(VOVWORLD) - The World Cup 2022 ended Sunday night in Qatar with the championship belonging to Argentina. In many ways this year’s World Cup was the most prolific in history.
 Lionel Messi wins the 2022 World Cup Golden Ball. (Photo: Getty) |
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 had the highest number of goals ever scored in a World Cup. There were 6 goals in the final between Argentina and France. 172 goals were scored in total, one more than the 171 scored in the 1998 and 2014 editions.
With this years’ victory, Argentine superstar Lionel Messi joined an elite club of players who have won the World Cup, the Champions League (C1 Cup) and the Ballon d'Or.
Messi also became the first player in FIFA World Cup history to score in the group stage, the round of 16, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, and the final itself. He surpassed Lothar Mathaus of Germany for most World Cup matches played.
Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal became the first player to score in 5 different World Cup editions (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022).
The 2022 World Cup witnessed the "Morocco phenomenon": Morocco became the first African country to make the World Cup semi-finals by beating Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals.
Stephanie Frappart of France became the first woman to referee a men's World Cup game in the match between Costa Rica and Germany.
The 2022 World Cup also set some sad records, however. 18 yellow cards were issued by Spanish referee Antonio Lohoz in the quarter-final between Argentina and Netherlands, the most yellow cards issued in a single match in World Cup history.
FIFA said this year’s tournament has been the most popular in World Cup history. And this year the World Cup was held for the very first time in a Middle Eastern country - Qatar.