Sarah Taryam, Arts Editor

From Nov.20 up until Dec.18, the whole world was glued to their screens for the FIFA World Cup 2022 which was held in Qatar. This week we take a look at the thrilling final which saw Lionel Messi win his first ever World Cup with Argentina as well as some of the other highlights from the competition.

Right from the start of this World Cup there was so much excitement. When the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia beat Argentina 2-1 in the group stage on Nov.22, it was honestly like they had won the World Cup. There was so much happiness from all GCC and Arab countries who came together to celebrate KSA’s amazing win against one of the best teams in the world. It was not the best start for Argentina, but it’s football and things can change in the blink of an eye.

Another brilliant team to watch and support was Morocco who thrilled the whole of Africa and the Arab world when they made history by reaching the semifinals. They first beat Spain in the Group 16 stage and then went on to send Portugal home after knocking them out in the quarterfinals. They were beaten by France in the semifinals but what they achieved was simply fantastic.

Then came the thrilling final between France and Argentina. Lionel Messi was playing in his fifth and most probably final World Cup. Argentina has won the World Cup twice before in 1978 and 1986. The match was really exciting to watch with the teams ending up taking penalties and Argentina beating France. I think most people wanted Argentina to win because of Messi. He is a tremendous sportsman and he really deserved to have a win like this under his belt.