Once again, the world’s most highly anticipated football tournament is on the horizon. Unfortunately, the unquenchable anticipation of all football fans around the globe has been slightly overshadowed by the deep controversy surrounding the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Stories of corruption and slavery have proliferated through the media and concerns about Qatar’s human rights record are rampant, however, despite this, I am here to explain to you why this year’s World Cup is bound to be one to remember for all the right reasons. Here’s why this World Cup is special…
The Time of Year
Over the past few months many fans have been wondering, why is this year’s World Cup in November? Well, the answer to this question is related to the scorching hot summer temperatures in Qatar that can reach upwards of 40°C. Teams simply could not play in those kinds of temperatures and so the tournament will be played in the cooler winter months. This is one of the reasons why this year’s World Cup will be special; a winter tournament means a Christmas World Cup. With the World Cup final a mere week before Christmas Day, this compelling fusion of Christmas and football will inevitably culminate in a World Cup like no other.
The Location
Despite the controversy surrounding the host country, Qatar, the location of the 2022 World Cup is likely to make this year’s World Cup a special one for both fans going to watch the games live and players alike. As Qatar is not historically a football-playing country, there is currently a distinct lack of suitable football stadiums to host World Cup games. This means that 7 out of the 8 stadiums being used for the World Cup have been constructed in the past 3 years. As a consequence of this, the technology in these stadiums is state of the art with all eight stadiums being fully air-conditioned and purified. With just 75km separating the furthest apart stadiums, fans will also be able to watch multiple games on the same day which is not usually the case.
Messi and Ronaldo
The two titans of the footballing world locking horns for what will be the final time. What more could you ask for from a World Cup? In what is expected to be both players’ last World Cup, both players will be absolutely craving a World Cup final win. This sentiment will be particularly heightened in Messi’s case as he has never won a World Cup despite Argentina having won 23 international tournaments and Argentina being one of the consistent favourites to win the competition. Keep in mind, a Messi vs Ronaldo final is a possibility – one which has football fans all over the world salivating.
Teams and Players
Possibly the largest contributing factor to why this World Cup is special is the raw quality and talent in some of the sides participating in this year’s World Cup. The juxtaposition between the old and new generation is particularly pronounced this year with the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, and Bale facing off against younger talent such as Gavi, Vinicius Junior, and Bellingham. The Barcelona superstar Pedri is without a doubt one to keep your eye on with him increasing Barcelona’s expected goals per game from 1.39 to 2.12. Many of the sides competing in the tournament are relatively evenly matched which should lead to some thrilling games.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, these are the reasons why this World Cup is special. No matter what happens at the tournament, it is guaranteed to be unique. On that note, have a fantastic World Cup everybody!