The 2022 Korea-Japan World Cup was played from May 31 to June 30. Brazil managed to win the title for the fifth time in its history.
This is the first World Cup to be played in Asia and the only one so far, when the tournament returns to that continent when it is played in Qatar. It is also the first and only so far to be played in more than one country.
Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, China, South Korea, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Ecuador, Slovenia, Spain, United States, France, England, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico participated in this edition. , Nigeria, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey and Uruguay.
The World Cup is remembered in Guatemala for the inconvenient schedules that caused many fans to change their sleep and work schedules to be able to watch the games that were played at midnight or during the early morning in the country.
Due to the schedule, Prensa Libre dedicated an evening edition to tell its readers the details of the soccer days that took place in the early hours of the day.
In this World Cup, a Guatemalan participated as a referee, it was Carlos Batres.
The great disappointment of the tournament was France, which as defending champions was knocked out in the group stage, given the start of what is now known as the “curse of the champion”.
In the final, played in Japan, Germany and Brazil arrived. The South Americans managed to win two to zero, with a goal from Ronaldo who took revenge in that way for what happened to him four years earlier.
Prensa Libre titled the chronicle referring to Ronaldo as “He paid the pending debt” and clarified “there were doubts, after his failure in the World Cup in France.”
On the cover of the evening edition, Prensa Libre headlined “¡Penta!” and explained “La Canarinha danced samba, and with Ronaldo’s hand they beat the Germans 2-0 who could not contain the barrage of the five times world champions. The cup returns to America.
