World Cup Fever

With stadiums bathed in brilliance, record-breaking performances, and remarkable upsets, the biggest event captured the hearts of billions worldwide, delivering a month-long celebration of football that will be etched in history. Kicking off in November with a spectacular opening ceremony at the iconic stadium, the tournament was a stunning showcase of the region's ability to host a major global sporting event. Despite initial concerns, the country's state-of-the-art infrastructure, innovative cooling technology, and meticulous planning ensured optimal playing conditions for athletes and an unforgettable experience for fans.

Over a month after Argentina’s win led by Lionel Messi at Qatar World Cup 2022, Ronaldinho, the Brazilian expressed his joy over the achievement of his former Barcelona teammate.

At World Cup 2022, Messi, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner ultimately took home the coveted prize. He always wanted this after he had inspired his nation to their first win in the Championship in 1986 during the reign of Diego Maradona.

FIFA World Cup 2022 was a huge success, despite controversies surrounding it. The tournament ended with a total of 32 teams competing in the final, which included one surprise participant. The FIFA World Cup 2022 has finally concluded after providing every one of the iconic games and memories that fans will appreciate eternally, as nobody expected this tournament to be this mouth-watering despite being engulfed by controversies.

It was believed that 4.6 billion people watched Argentina’s 4-2 penalty shootout victory over France, after the game ended in an agonizing 3-3 stalemate in extra time. FIFA did everything possible to ensure that this World Cup is among the greatest in football history. This year’s FIFA World Cup 2022 generated a total of $7.5 billion in commercial partnerships and sales, a $1 billion increase over the previous World Cup in 2018.

With the FIFA World Cup 2022 set to kick off in a little under three weeks, the excitement is starting to mount ahead of the quadrennial extravaganza. The qualified teams will soon start naming squads for the tournament, with a few nations already releasing the provisional rosters. Spain manager Luis Enrique will be keeping a close eye on proceedings over the next couple of weeks as he will be naming his final squad for the World Cup on November 10. Of the many major decisions that Lucho will have to take, the left-back position will pose a major challenge for the former Barcelona manager, given the riches that Spain have in that position.

Indeed, the likes of Jose Gaya, Jordi Alba, Marcos Alonso, Marc Cucurella and Javi Galan are some of the options that could be in contention for a spot in the Spain squad. But according to La Razon, another new name has been thrown into the ring and that is none other than Barcelona youngster Alejandro Balde. The 18-year-old is enjoying a fine breakthrough campaign at Barça, becoming the first-choice left-back under Xavi Hernandez ahead of Alba and Alonso. So far, he has played 11 times in all competitions for the Catalans, registering three assists in the process.

Every time the tournament rolls around there are inevitably a couple of young players who stand out and make the entire world take note. With only a couple of months to go until another highly-anticipated World Cup, we’ve taken a look at some players under the age of 23 who are set to shine on the biggest stage.
Jude Bellingham – England

Bellingham has been a wonderkid for so long it’s a wonder he’s still a kid. But that he is, a mere 19 years old with stacks of potential. Real Madrid, Manchester City and Liverpool have been linked incessantly with the teenager, who enjoyed another strong season with Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga in 2021-22 and has started well this term.
Eduardo Camavinga – France
If you’re at Real Madrid at 19 and cost €40million you’re doing pretty well. That’s very much the case for Camavinga, who is one of European football’s brightest prospects and has been for some time.
Aurelien Tchouameni – France

Neymar Jr. has a lot of pressure on his shoulders during the 2022-23 season as the 30-year-old won’t be counted on to help Paris Saint-Germain to help them win the UEFA Champions League, but there’s also the FIFA World Cup in November. The tournament in Qatar will mark Neymar’s third and could be his last. Nonetheless, former World Cup winner and fellow Brazilian Ronaldo believes that the Seleção could win the competition with the PSG star focused and healthy during an interview with Olé.

Ronaldo told the Argentine publication that the Brazilian team is going to be the favorite in any competition because of the talent they have. He also added that he thinks if Neymar is 100 percent physically and focused on the World Cup, the Brazilian national team will have a good chance of winning the title. The former striker also stated that the Selecao have a great assembly of players overall but the team is different not only physically but also technically. According to Ronaldo, if Neymar does arrives well, he will make the difference and the chances of the Brazil national team winning the world cup will increase a lot.

Beer with alcohol is expected to be sold at World Cup stadiums in Qatar but fans may be allowed to take only non-alcoholic drinks to their seats. FIFA and Qatari organizers are still working on plans to serve all fans who want to drink at games when the tournament starts in November in the Muslim-majority country. Hospitality packages offering premium beverages at stadiums have been sold since February 2021 but a policy for most fans at the eight venues and long-time World Cup sponsor Budweiser still needs to be finalized less than five months before the tournament.

The favored option is serving beer with alcohol in stadium compounds before and after games and allowing fans to take non-alcoholic Budweiser Zero to their seats. We will be confirming and making things official in due course, FIFA said on Friday in a statement. FIFA said designs are still being looked into of possible branding for drinking containers fans would hold in areas that will be broadcast to hundreds of millions of viewers. The 2022 World Cup is the first in the tournament's 92-year history to be played in a Muslim country with such strict social taboos around alcohol.

Wales will make a return to the World Cup stage in Qatar at the end of this year after they qualified by beating Ukraine in the playoffs. The Welsh team would be at the World Cup 2022 tournament in Qatar after seeing off Austria and Ukraine in their playoff path. Wales have qualified for the World Cup tournament for the first time in over six decades.

The Welsh team qualified for the European playoffs ahead of the World Cup 2022 tournament after finishing second behind Belgium in their group. They were then drawn with Austria, Ukraine and fellow Home Nations Scotland in path A of the World Cup 2022 playoffs in the European section. Wales got Austria in the one of the semifinals, while Scotland and Ukraine were drawn together in the other semifinal.

Immediate past world champions Germany have been handed a tricky group after the draw for the World Cup 2022 tournament in Qatar was held on the first day of last month. The Germans won the World Cup title for the fourth time in their history at the 2014 edition in Brazil to draw level with Italy and move one behind Brazil who have won the most World Cup tournaments. The Brazilians have won five World Cup titles, but they have not been able to add to the five titles since beating Germany 2-0 in the 2002 World Cup final to win their fifth title.

For the World Cup 2022 tournament on Qatari soil, five-time winners Germany have been drawn in the same group alongside fellow former winners Spain, Asian nation Japan and the winner of the inter-confederation playoffs between New Zealand and Costa Rica. The Germans are in Group E for the World Cup 2022 tournament

Bukayo Saka and Granit Xhaka were prominent as Arsenal beat Manchester United 3-1 at home to boost their top-four hopes at the end of this season. Both Saka and Xhaka found the back of the net as they help fire the Gunners to an important win in the Premier League as they try to reach their target of a top-four spot at the end of the season.

Arsenal made a bright start when controversial Portuguese fullback Nuno Tavares scored for the home team inside three minutes after Saka capitalised on the uncertain defending from the Manchester United duo of Alex Telles and Raphael Varane to get his shot away with David De Gea saving it in the United goal before Tavares scored the rebound from close range.