To avoid the extremes of Qatar's hot and humid climate in summers,[3] the event was held in November and December, becoming the first one to take place outside the traditional months of May, June, and July.

The tournament has been considered exceptionally poetic as the capstone of his career, with the win fulfilling for some commentators a previously unmet criterion to be regarded as the greatest player of all time.

[59] In an April 2013 report by Merrill Lynch, the organisers in Qatar requested that FIFA approve a smaller number of stadiums due to the growing costs.

[97] Italy, four-time winners and reigning European champions, failed to qualify for a second successive World Cup for the first time in their history, losing in the qualification play-off semi-finals.

Italy were also the fourth team to have failed to qualify for the upcoming World Cup after having won the previous UEFA European Championship, following Czechoslovakia in 1978, Denmark in 1994, and Greece in 2006.

[111] The draw was attended by 2,000 guests and was led by Carli Lloyd, Jermaine Jenas and sports broadcaster Samantha Johnson, assisted by the likes of Cafu (Brazil), Lothar Matthäus (Germany), Adel Ahmed Malalla (Qatar), Ali Daei (Iran), Bora Milutinović (Serbia/Mexico), Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria), Rabah Madjer (Algeria), and Tim Cahill (Australia).

[120] France's Stéphanie Frappart, Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda, and Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan became the first female referees to be appointed to a men's World Cup.

After an early penalty kick was converted by Germany's İlkay Gündoğan, Japan scored two second-half goals by Ritsu Dōan and Takuma Asano in a 2–1 win.

In the second half, goals by Yeltsin Tejeda and Juan Vargas gave Costa Rica a 2–1 lead, which would have qualified them into the knockout stages ahead of Spain.

[243][244][245] H.E Ambassador Dr. Hend Al-Muftah, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Office at Geneva, explained to WIPO Magazine that the tournament provided an opportunity to "promote our culture and showcase our signature hospitality in a multicultural environment", and highlighted that the country has used sports to demonstrate its "commitment to sustainable development, social inclusion and the values of community and mutual respect among peoples from different cultures and nations.

[248] On 12 April 2022, FIFA released an over-the-top media service and app revolving around the World Cup called FIFA+, where fans could play games, predict matches, and compete with others.

[296] The fourth song is "Light The Sky" performed by Nora Fatehi, Manal, Rahma Riad, and Balqees, composed by RedOne and released on 7 October 2022 along with the music video.

[299][300] Criticism of the 2022 FIFA World Cup focused on Qatar's human-rights record,[301] namely their treatment of migrant workers,[301] women, and position on LGBT rights,[302] leading to allegations of sportswashing.

[7][306] Boycotts of the event were declared by several countries, clubs, and individual players,[304][305] with former FIFA president Sepp Blatter twice stating that giving Qatar hosting rights was a "mistake".

[313][314] In August 2018, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter claimed that Qatar had used "black ops", suggesting that the bid committee had cheated to win the hosting rights.

[315] Some investigations found that Qatar sought an edge in securing hosting by hiring a former CIA officer turned private contractor, Kevin Chalker, to spy on rival bid teams and key football officials who picked the winner in 2010.

[325] Qatar's World Cup chief executive of the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Nasser Al Khater, stated that the purpose of the designated sobering-up areas was to ensure the fans' safety.

[327] Multiple news agencies described the controversy as a "cultural clash" between social conservatism and Islamic morality against the "norms" of secular Western liberal democracies.

[340][342][343][344][345] The climate conditions caused some to call hosting the tournament in Qatar infeasible, with initial plans for air-conditioned stadiums giving way to a potential date switch from summer to November and December.

In a Netflix documentary series "FIFA Uncovered," Almajid claims that Hassan Al Thawadi, who led Qatar's bid, offered €2.3 million each to Issa Hayatou of Cameroon, Jacques Anouma of Ivory Coast, and Amos Adamu of Nigeria in exchange for their votes.

[352] On November 2, 2022, Swiss media outlet SRF Investigativ published an investigative piece about Qatar's elaborate and extensive espionage operation to secure the World Cup hosting rights.

The operation, which was dubbed Project Merciless, involved hacking emails and phones of FIFA officials and critics of Qatar's corruption and poor human rights record.

[367] Others have asserted that Qatar has a better human rights record than Russia and China, which were subjected to less harsh criticism for the same problems when hosting important athletic events in the years before the tournament.

[374] Frank Lowy, chairman of Football Federation Australia, said that if the 2022 World Cup were moved to November and thus upset the schedule of the A-League, they would seek compensation from FIFA.

Russia was prohibited from hosting international competitions, and the national team was ordered to play all home matches behind closed doors in neutral countries.

[412] The main controversy came from a last-minute FIFA decision to hand out player punishments to European captains who had months earlier announced their intention to continue wearing rainbow-colored armbands (which began in 2020) in support of anti-discrimination.

[430] In November 2022, the Qatari government revoked the visas of journalists from a London-based Iranian news channel, Iran International, known for being critical of the regime, who were seeking to cover the World Cup.

[432] These included t-shirts and signs with "Woman, Life, Freedom" embedded onto them, Iran's previous flags, or any slogans containing the name of Mahsa Amini.

In one case, Qatari police detained Danish TV presenter, Rasmus Tantholdt, for filming fans with "Woman, Life, Freedom" slogans, some of whom who had been earlier abused by a group of pro-government supporters.

[446][447] The lack of suitable and affordable accommodation raised demand for daily shuttle flights from neighboring areas, such as Dubai, that had adequate numbers of hotel rooms.