The clock is ticking down on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with a mouth-watering finale on Sunday between Argentina and defending champions France.
This year’s event has been “the best ever”, said Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, football’s global governing body, speaking of its “unique, cohesive power” and “transformative legacy”.
A wide spread of countries made it to the tournament’s knockout phase. Morocco had a historic run, becoming the first Arab and African team to reach a World Cup semifinal.
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first man to score at five World Cups, kicking in a penalty against Ghana in a Group H match that Portugal won 3-2.
Lionel Messi became the top-scorer for Argentina in World Cups with 11 goals, surpassing the previous record of Gabriel Batistuta (10), after scoring his fifth goal in this edition against Croatia.
France’s Olivier Giroud became his country’s top goalscorer with 52 goals, in the game against Poland, and extended that record to 53 goals during the quarterfinal against England.
Here, we have highlighted the best moments of the beautiful game as seen by Al Jazeera photographers.
