Congratulations to the Argentina side and to Lionel Messi on winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Messi has announced this will “almost certainly” be his last match at a World Cup. After 17 years he is finally on the winning team. Messi is awarded the golden ball award. Argentina goal-keeper Emiliano Martínez wins the Golden Glove and Argentina’s Enzo Fernández wins the FIFA Young Player Award. France’s Kylian Mbappé wins the golden boot.
35-year-old Messi is rumored to be headed for the MLS in 2024 to play for David Beckham’s Inter Miami.
This World Cup has been enjoyable to watch. The time difference allowed for stimulating television during the workday as the matches were televised from 4am eastern time. Morocco and Croatia reaching the semi-final round produced surprising and exciting football.
I have two complaints with the FOX Sports coverage:
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- The inability to hear the voices of the non-English speaking interviewees. Aggravatingly there was some woman’s voice completely drowning out the speaker. I wanted to hear the person speaking. The translation should’ve come when the speaker concluded.
- Cameras showing the least interesting thing happening. Far too often the viewer was stuck watching a player or fans when something relevant – a fight, a penalty, an interview, an injury – just weren’t shown, or were shown so as the action ended. For example, the broadcast team told us Lionel Messi had a microphone and was addressing the crowd. We were looking at Mbappe’s face instead. There were entirely too many occasions throughout the tournament of this type.
The Qatar games have been controversial. The graft and corruption involved in the awarding of the games to Qatar was well-documented and much discussed. The papers were filled with stories of the mistreatment of the migrants who labored to build the city and stadiums and facilities for the games. The last-minute ban on beer sales at the stadiums, the ban on LGBTQ+ rainbow flag paraphernalia, and talk of human rights violations did not put a damper on the games in the end.