دولة قطر
(State of Qatar)
مصرف قطر المركزي
(Qatar Central Bank)
Currency - Riyal (QAR)
Champion - Argentina
Runner Up - France
After months of speculation, wondering and waiting, Qatar finally announced and released a 22 riyals commemorative banknote on 09.11.2022, celebrating the country's hosting the FIFA World Cup final from 21.11.2022 to 19.12.2022. This is the third time that the FIFA have staged the final FIFA World Cup outside Europe or the America continental. In the final of 2002, the games were co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, and in 2010, the final was played in South Africa. Also, for the first time, the final was held during the European football mid season, as all previous finals were held in the June/July month. However, this cannot be done in Qatar, as it would be too hot to play in Qatar, as Summer temperatures in Qatar are usually rising above 45 degrees centigrade.
A total of 32 teams, including the host, are participating in the final.
This is an odd value note of 22 riyals and is printed on a polymer substrate. Whilst the value is a bit odd, it signifies the 22nd FIFA World Cup final, and also coincidentally in the year 2022. Whilst this note is legal tender, it was issued at a price of 75 riyals each. This means that it is unlikely you will find anyone trying to cash it in at face value. All notes are issued in a black folder, and a total of 6.0 million sets issued. It is believed that the prefixes for this commemorative note are printed with Q/1 to Q/6, but it is not sure if any replacement notes have been included in this series.
This is Qatar's first polymer banknote ever issued.
Twenty Two Riyals
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| Lusail Stadium in Doha. Doha's city skyline. Qatar FIFA World cup logo |
Front - Lusail Stadium in Doha. This stadium hosted the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup final. In the background is Doha's city skyline. Doha is the capital city of Qatar. The Qatar FIFA World cup logo is in the bottom middle of the note. The logo is an unbroken loop, and it is shaped like the number 8. This logo represents desert dunes. The infinity symbol reflects the event's interconnected nature, fusing tradition with modernity.
Signature
Governor - Sheikh Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saoud Al-Thani (since 2021)
Minister of Finance - Ali bin Ahmed al Kuwari (since 06.05.2021) Watermark : ٢٢ 22
Printer : De La Rue
Dimensions : 153mm x 71mm
Back - Al Bayt Stadium, Qatar National emblem, a dhow, Zubara fort, a globe.
As this is a polymer note, it also features a circular shape design, with the image of the FiFA World Cup trophy placed in between two teardrops in the shape of transparent windows. If you look at it briefly, it gives you the impression that it looks like a marvel hero mask. It looks like a Spider-man mask but without the web designs.
On the back, this note is printed with the words - Commemorative Legal Tender
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| Al Bayt Stadium, Qatar National emblem, a dhow, Zubara fort, a globe. |
Folder Cover
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| The cover provides basic detail of this issue , and it is signed by the bank governor and FIFA President Gianni Infantino |
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| Map of Qatar shows it as an island rather than a peninsula, with all eight venues hosting the FIFA World Cup final. These stadiums are all located on the eastern side of the country. |
Results
Group A - Netherlands (7), Senegal (6), Ecuador (4) & Qatar (Host) (0)
Qatar 0 vs Ecuador 2
Senegal 0 vs Netherlands 2
Qatar 1 vs Senegal 3
Ecuador 1 vs Netherlands 1
Ecuador 1 vs Senegal 2
Netherlands 2 vs Qatar 0
Group B - England (7), USA (5), Iran (3) & Wales (1)
England 6 vs Iran 2
USA 1 vs Wales 1
Wales 0 vs Iran 2
England 0 vs USA 0
Iran 0 vs USA 1
Wales 0 vs England 3
Group C - Argentina (6), Poland (4*), Mexico (4) & Saudi Arabia (3)
Argentina 1 vs Saudi Arabia 2
Mexico 0 vs Poland 0
Poland 2 vs Saudi Arabia 0
Argentina 2 vs Mexico )
Poland 0 vs Argentina 2
Saudi Arabia 1 vs Mexico 2
(* goal difference)
Group D - France (6), Australia (6), Tunisia (4) & Denmark (1)
Denmark 0 vs Tunisia 0
France 4 vs Australia 1
Tunisia 0 vs Australia 1
France 2 vs Denmark 1
Australia 1 vs Denmark 0
Tunisia 1 vs France 0
Group E - Japan (6), Spain (4*), Germany (4) & Costa Rica (3)
Germany 1 vs Japan 2
Spain 7 vs Costa Rica 0
Japan 0 vs Costa Rica 1
Spain 1 vs Germany 1
Costa Rica 2 vs Germany 4
Japan 2 vs Spain 1
(* goal difference)
Group F - Morocco (7), Croatia (5), Belgium (4) & Canada (0)
Morocco 0 vs Croatia 0
Belgium 1 vs Canada 0
Belgium 0 vs Morocco 2
Croatia 4 vs Canada 1
Canada 1 vs Morocco 2
Croatia 0 vs Belgium 0
Group G - Brazil (6), Switzerland (6), Cameroon (4) & Serbia (1)
Switzerland 1 vs Cameroon 0
Brazil 2 vs Serbia 0
Cameroon 3 vs Serbia 3
Brazil 1 vs Switzerland 0
Cameroon 1 vs Brazil 0
Serbia 2 vs Switzerland 3
Group H - Portugal (6), South Korea (4*), Uruguay (4), Ghana (3)
Uruguay 0 vs South Korea 0
Portugal 3 vs Ghana 2
South Korea 2 vs Ghana 3
Portugal 2 vs Uruguay 0
Ghana 0 vs Uruguay 2
South Korea 2 vs Portugal 1
(* more goals scored)
Round of 16
Netherlands 3 vs USA 1
Argentina 2 vs Australia 1
France 3 vs Poland 1
England 3 vs Senegal 0
Japan 1 (1) vs Croatia 1 (3)
Brazil 4 vs South Korea 1
Morocco 0 (3) vs Spain 0 (0)
Portugal 6 vs Switzerland 1
Quarter Final
Croatia 1 (4) vs Brazil 1 (2)
Netherlands 2 (3) vs Argentina 2 (4)
Morocco 1 vs Portugal 0
England 1 vs France 2
Semi Final
Argentina 3 vs Croatia 0
Morocco 0 vs France 2
Third & Fourth Placing
Croatia 2 vs Morocco 1
Final
Champion - Argentina 2 + 1 (4)
Runner Up - France 2 + 1 (2)
My comments:
Now that FIFA 22nd World Cup is over, some said that this is the best tournament ever held despite western countries’ criticism of the host's poor human rights records and poor working conditions for those foreign workers. This is also an unusual tournament where it was held in the northern hemisphere Winter period, and not the usual summer months of June and July. However, it should be noted that this is also the second time that the games were staged during the Winter seasons – South Africa 2010. This tournament also produced some unexpected results too, with nations ranked outside the top 20s, 30s or even higher, beating teams in the top 10s. Who would have thought that Team Saudi Arabia would wallop the eventual champion by the score of 2 to 1 during their opening game? Who would have bet on Japan (except those from Japan) that they would top the group table, and knock out Germany in the last 16 knockout stage? This is the second time that Germany failed to advance to the knockout stage, as in 2018, they were kicked out by Team South Korea in the round robin stage too. Apart from Saudi Arabia beating Argentina, Japan beat Germany during their opening game, and South Korea beat Portugal. These top teams might have multi millionaires or even billionaires players in their teams, but they were no match to the Asian mighty players. Apart from Japan and South Korea, Cameron also beat Brazil too, and for the first time since 2006, Australia won two games and got 6 points in the round robin stage.
As usual, Team England failed once again. They always choked when it came to playing important games. Talk about bringing it home, they will have to wait again. The English team are just talk only but no substances. They may have the world toughest league games in the country, but when it comes to the FIFA world cup, they are just out of ideas as to how to advance further.
Brazil showed some ugly sides of their players when they over celebrated the game with South Korea, by performing their samba dances. Some commentators had a go at them when they lost the game to Croatia during the quarter-final game, and suggested that the Brazil team should do their famous samba dances all the way home too. The bottom line is to be humble, and show respect even though you know you are a better team, as one day, karma will come your way. Just ask, who is laughing now?
Talking about Croatia, they should be very proud of themselves, finishing top three. In 2018, they were runner up. For a small country with a population of less than 4.0 million, this is indeed an excellent achievement.
This is also the best tournament for an African team – Morocco. This is the first time that a team from the African continent has finished in the top four. No other African country had ever achieved this, until now.
My conclusion is that no single team won all of their games (during the round robin or knock out stage). Even the champion, Argentina lost a game!
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