On The Way To Qatar 2022 - Interesting facts Quiz

Answer: True

The last time this had happened was back in 1934, when Italy debuted in the World Cup by hosting the second edition. From then onwards, all of the successive stagings were hosted by nations that took part at least in one previous edition.

It's also the second World Cup held in Asia, although the time span isn't so big: 20 years prior, Japan and South Korea co-hosted the 2002 World Cup, the first Asian edition of the competition.

Answer: Yes

Qatar, the sole debutant, was granted qualification automatically as hosts of the tournament (they didn't need to win the qualifiers to enter). The remaining 31 nations, who all earnt their spot through their respective confederations' qualifiers, had all played the World Cup before.
Qatar, however, did play the first two rounds of the qualifying stage at request of the Asian Football Confederation, as that also acted as qualification for the 2023 Asian Cup.

Answer: Italy

The "Azzurri" were strong candidates to contend in the World Cup, but the world was shocked when they lost to North Macedonia in the second round play-offs, thus becoming the first former champion to miss two consecutive World Cups in 44 years (the previous case was England, champion in 1966, which failed to qualify for the 1974 and 1978 editions).

The other three nations, all of them former champions, qualified for the 2022 tournament. Germany was the only other one that had won the Cup four times.

Answer: Wales

The "Red Dragons" had only participated in the 1958 edition (coincidentally, all four British countries played in that tournament) and made it to the round of 8, where they lost to Brazil 1-0. The only goal of that match was scored by the Brazilian legend Pelé, being his first goal in the finals. The only other British nation that qualified for the 2022 edition was England.

Ah, and about that clue regarding the town, yes, I'm talking about the town named Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch!

Answer: Australia

Australia joined FIFA for the 1966 edition, but it wouldn't qualify to a World Cup until 1974, as a member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). After that, it stringed a long chain of near-misses since it was stipulated that the OFC qualifiiers winner would have to face a South American team in a play off match, which were generally stronger than the Australians (who, in turn, were usually the stronger team in the conference).

In 2006 Australia moved to the AFC after some negotiations, seeing that change as the most viable way for Australian football to progress. The decision proved to be fruitful, as Australia, after that sole participation in 1974, qualified for five editions in a row: 2006-2010-2014-2018-2022.

Answer: South Korea

The "Red Devils" debut took place in 1954, with dissappointing results: they ended at the bottom of the table, without even scoring a single goal. After a long absence, they returned for the 1986 Cup, and have qualified for all the subsequent editions up to 2022, including the one hosted jointly with Japan in 2002, where they finished in fourth place. That performance, however, was marred by controversy over some refereeing decisions in their knockout matches against Italy and Spain. The other nations that reached the mark of 10 straight appearances were Brazil, Germany, Spain, Argentina and Italy (despite not having qualified for the 2022 edition, it appeared in 14 consecutive editions between 1962 and 2014).

Answer: Canada

Yet another "red" team in this quiz! Canada had an impressive run and topped the final table after the third round of the CONCACAF qualifying process, ahead of Mexico and the USA. This has marked the first time that all three countries in North America qualified for the same World Cup.

The Canucks' previous World Cup campaign, back in 1986, saw them exiting the tournament without any points or goals scored.

Answer: First edition with female referees

Qatar 2022 was the first instalment of the FIFA World Cup that included female referees - Salima Mukansanga (Rwanda), Yamashita Yoshimi (Japan), and Stephanie Frappart (France). There are also three female assistant referees - Neuza Back (Brazil), Karen Diaz Medina (Mexico), and Kathryn Nesbitt (USA).

These six are the first women to referee in a major men's tournament. In total there were 36 referees and 69 assistant referees appointed to the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

Answer: Saudi Arabia

Half of Qatar's 26 players were part of Al-Sadd, the country's most well known local team. In total, 6 Qatari teams are represented in the whole squad. As for Saudi Arabia, the situation is pretty similar, with almost half the squad coming from Al-Hilal, the most decorated Asian team, having won 65 official trophies.

The other one of the option that deserves a particular note is England: if it weren't for Jude Bellingham, who was playing at Borussia Dortmund at the time, their whole squad would also consist of domestic league players.

Answer: Senegal

Of the 26 players called up to play for Senegal's national team, 10 were playing for clubs in England, and the rest were spread between French, Spanish, German, Italian, and other European leagues. None of the players were playing in Senegalese teams.