common knowledge that reporters have had issues trying to report freely and openly in Qatar before and during the tournament.
Norwegian outlet NRK also their own issues reporting from Qatar last year.
Two of their journalists, Halvor Ekeland and Lokman Ghorbani, were arraigned and later were imprisoned in Qatar over claims that the duo had been filming on private property.They were arrested for around 30 hours before they were finally released and sent back to Norway.
Grant Wahl was detained in Qatar for “nearly half an hour” ahead of the USMNT-Wales match on November 21, for wearing a rainbow shirt in support of the LGBTQ+ community. The host nation has stated everyone is welcome, including LGBTQ community, but that visitors should abide by the nation’s culture. Wahl eventually died while covering a match after collapsing in the stadium. He was reported to have gotten sick in Qatar before his death.
The host nation was reported to have spent a whooping $300 billion to organize the event and host football lovers from around the globe. This year’s competition will be remembered by many footballers as one of the best tournaments in footballing history with the intrigues and suspense it generated. Africa had the opportunity to make it’s mark at the competition, as Morocco became the first African team for cruise to the semifinals after defeating Portugal.
The competition might have been married by several controversies stemming from human rights concerns and violations; it did live up to the hype and the amount of money invested in making it tournament that will be remembered for a very long time in the world of sports..
