The 2022 FIFA World Cup was a spectacle that entranced the whole world.
The tournament itself lasted around a month, but the spirit and fervor commenced long before the games began, and its legacy is still dominating the world today.
Captains of the World, a six-episode documentary series that was published on Netflix on Dec. 30, 2023, preserves the essence, zeal, and unfiltered passion that surrounded the recent World Cup, making the event simply unforgettable.
For context, the 2023 Super Bowl final gained around 115 million viewers, beating the past viewership in 2022 of 90 million viewers. Football is America’s sport without a doubt, capturing audiences from all age groups and forming unbreakable bonds as fans cheer on their home teams.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup had a global reach of 1.5 billion viewers, positively shattering the Super Bowl viewership—or any other audience in the world of sports.
In Nov. 2022, I remember my peers hunched in the back of the classroom, watching rounds of the World Cup unfold from the action on their computer screens. I would watch clips of the games with my friends at lunch, and soon I began to understand how although the 2022 World Cup was a sport, it also was a feeling, experience, and an era of glory, redemption, and rivalry.
Captains of the World implemented elements of suspense and storytelling, expertly avoiding merely documenting the legendary event by conducting interviews with different captains of their respective national teams as well as key players.
The opening episode, “Great Expectations,” started the series with a fast-paced recap of the era, causing all of the emotions and excitement to resurface once again. Clips of Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi, some of the world’s most legendary soccer players, were exhibited as the documentary started with the final of the tournament before circling back to the start of the journey with the early group stages.
This World Cup was unlike the others in a plethora of ways, and Captains of the World acutely explained and captured the uniqueness by incorporating a wide range of viewpoints; from French journalist Julien Laurens to Cristiano Ronaldo, the documentary didn’t solely focus on the players but also talked about the emotional and global impact that the tournament had on the world.
For many of the renowned soccer players who have been icons for decades, the 2022 World Cup was the last opportunity for them to participate due to impending retirement; this knowledge alone elevated the emotions of the tournament, making it the last time that such polished levels of talent would face off against each other.
Although there were many aspects of the docuseries that transformed it from a film to an experience, there were a few elements that truly told the unparalleled story of the World Cup.
First, Captains of the World delves deep into the roots of many of the characters and tells their stories in an expository manner. It highlights the players’ fortunes and errors, accentuating the raw reasons why many of them are playing for more than the glory of winning the World Cup.
National and international pride. Proving to themselves that they are capable of achieving their dreams, especially after receiving backlash in the past. Condemning harsh comparisons that have been placed on them in the past.
Devouring time in the limelight and playing the game that has brought billions together over the years.
Additionally, the second episode “Where is Messi?” focuses on Lionel Messi’s indispensable involvement in the World Cup. After playing in five World Cup tournaments throughout his extravagant career, Messi declared that the 2022 tournament would be his final World Cup due to his increasing age and decades of commitment to the sport.
The message conveyed through the storyline and Messi’s interviews is clear: despite having struggled in the early stages of the tournament, Messi promised the fans that he would lead Argentina to victory. During one interview, Messi explained that he was going to take the games step by step and fight to the very end.
Captains of the World demonstrated how the divided fans obsessed over his potential downfall, whereas others desperately wanted to see Argentina prosper in the glory that comes with winning the World Cup.
Messi’s viewpoint and mindset resonated with me because even though he is an athlete who has spent years perfecting every aspect of the sport, he still shows up and works hard daily to prove to himself that he is capable of achieving the things that have been deemed impossible for him.
Highlighting the thrilling highs and the devastating lows, Captains of the World accurately captures the nature of the World Cup, revealing that the world of soccer provides an unparalleled, global community that extends to all corners of the globe.
