David Beckham former Captain of England has said the 2022 FIFA World Cup has served as a unifying platform for football fans across the globe.
Becham said, the quality of the fan experience at Qatar 2022 world was unique as it promoted unity among the fans at the competition.
Becham, who featured in three FIFA World Cups for the Three Lions of England and made two quarter-finals appearance said “Seeing the fans come together and the level of football – it’s been amazing.
“It’s been a privilege to see the excitement and the fun the fans are having,” Becham told the media in an interview.
Beckham was also impressed with the timing of the competition saying, The timing of the tournament – in the middle of the season for many leagues around the world – had boosted the level of play on the field.
“The level of football has been incredible. I was always a supporter of playing the World Cup in the middle of the season because I knew the players would be fresh and the fitness and energy levels would be higher,” he added.
Beckham said Argentina’s victory over the Netherlands was his favorite game of Qatar 2022 and picked out two goals as his favorites of the tournament, adding that Richarlison’s scissor-kick for Brazil against Serbia and Luis Chavez’s free-kick for Mexico against Saudi Arabia were his high points.
Touching on the performance of Morocco, he said “I have loved Morocco’s midfield – their elegance and the way they play the game.
However, Becham is convinced Jude Bellingham had a great tournament for England, as well as Bukayo Saka.
He added: “Kylian Mbappé has had a great tournament – whenever he gets the ball at his feet, you can feel the energy in the stadium lift. And Lionel Messi – what can you say? He’s a special individual on and off the field. It feels different watching him play in this World Cup.
He’s got great teammates around him but he has been the leader – and you can feel it in every single game. It’s special to see.”
He was impressed with England’s performance adding that, Head Coach Gareth Southgate and his players should be proud of their display against France, which ended in a narrow 2-1 defeat at Al Bayt Stadium.
“We have real quality and the England players will take this experience to the next tournament. The fans are right behind us, the future’s looking bright. We have a lot of young players who will learn from this and take it on to the Euros and the next World Cup,” he added,
Qatar has hosted the most compact edition of the FIFA World Cup in modern history – with all eight stadiums within an hour’s journey time of central Doha.
It meant the fans enjoyed the opportunity to attend more than one match a day.
