Soccer

With 28 days of action in the books, the World Cup is set to wrap up with the closing ceremony and final between Argentina and France on Sunday.

Unlike an Olympics closing ceremony, which happens after the last event has been contested, the World Cup equivalent will be held prior to the FIFA tournament's final match.

Because of this, it's more truncated than you might expect; according to a press release from FIFA, it will last 15 minutes (compared to closer to 30 for the opening ceremony).

Here's everything you need to know to tune in to the World Cup closing ceremony in Qatar, as well as what to watch for when you do.

World Cup 2022 Closing Ceremony

Date: Sunday, December 18

Location: Lusail Stadium; Doha, Qatar

Time: 8 a.m. ET (4 p.m. local time)

TV: Fox, Telemundo (U.S.)

Live Stream: Fox Sports app, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo

FIFA had been keeping the full slate of closing ceremony performers under wraps, but on Friday night, it released a list of acts, including headliner Nigerian-American musician Davido, whose song with Aisha, "Hayya Hayya (Better Together)," is featured on the 2022 World Cup soundtrack.

Also taking the stage will be Ozuna and Gims performing "Arhbo" and an all-female lineup singing "Light the Sky," including Nora Fatehi, Balqees, Rahma Riad and Manal.

"'A Night to Remember' will reflect on the tournament through music and poetry," according to FIFA

Per ABC News, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will also "reportedly feature in a music video for this year's World Cup finale."

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, will lead the six-person U.S. delegation at the closing ceremony.

After the closing ceremony at 8 a.m. ET at Lusail Stadium—the largest venue that has hosted tournament games, with a capacity of 80,000—the final between Argentina and France, the 64th match of the tournament, will get underway at 10 a.m. ET. The opening ceremony was held at Al Bayt Stadium.

Both Argentina and France are looking to win a third World Cup title.

A soccer match between rivals Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City in the Australian A-League was abandoned after fans stormed the pitch.

According to ESPN's Joey Lynch, fans planned on jointly walking out of the game in the 20th minute in protest of the Australian Professional Leagues' (APL) decision to sell the hosting rights of the men's and women's grand finals to Sydney for the next three years. Things took a turn when fans started throwing lit flares onto the field.

City goalkeeper Tom Glover reportedly had a flare land near him on the field and attempted to throw it back into the stands toward Victory supporters. Glover's actions "led to a host of fans storming onto the pitch," per Lynch.

In the ensuing fracas, Glover was hit in the head by a bucket filled with sand, which was needed to extinguish the flares on the field. He had blood coming out of his head as his teammates tried to remove him from the melee. Club officials said afterward that he received stitches and is believed to have suffered a concussion.

As players and coaches left the field while the invasion continued, fans attacked the goals and sponsor boards before being ushered off the pitch by members of Victoria Police's Public Order Response Team. According to Victoria Police, 150 to 200 Victory fans stormed the field. No arrests have been made amid an ongoing investigation.

"The Melbourne Victory fans who stormed the pitch, resulting in the assault of a player, a referee and a member of match day broadcast staff, should be subjected to the strongest possible sanctions," a statement from players union Professional Footballers Australia said. "We acknowledge the courage of players, club staff and referees who came to the aid of each other in circumstances that no one should ever be exposed to."

In addition to Glover, referee Alex King was also hit by the bucket, which caused a gash in his head. The game's referee coach was pushed into a fence during the chaos, and a camera operator appeared to be hit by one of the flares thrown onto the field.

Victory released a statement condemning the actions of the fans who stormed the pitch.

"The club would like to formally apologise to Tom Glover, match official Alex King and the camera operator as well as all players, officials and those who witnessed the appalling behaviour," the club stated.

This marks the first time that an A-Leagues match had to be abandoned because of violence.

The latest crop of collegiate talent to enter Major League Soccer will be determined on Wednesday.

The 2023 MLS SuperDraft takes place before the holiday season this year. The latest draft picks will have over two weeks more than most previous selections to get accustomed to their new squads.

Expansion side St. Louis City SC holds the first overall pick in the draft.

St. Louis has a few intriguing options to choose from at the top of the draft class.

The draft holds less meaning with each passing year in MLS because of the influx of academy talent at most clubs. They can identify and develop their own talent instead of relying on the older college talent pool.

The draft has produced a few solid players recently. United States men's national team players Matt Turner and Daryl Dike were draft picks in the last five years.

The full selection order for all three rounds can be found here on the league website.

Draft Preview

St. Louis City SC has a few top-tier names to choose from with the No. 1 overall pick.

San Diego State forward CJ Fodrey could fill in some depth up top, as could Syracuse's Nathan Opoku. J.C. Ngando out of UNC Greensboro is one of the top midfield options.

St. Louis has mostly signed defenders and midfielders in preparation for its first MLS season. A forward to provide depth behind Nicholas Gioacchini and Klauss could help them.

Fodrey was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and earned an invite to the MLS combine, which hosted 44 college players.

He was responsible for seven goals and four assists at San Diego State last season. His overall chance creation could intrigue the expansion side that needs to fill depth everywhere to compete on a busy MLS schedule.

D.C. United, Colorado Rapids and San Jose Earthquakes will all be looking for depth as well in the top four. The Houston Dynamo can say the same with the fifth pick.

Most of those teams will go by the best player available strategy.

DC could stay local and select Maryland forward Joshua Bolma. Opoku, Ngando, Oregon State midfielder Joran Gerbet and Washington midfielder Kalani Kossa-Rienzi are among the other names expected to be heard in the top five at some point.

There are 29 picks in the first round now that St. Louis joined the league. The gap in talent in between the first pick and the 30th overall selection could be massive.

A majority of the players selected on Wednesday will either be MLS depth pieces or added to USL rosters to continue to develop in their young careers.

It is rare nowadays for all top-five picks to be successful in MLS because of how deep the rosters are and the preference for younger academy talent at most clubs.

Projection

1. St. Louis City SC - CJ Fodrey, F, San Diego State

2. DC United - Joshua Bolma, F, Maryland

3. Colorado Rapids - JC Ngando, M, UNC Greensboro

4. San Jose Earthquakes - Nathan Opoku, F, Syracuse

5. Houston Dynamo - Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, M, Washington

After a tournament that featured stunning upsets, unpredictability right up until the semifinals and inspirational performances from underdog teams from Morocco and Croatia, the 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament final features two teams expected to reach this point as Lionel Messi leads Argentina against Kylian Mbappé and defending champions France.

Prior to the titanic showdown between two of the sports premier stars is the closing ceremony.

This year's ceremony is themed "A Night to Remember" and "will reflect on the tournament through music and poetry," according to FIFA's official website.

Information

Date: Sunday, December 18

Start Time: 8:30 a.m. EST

Location: Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar

Touting a ceremony that "will last 15 minutes and reference the world coming together for the 29 days of the tournament" with its performances, FIFA announced the performers Friday afternoon.

American-Nigerian singer and songwriter Davido and Japanese R&B singer AISHA will perform, "(Hayya Hayya) Better Together," off of the official World Cup soundtrack, while Puerto Rican singer Ozuna will pair with Gims, a Congolese-French rapper, for "Arhbo," also off of the tournament's playlist.

Finally, "Light the Sky" will be performed by an all-female lineup that includes Canadian Nora Fatehi, Emirati and Yemeni singer Balqees, Rahma Riad of Iraq and Morocco's Manal.

Davido's performance will mark the first time an artist has both opened and closed the World Cup ceremonies. He previously performed at the 2022 World Cup Draw.

The ceremony precedes a game that could see one of two historic feats.

Either Messi wins the World Cup that has eluded him throughout his legendary career or Mbappé leads France to a rare achievement of back-to-back titles, which has not been done since Brazil won the trophy in 1958 and 1962.

The only other team to do so? Italy in 1934 and 1938, emphasizing just how difficult an accomplishment it is and the history that awaits France if it can overcome a tough opponent.