Maybe this blog will rank higher because there aren’t similar headlines online. The 2022 World Cup was anything but boring - with drama and upsets in the group stages through an unbelievable final game, world football showed why it is the most popular sporting event on the planet. The aftermath is short-lived as domestic football returns this weekend, but the impact of this World Cup will last for generations to come. Messi has gone down in history as one of the greats (if not the greatest ever) and an African team reached the semifinals for the first time ever. Personally, I feel more of my peers and loved ones were more invested in the World Cup than I had ever experienced. My friends will forever remember Messi triumphing in 2022. With USA set to host the 2026 edition, this World Cup was exactly what America needed to take us to the next level.
Gameplay
Coming into the World Cup, I wondered how exhausted players would be after condensed domestic league schedules. Many players were injured shortly before the games and unable to participate. This gave countries like Japan and Morocco opportunities to defeat teams they were not expected to beat. The gameplay; however, wasn’t hindered and the elite quality of these athletes was on display. The group stages provided plenty of entertainment and saw 6 countries out of 16 advance into the knockout rounds from North America, Asia, or Africa. Meanwhile, aging legends like Robert Lewandowski and Gareth Bale scored their first-career World Cup goals while Canada scored its first-ever goal in the tournament’s history.
The knockout rounds of the tournament were memorable and frankly a roller coaster. With the exception of Morocco shocking Spain in penalties, most of the Round of 16 matches went as expected. Brazil were poised to face Argentina in the semifinals while England and France took care of business as two of the tournament’s scariest teams. The quarterfinals might go down as the best 4 games in World Cup history - Croatia came back in extra time to shock Brazil in penalty kicks, The Netherlands came back down 2-0 only to lose in penalties to Argentina, Harry Kane missed a penalty late in the game and fell to France in a heartbreaker (Spursy), and Morocco once again shocked the world by beating Portugal and sending Cristiano Ronaldo home in his final cup.
Argentina and France handled Croatia and Morocco with relative ease to square off in the final. Messi vs Mbappe led the headlines and it did not disappoint. Mbappe scored twice late to send the game into extra time, only for Messi to score, only for Mbappe to score again for a hat trick. Argentina came out on top after penalty kicks to cap off what most are calling the best World Cup they’ve ever witnessed.
This has been lost in the aftermath of the game, but Argentina’s second goal in the final is one of the best I’ve ever seen. They played perfect pass after perfect pass - no team in the world would’ve stopped their buildup.
The American Impact
Like the annoying wannabe hipster I am, I used to get annoyed when people who didn’t regularly watch soccer suddenly got all excited for the World Cup. I can blame immaturity on that, but I’ve also come to realize there’s absolutely nothing wrong with people casually watching the game. As a matter of fact, that is the most crucial component to continuing the growth of football in America. I felt and observed more interest from other Americans than all the previous cups combined. American viewership records were set during the tournament and virtually everyone seemed to know when USA were playing. Americans even showed up to bars at 6:00 am to watch us play.
The interest in the World Cup didn’t end after USA were eliminated, either. Bars were also filled early in the morning for the final. The game started for me at 8:00 am and we had a group of 8 watching on the couch with a majority that doesn’t typically follow soccer. When I sat on it after, the impact hit me a bit. We had an entire group waking up super early on a Sunday to watch a soccer game between countries they have no affiliations with. I’ve never seen anything like that before, and it happened all across America.
Our women’s team looks to defend its World Cup title next summer while we’re set to host the men’s tournament in 3.5 years. People from all over the globe will visit various North American cities and the buzz will be impossible to escape. Games will come on at more reasonable viewing times. Best of all, the USMNT is young and promising. They were one of the youngest teams in the cup and continue to develop talent like never before. Many expect Americans to be playing for some of Europe’s biggest clubs while the MLS keeps growing in talent and popularity. The hype may die down in the near future, but this World Cup sparked a new wave of American interest in soccer. It will inspire even more kids to play and it’ll encourage more adults to follow. The impact of the World Cup was felt across the globe, and I feel grateful to have experienced the joy of the tournament with countless Americans.