The 22nd edition of FIFA World Cup has started from 20th November, Sunday night in Qatar. The one-month-long World Cup began with a grand opening ceremony at the Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar.
In the opening session, a tableau with Qatari culture was presented. Qatar's King Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani opened the World Cup with a formal speech.
In the opening session which lasted for 40 minutes, Jung Kook of the world famous South Korean band BTS and Qatari singer Fahad Al Qubaisi performed the opening session.
On the opening occasion, a presentation was shown including the culture of the 32 countries participating in the World Cup, the past host countries and Qatar World Cup volunteers. Famous artist Morgan Freeman and local artists Ghanim Al Mufta and Dana gave different speeches about hope, unity and patience.
A separate mascot of the Qatar World Cup was also announced at the opening ceremony. After getting the right to host the World Cup in 2010, Qatar invested heavily in infrastructure and other areas to make the World Cup a success.
For this, Qatar invested heavily in the construction of seven new state-of-the-art stadiums, hotels, roads and other infrastructure. Qatar has spent two trillion US dollars for the World Cup, which is the most invested so far.
Qatar has also installed technology to limit the temperature of the stadium to an average of 25 degrees Celsius during the opening ceremony. Middle East Asia hosted the World Cup for the first time.
Earlier, the 2002 World Cup was jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea. 32 teams selected from 211 countries are participating in Qatar World Cup.
Qatar got the chance to participate as the host. The teams participating in the World Cup are divided into eight groups. There will be a total of 64 matches between the participating teams until the final.
The winning team of the Qatar World Cup will receive a prize of 42 million US dollars (about 5.45 billion rupees). This amount is four million US dollars more than the 21st edition of 2018.
The winner will receive an attractive 6.1 kg gold-studded trophy along with cash. This trophy is purely a running trophy. Only if a country wins the World Cup three times in a row will they be able to carry the Sakkali trophy forever.
Similarly, the runner-up will get USD 30 million, the third runner-up USD 27 million and the fourth runner-up USD 25 million.
There have been 21 editions of the World Cup so far, and only 8 countries have won the title. So far, Brazil has won the World Cup the most 5 times, Italy and Germany (including West Germany) 4 times, and Uruguay, Argentina and France have won the World Cup the same time. England and Spain have won the World Cup 1 time each. So far, 13 nations have played in the World Cup finals. Five nations have failed to reach the finals.
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Sweden, Netherlands, and Croatia have reached the finals of the World Cup but have not won the title. As the host, the Gulf country Qatar, which is going to play the World Cup directly, has built a stadium with different features to fascinate the spectators for the World Cup despite the challenges. For the first time in the history of the World Cup, the World Cup is being held in the winter season. Due to extreme heat in Qatar, the World Cup is going to be held in winter this time.
All the stadiums will be powered by solar panels. A state-of-the-art humidification system has been installed to provide relief from the heat. All eight stadiums where the World Cup will be played are located 21 miles (33.79 km) from Doha. All stadiums are connected to metro and tram systems. Due to this, supporters will be able to watch more games. In the Qatar World Cup this time too, like in the previous edition, 64 matches are being contested.
Benzema Ruled Out from World Cup 2022:
France's star forwards Karim Benzema has been ruled out of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which starts on November 20. Benzema is another big name to miss the World Cup after suffering a thigh injury during training. Christopher Nkunku is also out. Randall Kolo Muani has been included in the team in his place. Midfielders Paul Pogba and Angola Kante are also not in the team due to injuries. Defender Rafael Bharan is trying to make a comeback.
The France Football Federation (FFF) said that he has a thigh problem and will not be able to participate in the tournament. "The entire team shares Karim's grief and wishes for his speedy recovery," the statement said. An MRI scan confirmed the thigh muscle injury. It will take at least three weeks to heal completely. The injury of 34-year-old Benzema, who scored 37 goals in 97 games for France, is another setback for the World Cup.
Due to injury, Benzema has not played many games this season. Benzema, who has been training with the team since last week, suffered an injury in training on Saturday. Benzema then underwent a medical examination. "I'm very sad for Karim, who will miss this World Cup," said Deschamps, adding that despite this new setback, I have full confidence in my group. We will do everything to face the great challenge that awaits us.
Benzema, who won the Champions League and La Liga for Real Madrid last season, won the 2022 Ballon d'Or and was the best player of the year. In Group D, France will play against Australia on November 22, Denmark on November 26, and Tunisia on November 30.
Senegal captain Sadio Mane also ruled out of World Cup 2022:
Senegal captain Sadio Mane will miss the 2022 World Cup. Sadio Mane will miss the World Cup despite being in the team due to injury. Two weeks ago, Mane, the forward of Bayern Munich, was injured in a match against Werder Bremen in the German Bundesliga. However, including him, Senegal announced the team that will play in the World Cup.
He will miss all the World Cup matches after undergoing foot surgery on Thursday. Along with this, Senegal, which is in Group A, has received a big shock. Mane's best performance led Senegal to the World Cup. However, Senegal is going to play World Cup football regardless.
Group 'A' includes hosts Qatar, Ecuador, and the Netherlands along with Senegal. Senegal will play their first match against the Netherlands on November 5. Similarly, Senegal, who will play against Qatar on the 9th, will play against Ecuador on the 13th of November
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