FIFA President Gianni Infantino has proclaimed the 2022 World Cup group stage to be the best in the competition's history.
This year's group stage saw some of the biggest upsets in competition history, including Saudi Arabia's win over Argentina, Japan's win over Germany, and Belgium's loss to Morocco.
There was also drama in the final round of matches, as qualification for the last 16 in some of the groups came down to the wire, and Infantino says there has never been a World Cup like it.
"I have seen all of the matches, and to put it simply and clearly, this has been the best FIFA World Cup group stage ever." So it's looking good for the rest of the FIFA World Cup.""We knew the matches were going to be great, great quality in beautiful stadiums. The audience, on the other hand, was incredible. On average, over 51,000."
"There are no longer small or large teams," Infantino added.
"The playing field is extremely level. For the first time in history, national teams from all continents will compete in the knock-out phase. This demonstrates that football is truly becoming a global phenomenon."
The total attendance for the 48 group matches was 2.45 million, according to FIFA, though there have been concerns about the number of empty seats visible at some games."When it comes to stadium attendance, the stadiums are sold out, practically every match," Infantino added. People are celebrating and enjoying (themselves) at the fan festivals and different fan zones."
The World Cup has advanced to the quarterfinals, with matches beginning on Friday.
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Lionel Messi joins Sergio Aguero's live Twitch stream and things got wholesome
Lionel Messi joined Sergio Aguero's Twitch live stream ahead of Argentina's upcoming quarterfinal match against the Netherlands, and things between the two got seriously wholesome.
For the first time since 2006, Messi has been absent from a major tournament without his good friend and former international teammate Aguero.
After being diagnosed with heart arrhythmia, the 34-year-old former Manchester City and Barcelona forward announced his retirement last year.
Months later, Aguero traveled to Qatar to support Argentina's national team, though he was disappointed not to be able to meet Messi and Di Maria when he first arrived.Argentina has beaten Poland and Mexico in the group stages and secured a place in the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win over Australia last weekend.
Lionel Messi and co. gathered on Twitch ahead of Friday night's game against Louis van Gaal's Netherlands.
They had a lengthy conversation in the room they used to share. In fact, when Aguero inquired about Messi's whereabouts, the subject came up.
"Where are you guys?" inquired the former Manchester City forward. Messi then responded, "In our room," to which Aguero replied, "In Our...?" That conversation is captured below.
The conversation, which included Rodrigo De Paul, Papu Gomez, and Leandro Paredes, was translated by the Twitter account @AlbicelesteTalk.
They compared Gomez to David Beckham after he shaved his hair. "Papu aimed very high; he wanted to compare himself to Beckham," Messi said.There was plenty of laughter throughout, but Messi wanted to let his friend know that they were still thinking of him at the end of their call.
"Thank you for calling, we appreciate it," he said. "You are not here with us, but we remember you and Gio every day." I'd like to say goodbye to everyone who has been watching us."
"Good luck on Friday boys, whatever happens, you are phenomenons, love you," Aguero responded.
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