Merry Christmas everyone, it’s been a great year for football across European leagues and also with the biggest one that unifies the entire world, the 2022 FIFA World Cup that gave us a carnival of a show, we look at top moments from the World Cup as we celebrate Christmas.

The grand entry

So much was said about Qatar and the moral rights to host the rest of the world but at the end of the day, not many past editions can stand toe to toe with the just concluded event in Qatar but how about the sensational Opening Ceremony that reminded us all of the magic of humanity?

It’s okay to nurse biases against the Arab nation but the quality on display at the opening ceremony gave us enough heads up about what was to come and they didn’t drop the ball from start to finish, here’s everyone at our end saying thank you.

Team Morocco of Africa

Ignore all the antics of Moroccans claiming to be Arabs, they’re fully Africans and they can’t deny the continent the semifinal bragging rights.

Morocco flew the African flag till the very end, finishing fourth after losing to Croatia 2-1 in the third place match but their gritty wins over Spain and Portugal in the round of sixteen and quarter-finals respectively means they’ve broken a jinx.

England’s clean slate

Nearly every tournament that had English fans in attendance recorded stories of hooliganism and it’s something that dates back to inception but not a single incident of such was recorded in Qatar, could this be due to the ban of alcohol across stadiums?

England returned home after the quarter final exit in the hands of eventual finalists France without any record of hooliganism or violence, it’s a feat worth celebrating and future hosts would take a cue from the Qataris.

Football won in the end

Again, it’s important to bring up the stories that were raised against Qatar and one of them was the ban of LGTB related affairs.

It’s amazing how in the end, it’s all about the teams and players as well as the feeling of great show staged by the host nation. Maybe in truth, football can stand alone, away from drama and unnecessary unrelated affairs.