As the first World Cup held in the Arab World and the most compact tournament ever, the FIFA Qatar World Cup 2022 was always going to be momentous.
And after 64 matches, a number of historic firsts were made and numerous records broken (many of which have been claimed by the GOAT Lionel Messi).
The World Cup Qatar 2022 will definitely go down in history, especially with Saudi’s win over now-champions Argentina.
Here, we’ve rounded up the most notable so you can brush up on your football knowledge and impress your mates.
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All the historic firsts and records broken at Qatar 2022
First time Saudi won their opening match in a World Cup final competition
History was made when Saudi beat Argentina 2 to 1 in an milestone opening match. Not only was it the first time the Green Falcons won an opening match in the World Cup final, it was against the now-Qatar 2022 World Champions. The incredible win resulted in a public holiday in the Kingdom.
Highest number of goals at a FIFA World Cup
172 goals were scored over the 64 matches. The previous highest total of 171 was reached in 1998 and 2014.
We don’t expect Qatar 2022 will hold onto this title for long, however, as the FIFA World Cup 2026 will feature a whopping 48 teams in the group stages.
First time countries from all continents qualified for the knockout stage
UEFA had eight teams qualify, AFC had three, CONMEBOL two, CAF two, and Concacaf one. It was record breaking for the AFC, too, as the first time three nations – Australia, Japan and South Korea – reached the knockout stages.
First time an African team reached the semi-finals
Morocco made history this tournament, becoming the first African team to reach the semi-finals.
First all-female refereeing team at a men’s FIFA World Cup game
Referee Stéphanie Frappart, along with assistants Neuza Back and Karen Diaz, made history at Costa Rica v Germany.
First male player to score at five editions of the World Cup
Cristiano Ronaldo made history after his goal against Ghana on November 24.
Highest number of FIFA World Cup appearances for a goalkeeper
With 20 World Cup appearances, Hugo Lloris claimed this record at the World Cup final. He is also France’s all-time record caps holder, at 143, surpassing Lilian Thuram at 142.
…and all the records claimed by Lionel Messi at Qatar 2022
With 26 appearances, Messi is now the all-time record appearance maker in World Cup history. Nineteen of those appearances have been as captain, another record overtaking Rafa Marquez (17), and Diego Maradona (16).
That’s helped him claim the title having played the most minutes in World Cup history at 2,314, overtaking Paolo Maldini’s record of 2,217 minutes.
He’s also the first player to score in the group stage, round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in a single World Cup edition.
Messi is the only player to register an assist in five World Cups, and the only player to score in the World Cup in his teens, 20s and 30s.
The Argentina captain is the first player in history to be handed the Golden Ball award twice (in 2014 and 2022), and he has been handed the Player of the Match award a record 11 times.
