Hi guys!
Now, I’m aware that most of you readers out there are from the USA. Thus, international soccer (or “football,” as the rest of the world calls it) might not be the first sport on your mind. England vs. US often takes second to the Seahawks vs. Buccaneers. However, for many people elsewhere, soccer is the single most popular sport. World Atlas ranks it as the top sport in the world, with 3.5 billion fans. Second place isn’t even close - Cricket, with 2.5 billion fans. Sorry, American football followers, you didn’t even make the list.
With 3.5 billion fans, it’s no surprise that the world cup is the single biggest sporting event on earth. This event occurs every four years, and at least people tune in to see countries face off on the soccer field. Men like Christiano Renaldo and Lionel Messi have achieved worldwide fame for their soccer skills, with the former being the most-followed person on Instagram. It easily tops the Olympics, with the FIFA (soccer’s governing body) president estimating that 5 billion people will watch the World Cup, and an average of at least 60,000 watchers of every match.
And it doesn’t appear the World Cup 2022 is an exception.
This time around, the world cup is proving to be as controversial and chaotic as a US super bowl. Here’s a lowdown of the event so far.
Before the World Cup even opened, the controversy began. 12 years ago, tiny but rich Qatar won the rights to hosting the world cup, and became the first Middle-Eastern country to do so. Unfortunately, only a few days before the competition started, the Qatar royal family asked that alcohol stations be moved from their prominence at the stadiums. This was, reportedly, because Qatar felt it would “unsettle” the locals, and “represent a potential security problem.” The main problem with this decision? One of the world cup’s biggest sponsors is Budweiser, a popular beer company. They were concerned about the new changes, since it would likely hurt their profits. It increased the tension between the World Cup and its sponsor, but fortunately, the issues were smoothed out and a compromise was found. The Qatar World Cup 2022 began on November 21st with little issues off the field. On the field, though, the chaos began.
So far, this World Cup has been a relative disaster for many of the old guards of soccer. Many of the best teams have fallen to lesser ones. This includes, most principally, the Argentina national team, led by Lionel Messi. They were one of the top picks for the victory this year, and Messi is one of the most popular players around.
Then, Argentina lost.
Saudi Arabia won an upset victory over Messi and his team, damaging their chances for making it to the final. The team left the field in shock, while the Saudis cheered with delirium over their unexpected victory. Then, Germany was defeated by Japan, dashing their chances to make it to the final. Finally, you gotta feel bad for Qatar - they’re the hosts of the whole shebang, and they were the first team to be eliminated. Ouch.
The US team is doing surprisingly well, having pulled off two draws when losses were expected. Currently, the top 4 contenders for the victory are Portugal (with Christiano Renaldo, most followed Instagrammer), England, France and Ecuador. France won the 2018 World Cup, so they’re generally considered to have the best chances.