What to Expect in the Upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar

With the World Cup just a week away, opinions are flying everywhere about “the best things to expect,” and there is certainly a lot to be looked forward to. From what teams will win to who the champions will be, everyone’s got an opinion.

And with all this seemingly endless talk about our sport’s biggest avenue for competition, we decided to throw in my two cents about the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

Offside Technology

FIFA announced using a semi-automated offside system at the World Cup to help make fast and accurate offside calls.

The technology will be used in every match at the 2022 world cup. It will be used to help make instant decisions on offside calls.

In addition to instantly determining if a player is offside or not, it can also confirm whether or not an attacker was in an offside position when he received the ball but then moved into an onside position before playing it.

This could prove crucial in cases where players are wrongly flagged offside by officials and could lead to more goals being scored.

Five Substitutions

In Qatar, the 2022 World Cup will have a new rule: teams will be allowed five substitutions in each game instead of three from the previous World Cup in Russia in 2018.

This means that players can be swapped out of the game at any point, giving teams more flexibility and power to adapt their tactics. This is especially helpful in cases where a player gets injured or has a poor performance early on in the game; rather than take him out immediately, teams will now have the option of keeping him in and trying to turn things around.

Extended Squad Lists

In November, participating countries will name squads containing a maximum of 26 players, three more than what was allowed at the World Cup in Russia.

This means that teams will have more flexibility regarding who they can select for their final 23-man rosters. It also means that we’ll see some really interesting choices made by national teams as they try to figure out which players will be able to make it through a grueling tournament like this one.

Female Referees

For the first time at the men’s World Cup, three women have been included among the 36 referees selected for Qatar 2022. France’s Stephanie Frappart, Japan’s Yoshimi Yamashita, and Rwanda’s Salima Mukansanga have all previously officiated at a men’s tournament, including the UEFA Super Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations.

Female referees are still a minority in football, with only 9% of international-match officials being female. However, this figure is growing year after year, and it is hoped that this will encourage more young girls to take up refereeing as a career choice and encourage more girls to play football.