To weigh up whether a tournament has caught the public’s imagination is usually a simple endeavour. Were there lots of goals? Was there a plentiful supply of memorable games?
Was there ideally some shock upsets along the way causing chaos in the live betting markets? Were legends made before our eyes, and did the players already viewed as legends shine? Were the fans noisy and colourful, adding to the spectacle?
These are the metrics used to determine if a competition will induce warm nostalgia in years to come. If it will be recalled fondly.
Only then we arrive at Qatar 2022 and what should be a straightforward assessment becomes a complicated business. As for predicting how this winter’s events will be looked back on in decades to come, that only prompts wild guesswork.
The most likely legacy of this World Cup – should we indulge in such speculation – is that it will be remembered as an oddity.
Held for the first time ever in December there was an unsettling novelty value in seeing Brazil be Brazil, and the Three Lions break their nation’s heart so close to Christmas.
Factor in the controversial location and the widespread condemnation of the hosts’ questionable human rights record and no doubt a certain sense of bemusement is forever destined to accompany this competition. A bemusement that it ever took place.
Perhaps though, in the slipstream of that puzzlement, we will then consider the final, truly a grandstand finish if ever there was one.
We’ll think back on Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick, yet still ending on the losing side. Of Lionel Messi completing a career of unparalleled excellence.
Who makes our 2022 World Cup Team of the Tournament?@SteTudor123 picks his Best XI from Qatar 2022 - do you agree with his squad?https://t.co/cRbkMIlaMP
— 888sport (@888sport) December 19, 2022
In decades to come we will think back to the most thrilling finale of any World Cup and we will surely smile.
Does that therefore justify Qatar’s colossal investment of €200 billion to stage the tournament, amidst accusations of sportswashing and earlier allegations of corruption in order to secure the bidding rights?
It’s a ludicrously expensive smile if so and if you’ll excuse the flippancy, it could be argued that buying every football supporter across the globe a lollipop would have proven cheaper and been much less seismic for all concerned.
Furthermore, for all the positive PR that a six-goal final has provided it still amounts to a pyrrhic victory given that during these past few weeks an enormous spotlight has focused on Qatar and its failings.
Indeed, this self-induced reputational smearing began when the whole sorry narrative took hold in 2010 when the disgraced FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced the next two tournament hosts, the first – Russia – to general consternation, the latter to outright stupefaction.
Qatar had never once qualified for a World Cup and was by no means considered to be a footballing nation.
More so, there was no infrastructure in place to host such an expansive three-week festival, and there were additionally some serious logistical problems to overcome, namely a severe climate that made competitive sport nigh-on impossible during the summer.
When Qatar reneged on their far-fetched intention to imagine air-conditioned stadia and the tournament was moved to the winter, whispers of wrongdoing turned to genuine global anger.
In the years thereafter articles began to appear, increasing in number and gravity, detailing the deplorable suffering endured by migrant workers building the stadiums.
In November, with the World Cup underway, the Guardian estimated the death toll to be in the thousands.
Alongside this distressing revelation, concerns were also raised about Qatar’s archaic stance on LGBTQ+ rights, concerns that escalated when rainbow armbands were banned by FIFA and any rainbow clothing on fans were prohibited from grounds.
Lastly, and most insignificantly, just 24 hours before the tournament kicked off, Qatar u-turned on a vow to allow alcohol inside stadiums.
For some balance regarding the beer ban, there were precisely no English arrests throughout Qatar ’22 and that can only be viewed as a refreshing change but still, this was the exceedingly low bar on which hopes for a successful World Cup was set.
Many resented the domestic club calendar being disrupted. Many had sincere ethical doubts. Many struggled to feel excited about a tournament whose sole remit is to excite.
That low bar remained at knee height for the tournament’s opener that was regrettably ill-attended.
As stated at the top, one of the main criteria needed for a buoyant and unforgettable World Cup is for fans to provide the passion and the colour and here there was neither, the atmosphere flat throughout.
In truth, stadiums across Qatar were only three-quarters full until the competition reached its later stages.
But then, as if a spark ignited, the football began to kick in, its drama inevitably taking over conversations and finally occupying the main space. Two days in, Saudi Arabia beat Argentina and did so courtesy of a goal that deserves iconic status.
Just 24 hours later, Japan showed little regard for the World Cup betting and bested Germany, much-fancied and, well, Germany. If anything was going to get pulses flowing, it was upsets and here were two in quick succession.
With a trend set, the group stages became unmissable television, full of surprise results such as Morocco trumping Belgium, and Australia dumping Denmark out of contention.
When the free-scoring, and the late twists, and the penalty shoot-outs elevated the knock-out rounds into blockbuster fare we were hooked, adopting underdogs Morocco all the way to the last four; enthralled by Messi and Mbappe duking it out to claim Qatar ’22 as their own.
And then finally came the final, and though strangely some of the most popular World Cups in living memory have ultimately led to a disappointing anti-climax, it can be said for sure that Qatar needed a remarkable send-off and boy did it get one.
All told, and on reflection, there were many positives to take from this past month, not least the emergence of African and Asian teams as forces to be reckoned with.
Individually, superstars ran the show and that’s always welcomed but elsewhere underdogs certainly had their days.
It will be interesting therefore to see how Qatar ’22 is eventually forged in time, the suspicion being that history will be unkind on the hosts, but recall the actual football with a smile. A ludicrously expensive one as it goes.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*
