True, some star names were missing but that can happen at any time of year, but for the most part, the biggest names were present and arguably, in better condition than had the tournament been played at the end of a long hard European season.

Time to ponder whether such scheduling might in the future become the new norm, especially if the nations which made such an impact last month decide to bid.

Qatar 2022 was not the first time that the tournament had been staged in winter.

When the first World Cup tournament was hosted by the Uruguayans in 1930, it ran from July 13 to July 30, which was during the winter season in the host nation.

Although it was the same for every other tournament held in the Southern Hemisphere since, it could be argued that Europe has been the dominant continent in influencing when the World Cup should take place.

Since its foundation in 1904, FIFA has been led by Europeans, except when Brazilian João Havelange led the organisation for 24 controversial years from 1974 to 1998.

The European dominance became ever more pronounced once television became an important factor.

At the 1970 and 1986 World Cups, both held in Mexico, there was concern about intense heat and the effects of altitude.

Even so, the most important matches were scheduled for noon, the hottest part of the day, which was early evening in most of Europe.

The veteran football writer Brian Glanville famously described this as "prostituting the tournament to European television".

Forty years before Morocco's magnificent and widely admired run to the semi-final at Qatar 2022, another North African nation sprung the shock result of the 1982 tournament.

Algeria beat West Germany in their opening group match to become only the second African nation after Tunisia in 1978 to win a match at the finals.

Morocco had almost achieved the same feat at their own World Cup debut twelve years before.

In 1970, they scored first against the West Germans who needed second half goals from Uwe Seeler and Gerd Muller to avoid embarrassment.

In 1970, Morocco later drew with Bulgaria, the first time an African team had taken a point at the World Cup finals.

They did not return to the World Cup stage until 1986 when the tournament was once again held in Mexico, where their performances prompted interest in Royal circles.

Morocco faced a formidable group which included Poland and England but finished top after a scintillating 3-1 victory against Portugal, curiously also one of their victims in Qatar.

In the knockout phase, they lost to West Germany, but once again it was a desperately late goal, this time a free-kick from Lothar Matthaus which proved decisive.

Within a few days, it became clear that the King Hassan had given the go-ahead for a Moroccan bid to host the entire World Cup. 

Sports Minister Abdul Latif Semiali, who had travelled with the team, was deputed to inform FIFA President Havelange of Morocco's "firm intention" to bid for the 1994 competition. 

Italy were already set to host the 1990 tournament, so in accordance with FIFA's "continental rotation", they initially set down a bid for 1994.

They were joined by two other nations from Africa, Algeria and Benin. 

Further bids came from the United States, Chile, Brazil and South Korea.

Morocco had hosted the 1983 Mediterranean Games and had also staged Pan Arab athletics and were soon to host the inaugural Francophone Games.

Soon a bid was launched with the tagline "a candidacy for all of Africa".

By the end of the year, Zambia had withdrawn from hosting the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations.

Sensing the chance to make a good impression, the Moroccans put themselves forward as replacement hosts.

"Morocco pulled out all the stops to make a success of the finals," World Soccer magazine editor Keir Radnedge wrote.

"It was an ideal opportunity to demonstrate to the supporters Morocco needs within Africa and to FIFA's observers and delegates that they know how to organise."

Attendance figures were often impressive, particularly for matches involving the host nation and their North African neighbours Algeria.

The tournament had been held in Rabat and Casablanca but a World Cup bid required further construction to ensure a complement of nine major grounds.

"Their realisation is provided for in the 1988-1992 five-year plan, whether we have the World Cup or not," Abdellatif Semlali, Sports Minister of Morocco, assured the Parisian newspaper Le Monde.

"Sport is a stabilising element for young people."

By the time the vote was taken on July 4 1988, a three-way continental race was on.

The United States were the favourites and they duly polled 10 votes from FIFA's Executive Committee.

Seven delegates voted for Morocco, ahead of Brazil with only two,

"It showed that our dossier was taken seriously and that the World Cup is not the private property of Europe and Latin America...We have opened the door for all of Asia and Africa," Morrocan Football Association President Driss Bamous insisted.

So it did, but not for Morocco who have the unwanted mantle of the most unsuccessful bids to host the tournament.

Their bid for the 2026 tournament was beaten by the three nation combination which again included the United States, alongside Canada and Mexico.

All the signs are that they will bid for the 2030 edition.

In Qatar, 2002 co-hosts Japan and South Korea both reached the second round.

In any other tournament, Japan's victory over Germany would have been considered the supreme shock of the tournament but there was one other result to trump that claim.

Saudi Arabia came from behind to defeat Argentina and returned home as the only team to defeat the eventual World Champions.

Although they did not ultimately qualify for the second round, they have qualified for six World Cups and can point to an authentic heritage as a football nation.

Saeed Al-Owairan's wonder goal against Belgium that sent the Saudis through to the knockout stage in 1994 is still considered one of the finest in any tournament.

In February this year, they are set to be confirmed as host nation for the 2027 Asian Football Confederation's Asian Cup and Riyadh has also been designated as the host for the 2034 Asian Games.

A huge project to establish a Games city on the outskirts of the capital in the desert at Qiddiya would certainly support an Olympic or World Cup bid later in the decade.

The project incorporates a spectacular stadium on a cliff face.

Existing stadia in Riyadh and Jeddah would also form an impressive part of the portfolio.

If the Saudis were given the nod, another December tournament would be on the cards, especially now it has been shown to have "worked".

Before the 2022 tournament began, FIFA President Gianni Infantino launched a tirade against what he called "Western hypocrisy" over the major human rights questions which faced Qatar.

insidethegames editor Duncan Mackay suggested in a recent blog that the World Cup furore might already have put an end to Qatar's chances of eventually hosting the Olympics.

Similar questions would no doubt be raised if Saudi Arabia or Morocco were to be given the nod for a future World Cup.

Yet, they have both undoubtedly earned the right to be be taken seriously as football nations.

If either is chosen, then the tournament should surely be held at the optimum time for the region not at the behest of global television and that could well mean another World Cup in autumn or winter.