FIFA World Cup 2022
The first World Cup ever held in the Arab world, and the most compact in history. 32 teams, 64 matches, eight stadiums inside one small country, and an ending no one who watched it will forget: Lionel Messi finally lifting the trophy after the greatest final in living memory.
The Final
Argentina led 2-0 and looked home. Then Kylian Mbappé scored twice in 97 seconds to force extra time and completed a hat-trick, the first in a World Cup final since 1966. Messi scored twice. It went to penalties, Emiliano Martínez saved, and Argentina won their third title and first since 1986. Messi's last dance ended with the only trophy that had escaped him.
Moments to Remember
the ups and the downs"Where is Messi?"
On day two, Saudi Arabia beat the eventual champions 2-1. Fans poured into the streets and stopped reporters with one question that went around the world. Argentina lost their opener, then won everything after it.
Japan sink two champions
Japan came from behind to beat Germany, then Spain, and topped the group. Germany went out in the group stage for the second World Cup running.
Morocco, for the whole region
Morocco beat Belgium, then Spain on penalties, then Portugal, becoming the first African and Arab nation ever to reach a World Cup semifinal. By the end, half the world was supporting them.
Mbappé's hat-trick in a losing final
Three goals in the biggest game of his life, the first final hat-trick in 56 years, and he still finished on the losing side. That is how good Argentina were, and how strange football is.
Messi, at last
At 35, in his fifth and final World Cup, the best player of his generation got the one thing missing. Argentina's title was his. His last dance ended with the only trophy that had escaped him.
Eight Stadiums, 55 km Apart
The most concentrated World Cup ever staged, close enough to catch two matches in a day.
★ The Final Lusail Stadium
Opening Match Al Bayt Stadium
Demountable Stadium 974
Diamond in the Desert Education City
Patterned Facade Ahmad Bin Ali
Grand Old Venue Khalifa Int'l
The Gahfiya Cap Al Thumama
A Dhow's Sail Al Janoub
By the Numbers
Legacy
The most concentrated World Cup ever staged: eight stadiums within roughly 55 km, close enough to catch two matches in a day. Sustainability was the pitch, and the tournament's most radical idea was a stadium built to disappear.
Across the venues, seats are being removed and donated to football nations that need them. The tournament dismantled, and given away.
Stadium 974
Assembled from 974 shipping containers and modular steel, designed to be taken apart completely and shipped elsewhere, the first World Cup venue built to disappear. At the time of writing, it still stands.
Lusail, Reborn
The 88,966-seat final venue is being reconfigured toward about 40,000, its upper levels becoming shops, cafes, schools, and a health clinic.
Inside Lusail: In Conversation with Hatim Morsy-Fahmy
The client-side view of the golden bowl that hosted the greatest final in living memory, told by the man who helped deliver it.
Biggest Crowds in History: All-Time Stadium Attendance Records
Nearly 200,000 people once crammed into the Maracana for a single football match. That crowd can never happen again, and neither can most of the records on this list. Here are the biggest stadium crowds ever recorded, and why they are permanent.
Largest Stadiums in the World: 2026 Rankings
From Narendra Modi Stadium to the newly expanded Camp Nou, here are the biggest stadiums on Earth, ranked by capacity with the context that makes each one worth knowing.
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A MeetStadium retrospective. Sources: FIFA, Wikipedia, Foster + Partners.