t’s no longer news that FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 starts this Sunday, November 20, with 32 teams, including host country Qatar, competing in the tournament.

Played every four years, except in 1942 and 1946, due to World War II, the tournament has become one of the world’s favourite and most-watched games since its inception in 1930.

Here are five fun facts we think you should know about the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022:

• First-Ever World Cup in the Middle East

Qatar 2022 will be the first Middle-Eastern country and the second Asian country to host the games after South Korea/Japan in 2002.

Also, while Qatar has been a regular participant in the continental AFC Asian Cup, this is the first time the country will qualify for any FIFA World Cup game since its Independence in 1971.

• FIFA Winter is Coming

In the famous words of one of our favourite series of all time, Game of Thrones, “Winter is coming,” but in Qatar this time.

To avoid the intense Qatar summer heat that can be as high as 42 degrees, the tournament will be held in the winter season and from November to mid-December for the first time in the games’ history. Previous World Cup games were typically held in June and July.

• The Last World Cup Appearance of Our GOATs (Messi and Ronaldo)?

This might be the last World Cup two of football’s GOATs will ever play the game, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

For over a decade, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have dominated men’s football, winning 12 Ballon D’or out of 14 winners from 2008 to 2022. After a combination of 21 World Cup appearances between both footballers, Qatar 20222 is expected to be the last World Cup appearance for the GOATs.

• Semi-Automated Offside Technology

FIFA has approved a semi-automated offside technology that will reduce VAR offline decisions from 70 to 25 seconds. Twelve multi-tracking cameras will be mounted on the roof of each Stadium to track the ball and each player.

• Most Expensive World Cup Ever

Adding up the money spent on infrastructure, building new stadiums, and renovating old ones, it costs Qatar around $220 billion to host the Winter World Cup, making it the most expensive ever.

This is about 14.6 times the amount Brazil spent to host the 2014 World Cup. (Side note: this is what happens when you are one of the richest countries in the world).

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc beat the Dutchman’s team-mate Sergio Perez to secure second in the championship.

Leclerc, who was Verstappen’s title rival earlier this year before Ferrari’s season imploded in a flood of errors and reliability failures, held off Perez on divergent strategies to take second place.

Sebastian Vettel’s final race ended in disappointment, the four-time champion bemoaning what he felt was a poor strategy from Aston Martin.

Vettel took the final point for 10th place after Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes retired from fourth place with three laps to go.

Hamilton’s result means he has finished a season without a win for the first time in his career – ending a record only he held.

Verstappen’s win was his 15th of 2022, extending the new record he has set this year for wins in a single season.

“It was a good race,” said Verstappen. “It was all about tyre management. I think we looked after the mediums quite well and then on the hard tyres managing until the end.

“A 15th win of the season is unbelievable. It’s been really enjoyable to work with the whole team and to be able to achieve something like this. I know it is going to be hard to replicate but it is also very good motivation to try and do well again next year.”

Vettel’s 299th and final race fittingly ended in the points, although it could and should have been so much better for the German after qualifying five places ahead of team-mate Lance Stroll but finishing two places behind the Canadian in the race. 

The 53-time race winner’s one-stop strategy worked against him, but the point was at least some reward at the end of a weekend strewn with tributes for the retiring 35-year-old. 

“You know how it is. I wish I could have got a couple more points. I enjoyed the race. Bit of a different warm up to get to the race but when the lights went off, it was just the race,” Vettel said

“It’s a big day, a big thank you to everyone. Lots of smiley faces which is nice. I’m sure I will miss it more than I feel right now.”

Verstappen dominates as Leclerc earns runner-up consolation 

Verstappen dominated the race and his victory was never in doubt but the fight between Leclerc and Perez made for a tense finish to the race.

Ferrari chose a one-stop strategy for Leclerc, the same as Red Bull with Verstappen, while Perez stopped twice.

That left the Mexican to come back from a 23-second deficit in the final 24 laps if he was to beat Leclerc in a fight that would be decided on whoever finished ahead, as they went into the race tied on points.

Perez closed on the Ferrari at a second or so a lap and more for a while, but Leclerc measured his tyres with skill to cross the line 1.3 seconds ahead.

Many will feel he deserves second in the championship, as he has driven an outstanding season, winning three races to Perez’s two, and has had an inferior car to Perez for the vast majority of the year.

“We got it,” Leclerc said over the radio, obviously delighted. “Good job, guys.”

It was small consolation for Leclerc in a season in which he was 46 points ahead of Verstappen after just three races only to see his hopes evaporate in the following few events as Ferrari suffered a series of strategic errors and engine failures.

But Ferrari for once got their strategy right in Abu Dhabi.

They resisted the temptation to pit straight after Perez suffered a delay at his first stop and then traffic when he re-emerged – which would have given Leclerc a chance to stop the next time around and take second place.

Instead, they stuck to their pre-race plan of a one-stop strategy, and even dummied a pit stop to draw Perez, and made the one-stop work.

It was nail-biting for a while for Leclerc, especially as Perez took chunks out of his lead for several laps after his second pit stop, but he stayed calm and held on.

“It felt good, I was 100% sure we could do it,” said Leclerc. “We had a perfect race for us. I knew the only way to beat Checo was with tyre management and strategy we had a one stop and it really worked.

“I really hope next year we can do a step forward in the championship – we will push on in the winter break to catch Red Bull.”

A difficult end for Mercedes

Hamilton had a dramatic start to the race. He passed Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari off the line, only for the Spaniard to pass him back at the chicane at the end of the first long straight.

Hamilton then bounced over the kerbs at the corner – launching the car a metre or so into the air before crashing back. Hamilton felt the car had suffered damage, but Mercedes could not initially see any.

Hamilton cut the chicane and returned to the track in front of Sainz, only to be told he had to give the position back a couple of laps later.

Hamilton began to complain of a loss of power, and in tandem with over-working his tyres in his attacking first couple of laps, he lost pace and started to drop back and lost a place to team-mate George Russell.

Russell himself then had dramas, suffering a pit-stop delay, which led to an unsafe release in which he came close to colliding with McLaren’s Lando Norris, and for which he was given a five-second penalty.

Despite his early problems, Hamilton was on course to finish fourth on a one-stop strategy like Verstappen and Leclerc until he suffered a hydraulic failure in the closing stages.

That promoted Sainz and Russell to fourth and fifth ahead of Norris and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, which meant Alpine’s fourth place in the constructors’ championship was confirmed, ahead of McLaren and behind Mercedes.

Hosts Qatar opened the 2022 Fifa World Cup in calamitous fashion, easily beaten by Ecuador in a humbling defeat at Al Bayt.

Felix Sanchez’s men have been together in camp for the last six months to prepare for the tournament and work on tactics, but a nervous and disjointed performance led to a Group A loss.

With Africa Cup of Nations champions Senegal and three-time finalists the Netherlands to come, this looked like Qatar’s easiest game on paper but they were totally outplayed.

A dramatic opening to the contest saw Enner Valencia’s header from close range ruled out for offside by the video assistant referee, but the South Americans did break the deadlock shortly after.

Qatar’s erratic goalkeeper Saad Al Sheeb brought Valencia down in the box and the ex-West Ham forward stepped up to convert the spot-kick.

It got worse for the hosts as Valencia powered in another header before half-time to leave the Al Bayt Stadium silenced at the break.

Many supporters who had left the stadium at the interval did not return, leaving the ground around half empty for much of the second period.

It contributed to a flat atmosphere both off and on the pitch, with Romario Ibarra’s curling shot being pushed out by Al-Sheeb.

Star men Almoez Ali and captain Hassan Al Haydos were both substituted with 20 minutes remaining, and the side were unable to muster a shot on target.

Qatar’s dream turns to nightmare

After the controversies and conjecture, a football was finally kicked in the Qatar World Cup, 12 years on from being named as hosts.

A day that began with real excitement with the opening ceremony, Qatar’s dream turned into a nightmare as they became the first hosts in the competition’s history to lose their opening game.

The Asian champions, a tournament they won back in 2019, offered no threat in the final third and were unable to test Ecuador goalkeeper Hernan Galindez once. 

South Africa have been the only hosts not to make it out of the group in 2010, but Qatar could follow as the second with two difficult games left to play.

Ecuador, meanwhile, have set themselves up in a superb position to progress, extending their excellent recent form to one defeat in 16 games and keeping a clean sheet in their last seven.

They were clearly the better side and had the ball in the back of the net after 160 seconds, but Valencia’s close range header was ruled for offside by VAR.

There was confusion as to why the goal did not stand, but Felix Torres’ initial challenge with the goalkeeper fell to Michael Estrada in an offside position.

Ecuador were all over Qatar, whose goalkeeper Al Sheeb was particularly shaky and he brought down Valencia, who coolly rolled in the penalty.

Qatar barely had a sniff and their first shot came in anger when defender Abdelkarim Hassan strode forward but his effort from range was blazed wildly over.

Star man Ali, who scored nine goals in the Asian Cup triumph, struggled to get into the game and headed wide, while Pedro Miguel headed did the same in the second half.

With much of the crowd already leaving to go home, Akram Afif and substitute Mohammed Muntari both smashed over to bring to an end a disappointing opening evening for Qatar.

Camels, fireworks and Morgan Freeman.

The 2022 World Cup kicked off on Sunday with a visually striking opening ceremony at Al-Bayt Stadium ahead of the tournament’s first match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador. 

American actor Freeman featured in the festivities alongside Qatari YouTuber Ghanim Al-Muftah.

South Korean pop star Jung Kook sang Dreamers, the tournament song, alongside Qatari singer Fahad Al Kubaisi at the stadium in Al Khor. 

During the first dance routine, Freeman was greeted by cheers as he appeared in the stadium alongside Al Muftah, who was born with the rare Caudal Regression Syndrome.

“Everyone is welcome,” Freeman told the crowd.

One of the dance routines featured giant walking kits of the 32 teams competing in the tournament and the mascots of previous World Cups alongside La’eeb, the 2022 mascot. 

Jung Kook and Fahad Al Kubaisi performed together before Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani delivered the opening speech in Arabic. 

“People of different races, nationalities, creeds and orientations will gather here in Qatar and around screens on all continents to share the same exciting moments,” the emir told the crowd.

With just under 90 minutes remaining until the opening match of the tournament, the ceremony kicked off with Oscar-winning actor Freeman narrating a video about football’s ability to unite.

During the first dance routine, Freeman was greeted by cheers as he appeared in the stadium alongside Al Muftah, who was born with the rare Caudal Regression Syndrome.

“Everyone is welcome,” Freeman told the crowd.

One of the dance routines featured giant walking kits of the 32 teams competing in the tournament and the mascots of previous World Cups alongside La’eeb, the 2022 mascot. 

Jung Kook and Fahad Al Kubaisi performed together before Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani delivered the opening speech in Arabic. 

“People of different races, nationalities, creeds and orientations will gather here in Qatar and around screens on all continents to share the same exciting moments,” the emir told the crowd.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and the presidents of Egypt, Turkey and Algeria, as well as the United Nations secretary general, were among world leaders in the tent-shaped stadium ahead of the opening match. 

The 30-minute ceremony ended with a fireworks display and another dance routine before the Qatar and Ecuador teams took to the pitch to start their warm-ups. 

‘This opening ceremony seemed different and important’ – analysis

After all the challenges, allegations and doubts this was Qatar’s opportunity to welcome the world and present its case to a global audience of billions.

Despite its location plonked in the middle of a barren desert wasteland far away from anywhere, the Al-Bayt stadium does provide a jaw-dropping setting for the opening of the most controversial World Cup in history. It’s easy to see why it was chosen, designed in the shape and colours of a colossal Bedouin tent, home for nomads across the region. It is an architectural gem. 

Inside is just as eye-catching. A sea of maroon white with a large dash of yellow behind one of the goals where the Ecuador fans had gathered.

Opening ceremonies can seem an unnecessary distraction before the main event but this seemed different and important. After all that has gone before, the Qataris could not afford to slip up.

Persuading Morgan Freeman to narrate the show live in the stadium felt like a real coup. The mix of traditional and modern elements was seamless, featuring mascots and songs from previous World Cups a nice touch.

An appearance from South Korea’s K-pop megastar Jung Kook brought the youngsters to their feet but the biggest cheer was for the emir of Qatar when he arrived and waved to the crowd.

The country’s ruler welcomed people of all beliefs but there was no acknowledgment of the controversies that have dominated the build-up.

The Qataris we spoke to were also reluctant to engage in more negative topics, but they were both proud and excited. For the organisers, perhaps a brief sigh of relief.