Occurring every 4 years, the World Cup is one of the most anticipated sports events on the planet. Soccer teams from various countries travel to the host country to play for the title of world champion. Fans from all over the world travel many miles to watch the games live while others watch from home on their televisions. The games started on November 20 and will end on December 18. This year the World Cup is being held in Qatar, a small country located on the Arabian Peninsula. The stadium built for the games received the name 974 as it is the dialing code for Qatar as well as the number of shipping containers used to build the stadium. This stadium is unique because it is being built to eventually be taken down. The stadium is planned to be used temporarily for the World Cup then will be dismantled. The infrastructure will be shipped to other countries that need it. The stadium may be repurposed as a few smaller stadiums in other areas. This is commendable because typically these stadiums face criticism when the games are over and they are left unused, which was the case for Russia and Brazil. The building of these stadiums is expensive and takes a toll on the environment because the energy put into them contributes to carbon emissions. Building the stadiums is also very harsh on the people who build them. The labor is extremely difficult and the workers on these immense infrastructures are often underpaid. 

This year’s World Cup is also unique as it takes place in the fall rather than the winter because Qatar’s extreme heat during the summer would pose a danger to the athletes and be uncomfortable for the spectators. League officials were upset by this because it interfered with the soccer calendar, and disrupted the Champions League by compressing its traditional schedule. 

How does the tournament work? There are 32 teams competing, which are divided into 8 groups of four. In the first stage the teams play each other in their group, and the top 2 teams advance to the group of 16. Three points are awarded to a team for a win, one point for a tie, and zero for a loss. Some very exciting games have occurred already. Some include Saudi Arabia’s win against Argentina, South Korea’s win against Portugal, and Brazil’s 4-1 win over South Korea. 

This year’s World Cup will be sad for many fans and players as some of the biggest names in soccer are speculated to be saying farewell to the World Cup this year. Argentina’s Lionel Messi announced that Qatar 2022 will be his final World Cup. Although it has not been confirmed, many speculate that this will be the last World Cup for Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo as well as Brazil’s Neymar Junior. This year’s games are very important for these icons because they want to win for their country and their fans, especially as it is their last cup. Neymar hopes to play well and advance to the finals this year as his dreams were cut short in both 2014 and 2018 as he suffered from injuries. As many soccer fans have been debating whether Ronaldo or Messi is the better player for years they hope to see them face off in the final round of the tournament. Some other big names have confirmed that this will be their final World Cup tournament. These players include Dani Alves, Luka Modric, Thiago Silva, Luis Saurez, Manuel Neuer, Olivier Giroud, Edinson Cavani, Hugo Lloris, and Képler Laveran Lima Ferreira, who is more popularly known as Pepe. 

Overall this year’s World Cup will be an exciting one to watch as we say goodbye to many beloved players and welcome the next generation of soccer players. The World will be watching on December 18th when the winning team claims their title as World Champion.