Speaking in a statement via FIFA, the governing body’s president Gianni Infantino claimed that the group stages at the World Cup in Qatar were the “best ever” in the tournament’s history, while also praising the evenness of the competition after some shock results. For the first time, every continent was represented in the last 16 while no team managed to take maximum points during the group stage. Infantino said:
“Fantastic atmosphere, great goals, incredible excitement, surprises, small teams beating big teams… there are no more small teams and no more big teams. The level is very, very equal. For the first time as well, national teams from all continents going to the knockout phase… This shows that football is becoming truly global. At the end of the day, we simply want to give some joy and some smiles to people all over the world. That’s what football is about, that’s what the World Cup is about, and that’s what should also happen from now until the end. We have already seen some great action on the field, which is the most important part.”
GWFN
