Qatar 2022/ Qatar Legacy Ambassadors to QNA: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Left Indelible Impacts

Doha, December 14 (QNA) - Several Qatar Legacy program ambassadors said Wednesday that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 left multi-field positive impacts, highlighting that football fans worldwide watched an exceptional World Cup on the technical level, with the historic upsets recorded in the group stage and the knockouts. Speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA) on the sidelines of a media session held at the Host Country Media Center in Msheireb Downtown Doha, they said that Qatar continues to fulfill all its as the first-ever World Cup in the Middle East and the Arab region tournament draws to a close, Arab and the Middle East region. The final match will be played Sunday at Lusail Iconic Stadium. Qatar Legacy Ambassador Adel Khamis said that the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, which has reached its final stages, saw many exciting upsets, especially with many renowned sides and superstars unexpectedly and dramatically eliminated. The retired Qatar captain added that the excitement reached its peak at the final stages with Argentina moving through to the final match after defeating Croatia, Brazil's last-eight elimination and Morocco's advance to the semi-finals. The 1992 Arabian Gulf winner highlighted Qatar's wonderful achievements thanks to hosting the 22nd World Cup and its great efforts made before and during the global event. He stressed that Qatar's main obsession was to produce an exceptional tournament that brings peoples together. Qatar retired winger Ibrahim Khalfan stressed that the State of Qatar has fulfilled all the promises it made since winning the World Cup bid in 2010. Khalfan, who represented Qatar in the1981 FIFA World Youth Championship said highlighted Qatar's exceptional achievement as a success for all Arabs, and an ideal opportunity for the countries of this region to celebrate their ancient culture, heritage, and passion for football. Khalfan added that Qatar's World Cup organization created an opportunity to correct many concepts about the Arab region, highlighting the international acclaim over the fascinating hosting, stressing the tournament's role in providing an opportunity for heads of football missions and fans to enjoy an exceptional visit to the Middle East and know about the Arab culture, customs and traditions. Qatar Legacy Program Ambassador Tim Cahill said that the World Cup was a great success in terms of the wonderful organization, large fan attendance and the records being broken. Speaking to QNA, the retired Australia legend hailed Morocco's fascinating achievements after eliminating previous World Cup champions like Spain, Portugal and Belgium. Morocco will play against France in the semi-finals on Wednesday. He added that the many upsets in this World Cup edition may continue. Commenting on Argentina's advance to the final match, Cahill said that Messi's mates have a huge opportunity to win their third World Cup trophy despite their opening match 1-2 loss to Saudi Arabia. Qatar Retired goalie Ahmed Khalil said that the campaigns against Qatar and its World Cup hosting ahead of the kick-off vanished thanks to the great stadiums, accommodation and training venues and facilities. Perhaps Qatar did not show the desired performance in the World Cup, but their first-ever participation was very positive, as it was necessary to benefit from this experience in motivating a new generation of players who will witness the presence of Qatari football in future World Cups, the Qatar Legacy ambassador said. Khalil hailed the outstanding atmosphere in Qatar as cited by fans and visitors the World Cup-associated events and activities. Everyone had the opportunity to learn about the culture of the Arab and Gulf peoples, and the customs, traditions and diversity that characterizes the State of Qatar, he added. In the same context, Iran retired footballer Mehdi Mahdavikia said that Qatar's organization of the World Cup is a real pride for Asian football, which in turn recorded a prominent presence in this edition and gave positive impressions through the performances shown by teams of Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Korea. The retired Hamburg and Bochum player hailed Iran's participation as good in view of their tough group that included England, the US and Wales. They performed well, but they lacked luck to achieve the desired results, Mahdavikia said. Qatari media anchor Mohammed Saadoun Al Kuwari hailed the performances and results of African and Asian sides, highlighting historic upsets in the tournaments with Japan defeating Germany and Spain, Saudi Arabia stunning Argentina, Tunisia beating France, and Cameroon defeating Brazil. There is no doubt that the performance of the Qatari national team was underwhelming, but realistically speaking, Qatar's three losses were with slight goal differences; if we go back, specifically to 2010, there were great differences between Qatar and the likes of the Netherlands, Senegal and Ecuador, Al Kuwari said. (QNA)