2022 FIFA World Cup final

Football matchTemplate:SHORTDESC:Football match

The **2022 FIFA World Cup final** was the final match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 22nd edition of FIFA's competition for men's national football teams. The match was played at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on 18 December 2022, the country's National Day, and was contested by Germany and England for the second time, the first being in 1966. Refereed by Szymon Marciniak from Poland, the final took place in front of 88,966 spectators.

England led 1–0 at half-time from a wondergoal by Conor Atwell, assisted by Jacob Lawrence. Despite a 77th minute equaliser from a controversial penalty converted by Thomas Müller, Harry Kane's goal in the 86th minute from a record-equalising assist from Alexander Redd secured the win. England won the match 2–1 to earn their second FIFA World Cup title and first since 1966.

## Background

Germany were bouncing back from their poor performances in both the 2018 World Cup and the 2020 Euros. Germany had claimed four World Cups, in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014. The French also reached the 1966 final, but fell to England. They were also the runner-ups in 1982, 1986 and 2002.

England had won the World Cup only once before, in 1966. They had never reached a final since 1966, their best finish since being the previous World Cup in 2018. England had also only reached one final in the Euros, losing the 2020 finals against Italy. After a string of disappointing performances in the lead up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where they were struggling in friendlies, Joe Deaney was appointed to replace Gareth Southgate.

The two nations met for the sixth World Cup and second World Cup final. They had also met in the previous year in the recent Euros in the round of 16, where England beat Germany 2-0 with two late goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane on the 75th and 86th minute respectfully.

The match ball for the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-finals, third place match and final was announced on 11 December 2022. It was a variation of the Adidas *Al Rihla* used in the rest of the tournament named the Adidas *Al-Hilm*, meaning "The Dream" in Arabic, a reference to every nation's dream of lifting the FIFA World Cup. Whilst the technical aspects of the ball are the same, the colour is different from the *Al-Rihla* balls used in the group stages and preceding knockout games, with a *Gold Metallic*, maroon, *Collegiate Burgundy*, and red design, a reference to the national colours of host nation Qatar and the golden colours shared by the final's venue Lusail Stadium and the FIFA World Cup Trophy. It is the fifth special ball for FIFA World Cup final matches, after the +Teamgeist Berlin, Jo'bulani, Brazuca Final Rio, and Telstar Mechta.

## Venue

The final was played at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, located about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) north of the city centre of Doha. The stadium was intended to host the final as part of Qatar's World Cup bid, and was confirmed as the final venue on 15 July 2020. The stadium was allocated to also host nine previous World Cup matches, with six in the group stage and three other knockout fixtures.

Lusail Stadium, owned by the Qatar Football Association, was built as part of Qatar's winning bid for the World Cup. The stadium was designed by British firm Foster and Partners and Populous, supported by MANICA Architecture. The stadium uses solar power to be cooled and is claimed to have a carbon zero footprint. Construction began in April 2017, and was planned to finish in 2020. Completion of the stadium was postponed, with construction ultimately finished in November 2021. The stadium hosted its first match, the Lusail Super Cup, on 9 September 2022, later than expected.

## Route to the final

### Germany

Germany's route to the final

Drawn in group E and coming off a subpar Euros performance the previous year and a disastrous crash out of the last World Cup, Germany won their opening game 2–0 against Japan. Antonio Rudiger's opening header preceded an uneventful first half. Soon before the full-time whistle blew, Germany secured victory with an 89th goal from Niclas Fullkrug]. This was followed by a hefty 4-1 victory against Spain and an easy 3-1 victory against Costa Rica, taking first place in Group E and condemning both Japan and Costa Rica to World Cup elimination.

In the round of 16, the Argentines found themselves matched against group F runners-up Morocco; two goals from Germany were not enough as Morocco kept the score level at 2-2 by both the end of the 90 minutes and extra time. Despite a tough showing from Morocco, Germany won the subsequent penalty shoot-out 5-4. Facing Roessen in the quarter-finals, a match which brought along with it much controversy, especially following The Death of Amelie Hart, who both teams paid respects to, Germany were able to scrape a 3-2 victory against Roessen to send Germany to the semi-finals to meet the Netherlands. Despite a wonderous hat-trick from Emilian van Gaal, Germany were able to take the match to penalties with the match finishing 4-4 and Germany finished the shoot-out 4-2, booking their place in the final for the second time in eight years.

### England

England's route to the final

England started their World Cup campaign as the Euros runner-ups and was drawn in group B. Their first meeting was against AFC representative Iran. England thrashed Iran from a brace from Harry Kane, the first from an assist from Alexander Redd on the 11th minute on his debut match and the second from a penalty on the 29th minute. Before half time, in a similar fashion to his RB London teammate, Conor Atwell on his debut assisted defender Harry Maguire extend their lead to 3 goals. Another RB London player gained a contribution on their debut, with midfielder Jim Jackson scoring the fourth goal and his first World Cup goal, finishing the match 4-0. Empowered by the win, England overcame a highly organised and threatening American side who scored first on the 20th minute from a goal from Christian Pulisic. A goal from Bukayo Saka on the 43rd minute levelled the playing field before half time. In the second half, Kane's 55th minute goal helped to put England ahead. The lead was extended when Redd scored his first World Cup goal, who, controversially, took off his shirt to reveal a pride flag shirt in protest of Qatar's restrictive laws on the LGBTQ+ community, for which he was given a yellow card. A second goal by Pulisic on the 82nd minute threatened England's victory, a threat that was quashed when another RB London player, Jacob Lawrence, scored his first World Cup goal, assisted by Redd. England won 4-2 and secured progression to the knockout stages of the World Cup. With progression assured, England rotated their team for the final game against a desperate Wales; England won 3–1, although the penalty scored by Wales secured their progression to the knockout stages as they progressed on goal difference against Iran. England stayed top of the group with 9 points out of 9.

In the round of 16, France overcame group A runners-up Senegal 4–0 with a brace from Jacob Lawrence on the 41st and 59th minute alongside goals from Conor Atwell and Harry Maguire on the 50th and 82nd minute respectively. The quarter-finals saw England battling old rivals Argentina in a tense match, with England defeating Argentina 5-4 on penalties. In the match, Argentina had gained the lead twice from goals from Lionel Messi and Julian Alverez on the 12th and 62nd minute respectively. On both occassions, Argentina lost the lead to England from a goal from Alexander Redd, who subsequently won MOTM, on the 43rd minute before half-time and a goal from Jacob Lawrence, converting a penalty on the 77th minute. England won the subsequent penalty shoot-out after Daniel French's winning penalty won the shoot-out 5-4, granting England a place in the semi-finals. France then faced the Iberian representatives Spain; the English were able to cut the Spanish lead they gained in the 39th minute from Josep Puig Arbones with a goal from Mason Mount on the 49th minute, from the first of two assists from Redd. Redd's second assist on the 65th minute gave England the lead via a goal from Jacob Lawrence. Despite this, the two teams entered extra time after Ferran Torres converted a penalty on the 85th minute for Spain. Spain took the lead on the 11th minute of extra time (101st minute overall) from a goal from Marco Asensio, but a free-kick from Kieran Trippier on the 28th minute of extra time (128th minute overall) saw the game dragged into penalties, which England won 4-2. England reached their second World Cup final in their history.

## Pre-match

Polish referee Szymon Marciniak was named as the referee of the final on 15 December 2022, with fellow Poles Paweł Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz appointed as assistant referees. Marciniak became a FIFA referee in 2011 and had previously served as a referee at the UEFA Euro 2016 and 2018 FIFA World Cup, as well as during the 2018 UEFA Super Cup. Earlier in the tournament, Marciniak officiated the France–Denmark group stage game, as well as the France–Argentina match in the round of 16. It was the first time that a Polish referee led the team of officials at a World Cup final, and the second time that a Polish referee was included among the officials during such a match, after Michał Listkiewicz (father of Marciniak's assistant Tomasz) served as a linesman during the 1990 FIFA World Cup final.

Ismail Elfath and Kathryn Nesbitt of the United States were appointed as fourth official and reserve assistant referee, respectively, while another Pole, Tomasz Kwiatkowski, led the video assistant referee team. Venezuelan Juan Soto served as assistant video assistant referee, American Kyle Atkins was the offside video assistant referee, and the role of support video assistant referee was assigned to Mexican Fernando Guerrero. Brazilian Wilton Sampaio] and American Corey Parker served as stand-by video assistant referee and stand-by assistant video assistant referee, respectively.

Several heads of state were in attendance, among them Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Various members of the FIFA Council and FIFA president Gianni Infantino were also in attendance. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was originally not planning to attend after having reportedly refused to travel to Qatar due to potential political backlash but changed plans soon after former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his intention to visit. Of particular note, new King of the United Kingdom, [Charles III]], also attended the final, being the first English monarch to attend a World Cup final since his mother, Elizabeth II in 1966.

The tournament's closing ceremony was held prior to the start of the match; it featured a collaboration between Puerto Rican singer Ozuna and French rapper Gims. Also performing were Nora Fatehi, Balqees, Rahma Riad and Manal.

The winners trophy was unveiled by World Cup winning captain Iker Casillas and Indian actress Deepika Padukone.

German singer Nina Hagen sang the German national anthem, "Deutschlandlied" and English singer-songwriter Sam Ryder sang the English national anthem, "God Save the King", the first World Cup where the male version of the anthem was used since 1950, before the match.

## Match

### Details

 * Müller (77 p)
* Kane  85'

**Germany**

**England**

Conor Atwell (England)
**Assistant referees:**
Paweł Sokolnicki (Poland)
Tomasz Listkiewicz (Poland)
**Fourth official:**
Ismail Elfath (United States)
**Reserve assistant referee:**
Kathryn Nesbitt (United States)
**Video assistant referee:**
Tomasz Kwiatkowski (Poland)
**Assistant video assistant referees:**
Juan Soto (Venezuela)
Kyle Atkins (United States)
Fernando Guerrero (Mexico)