World Cup 2022: England win the Fair Play Award, here's why

Add as a preferred source on Google

The World Cup juggernaut has just ended. Argentina have lifted the global trophy after 36 years, since Diego Maradona lifted it in 1986 in Mexico.

England were back home after their quarterfinal loss against France, but the Three Lions ended up with an award in the tournament.

England were awarded the Fair Play Award by FIFA on Sunday.

What is the FIFA Fair Play Trophy?

The FIFA Fair Play award is the memento that is given to the team with the best disciplinary record. Like IPL Fair Play award in cricket, which is given to the best-behaved team in the tournament, the fair play award in football is judged by the team with the least number of offences on the field. And the benchmark of the discipline in football is cards.

Why England won the World Cup 2022 Fair Play Award?

England have been the most disciplined side by a mile in this World Cup.

Gareth Southgate's men finished the group as winners, then went on to beat Senegal in the round of 16, before losing to runners-up France in the quarterfinals. They also scored 13 goals in the tournament, just three behind leaders France who scored the most with 16 goals. Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford were the top scorers for the Three Lions in the tournament, with 3 goals each.

And along their journey, England were the best team when it comes to discipline. The Three Lions got just one yellow card in the entirety of their World Cup adventure, which also came in the final minute of their quarterfinal defeat as Harry Maguire was booked for a cynical challenge on France's Antoine Griezmann.

Southgate's men thus get a consolation prize from Qatar after a disappointing end to their World Cup campaign. Their focus will shift now to the Euro 2024 qualifying as they play Italy and Ukraine in March 2023 to kickstart the qualifying campaign.