FIFA 2022 Men’s World Cup Highlights: Photos From The Final & Series

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December 19, 2022 10:09AM EST

Soccer fans, unite! It’s time for the World Cup and we’ve got highlight photos from the big event!

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FIFA 2022 Men’s World Cup: Highlights From The Opening Ceremony & Beyond

FIFA 2022 Men’s World Cup: Highlights From The Opening Ceremony & Beyond — GOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL! Soccer fans around the world all know the sound of that four-letter word!

The FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar pits 32 teamed against each other across 64 matches for an entire month of non-stop football action. The action started on November 20, 2022, through the championship match on December 18th and we have all the highlights from the world’s most popular sporting competition!

Five-time champions, Brazil headed into the competition as tournament favorites, but it was Lionel Messi’s Argentina who came out on top. And there were some amazing under-dog stories, like Morroco’s rise to the first African and Arab nation to make the semi-finals.

Take a look at the most dramatic moments onthe field right here. Catch photos of all the action here.

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Messi and His Family Celebrate

Messi and His Family Celebrate — Lionel Messi of Argentina poses for a selfie with his wife and children after a stunning world cup final against France.

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Argentina v France, FIFA World Cup 2022, Final, Football, Lusail Stadium, Al Daayen, Qatar – 18 Dec 2022

Argentina v France, FIFA World Cup 2022, Final, Football, Lusail Stadium, Al Daayen, Qatar – 18 Dec 2022 — Editorial Use Only
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Kieran McManus/Shutterstock (13670809hp)
Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates with his family after winning the World Cup
Argentina v France, FIFA World Cup 2022, Final, Football, Lusail Stadium, Al Daayen, Qatar – 18 Dec 2022

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Argentina v France, FIFA World Cup 2022, Final, Football, Lusail Stadium, Al Daayen, Qatar – 18 Dec 2022

Argentina v France, FIFA World Cup 2022, Final, Football, Lusail Stadium, Al Daayen, Qatar – 18 Dec 2022 — Editorial Use Only
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Kieran McManus/Shutterstock (13670809hi)
Lionel Messi lifts the trophy after Argentina win the World Cup
Argentina v France, FIFA World Cup 2022, Final, Football, Lusail Stadium, Al Daayen, Qatar – 18 Dec 2022

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A Family Affair

A Family Affair — Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates with his children.

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Les Bleus Battled Hard

Les Bleus Battled Hard — French President Emmanuel Macron (L) comforts Kylian Mbappe of France after the penalty shoot-out of the FIFA World Cup 2022 Final between Argentina and France

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VICTORY!

VICTORY! — Argentina players celebrate victory as Lionel Messi of Argentina dropped to his knees

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What Maradona Curse?? Argentina Wins In Penalties

What Maradona Curse?? Argentina Wins In Penalties — Argentina players celebrate victory with Sergio Aguero.

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Not So Fast Argentina!

Not So Fast Argentina! — Kylian Mbappe of France celebrates after scoring to make it 2-2.

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Antonela Looks On

Antonela Looks On — Antonela Roccuzzo (C), wife of Lionel Messi of Argentina, arrives for the FIFA World Cup 2022 Final between Argentina and France

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Emmanuel Approves…Let The Game Final Begin

Emmanuel Approves…Let The Game Final Begin — President of France Emmanuel Macron gives a thumbs up alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

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France Plays To Win

France Plays To Win — Kylian Mbappe of France played the ball around Sofyan Amrabat of Morocco in this shot. France won the fame 2 to 0, pushing them to the finals in a show off with Argentina.

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Morocco Fails To Clear The Ball

Morocco Fails To Clear The Ball — Close call! Hakim Ziyech of Morocco failed to clear the ball as Marcus Thuram of France ran the ball into the box during the Dec. 14, 2022 semifinal game.

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Argentina On The Brink

Argentina On The Brink — Rodrigo De Paul hugs Lionel Messi as Argentina celebrates Julian Alvarez of Argentina scoring a second goal to make it 3-0 and sends them to their first World Cup final since 2014.

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Argentina v Croatia

Argentina v Croatia — Argentina fans cheering in the stands before kick-off!

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All Smiles From The Stands

All Smiles From The Stands — Antonela Roccuzzo, the wife of Lionel Messi of Argentina, gestures ahead of the semi-final between Argentina and Croatia.

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Kylian Was Feeling It!

Kylian Was Feeling It! — Kylian Mbappe was all smiles after France’s win over England in penalties.

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France Planning To Repeat

France Planning To Repeat — Players of France storm the pitch and celebrate after winning the Quarterfinal between England.

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Morocco’s Run Extends to Semis

Morocco’s Run Extends to Semis — Morocco made history by becoming the first African nation and the first Arab nation to reach a World Cup semifinal. Since the first World Cup in 1930, only European and South American teams have made the final.

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It’s Not Coming Home

It’s Not Coming Home — Olivier Giroud (L) of France comforts Mason Mount of England after the Quarterfinal between England and France. Unfortunately, The Three Lions did not advance after a tense penalty kick battle.

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Representing All Soccer Moms!

Representing All Soccer Moms! — Sofiane Boufal of Morocco celebrates with his mom on the pitch after Morocco’s stunning win over Portugal 1-0.

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Remembering Grant Wahl

Remembering Grant Wahl — Flowers and a picture of the journalist Grant Wahl of the United States who collapsed and died in the stadium’s press area while covering the match between Argentina and Netherlands are seen in the media tribune during the Quarterfinal between England and France on Dec 10., 2022.

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What’s Next For CR7?

What’s Next For CR7? — Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, who was named on the bench again for their quarter-final, exits the World Cup in tears as he leaves the field in tears at the end of the game.

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Portugal’s Run Comes To An End

Portugal’s Run Comes To An End — Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal looks dejected at full-time as the exhausted Morocco players look in shock at progressing to the Semi-Finals.

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Following In His Dad’s Footsteps

Following In His Dad’s Footsteps — Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou of Morocco’s young son enjoys playing on the pitch in his father’s gloves after the game.

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Argentina Battles

Argentina Battles — Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero celebrate with fans at the stadium after Argentina advances to the semi-final with a win over The Netherlands in penalty kicks.

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Things Got A Bit Messi At The End

Things Got A Bit Messi At The End — Lionel Messi of Argentina exchanges words with Dutch manager Louis van Gaal of the Netherlands after the match. The Argentine player said he felt “disrespected” by Louis and blasted the referee after Argentina beat the Dutch 4-3 on penalties in a thrilling World Cup quarterfinal.

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The End of The Road For The Netherlands

The End of The Road For The Netherlands — A very emotional, Nathan Ake, Virgil van Dijk, Teun Koopmeiners, Steven Berghuis, Denzel Dumfries, and Wout Weghorst fall short to advance after the quarterfinal match between Argentina.

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Croatia Triumphs In Penalties

Croatia Triumphs In Penalties — Croatia players celebrate with the Croatia backroom team and friends and family on the pitch after winning the penalty shootout against tournament faves, Brazil.

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Brazillian Upset

Brazillian Upset — Five-time World Cup champions and tournament favorites, Brazil were visibly emotional on the pitch after losing the penalty shootout against Croatia.

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Gonçalo Rises To The Occasion

Gonçalo Rises To The Occasion — Gonçalo Ramos, nicknamed “Pistoleiro” by fans, got the nod to start in place of captain Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal v Switzerland. Long story short, he left the pitch with the match ball following a hat trick and 6-1 win over the Swiss.

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Ronaldo Cheers From The Bench

Ronaldo Cheers From The Bench — Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal cheers from the sidelines during their clash with Switzerland. Head coach, Fernando Santos expressed frustration with his 37-year-old star the day before he dropped him from the starting lineup. The move paid off though, as Portugal defeated the Swiss 6-1 and moved on to the quarter-finals.

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A Legend is Born

A Legend is Born — No matter who lifts the cup at the end of the tournament, goalkeeper Yassine Bounou of Morocco will be remembered for his impenetrable defense. He held Spain to ZERO goals during their tense shootout.

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Spain Goes Down on Penalty Kicks…Again

Spain Goes Down on Penalty Kicks…Again — Achraf Hakimi of Morocco scores the winning strike in the penalty shootout against Spain. As the only continental African nation remaining, Morocco’s Cinderella run moved on to the quarter-finals.

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Showing Love To The Greatest of Them All

Showing Love To The Greatest of Them All — After their 4-1 win against South Korea, team Brazil holds a banner showing love and support for Pele who was hospitalized at the time.

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Brazil Faces a Worthy Opponent In South Korea

Brazil Faces a Worthy Opponent In South Korea — South Korean football fans cheer their team during the street cheering event between Brazil and South Korea at the Gwanghwamun square in Seoul. About 30,000 South Korean fans gathered for the match but Brazil beat South Korea by 4-1.

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Excited England Fans at BOXPARK

Excited England Fans at BOXPARK — Back in the UK, England fans full of emotion celebrate as England scores against Senegal.

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Fans of The Lions of Teranga

Fans of The Lions of Teranga — Meanwhile, Senegalese fans were not so happy as their team fail to advance after losing to the Three Lions, 3-0.

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Find Your True Love In Football (…or Soccer)

Find Your True Love In Football (…or Soccer) — Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud share a moment after France scores against Poland. Les Bleus move on after a 3-1 win.

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Japan’s Historic Run Ends

Japan’s Historic Run Ends — Japanese players bow to their fans after being defeated by Croatia after a battle that ended in penalty kicks (3-1).

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Argentina Moves On

Argentina Moves On — Right winger and striker, Lionel Messi gets support from the fans of Argentina during the match versus Australia aka The Socceroos. Argentina advanced 2-1.

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Disappointment for the USA

Disappointment for the USA — In the first match of the knockout round, Christian Pulisic (front R) of the United States, weeps next to head coach Gregg Berhalter after losing to the Netherlands. The USA failed to advance but their future looks bright. See y’all in 2026!

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Cameroon Tops Brazil

Cameroon Tops Brazil — A shirtless Vincent Aboubakar of Cameroon celebrates his goal against tournament favorite, Brazil. Unfortunately, it was not enough for his team to make it to the Round of 16.

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Germany’s End Comes Early

Germany’s End Comes Early — Thomas Mueller of Germany salutes fans after the match with Costa Rica. The Germans won the match 4-2 but failed to qualify for the next stage.

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Female Referees Make History

Female Referees Make History — France’s Stéphanie Frappart made history on Thursday as the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match. Alongside assistants Neuza Back from Brazil and Karen Diaz from Mexico.

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Qatar Al Rayyan 2022 World Cup Group B Wal vs Eng – 29 Nov 2022

Qatar Al Rayyan 2022 World Cup Group B Wal vs Eng – 29 Nov 2022 — Fans of England cheer before the Group B match between Wales. The England national football team are called ‘The Three Lions’ because of their iconic crest, which features ….three lions.

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Captain America

Captain America — Christian Pulisic’s heroic goal sinks Iran and propels USMNT into the round of 16.

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USA On The Brink

USA On The Brink — USA fans are seen celebrating in the stands after Christian Pulisic gives the USMT life in a must-win match.

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Brazil Moves On

Brazil Moves On — Casemiro’s goal against Switzerland secured Brazil’s record 17th consecutive unbeaten game in the group stages despite being without captain Neymar, who was out due to injury.

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Protestor Makes a Run For It

Protestor Makes a Run For It — A man carrying a rainbow flag and wearing a T-shirt in support of Iranian women ran into the pitch during Portugal v Uruguay match.

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Hair Goals

Hair Goals — Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo appears to have scored his side’s opening goal which was later credited to Bruno Fernandes. Portugal moves on to the knock out round after defeating Uruguay 2-0.

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Morocco Stuns Belgium

Morocco Stuns Belgium — Abdelhamid Sabiri of Morocco celebrates scoring the opening goal. Morocco pulled off the upset, toppling Belgium, 2-0.

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Oh Canada!

Oh Canada! — Fans celebrate Alphonso Davies scoring Canada’s only goal in the tournament. Croatia scored two goals near the end of the first half and went on to eliminate Canada with a 4-1 victory.

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Argentina and Mexico Battle

Argentina and Mexico Battle — A fan showing support for both soccer powerhouses. Argentina defeated Mexico 2-0.

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The Three Lions Meet The USA

The Three Lions Meet The USA — Fans celebrate the highly anticipated matchup but USMNT held England to a scoreless draw.

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Brazil Enters The Chat

Brazil Enters The Chat — Brazil celebrates a 2-0 victory at the end of their opening match against Serbia.

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Japan Stuns Germany

Japan Stuns Germany — Japan fans celebrate at full-time after a stunning German defeat.

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Early Struggles for Argentina

Early Struggles for Argentina — Lionel Messi scratches his head in wonder as tournament favorite, Argentina loses to Saudi Arabia in a Group C match-up.

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Saudi Arabian Upset

Saudi Arabian Upset — Saudi Arabian fans celebrate a win over soccer powerhouse, Argentina 1-0 in Group C’s opening match.

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VIVA MEXICO!

VIVA MEXICO! — All smiles from a few fans that traveled far to support Mexico aka ‘El Tri’.

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Iranian Players Make A Statement

Iranian Players Make A Statement — Iran players remain silent during the national anthem in apparent protest at the Iranian regime.

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Team USA’s Cup Debut

Team USA’s Cup Debut — The USMNT was forced to settle in their opening World Cup match for a 1-1 draw v. Wales.

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Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony — BTS‘ Jung Kook Debut New Single ’Dreamers’ at the Opening Ceremony at the Al Bayt Stadium.

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