Qatar is yet another World Cup where Americans will be the top visitors

Throughout the history of FIFA World Cup hosts, the most successful example is the 1994 tournament held in the United States. 

The result for one host-country could not be more significant. After Brazil captain Dunga lifted the trophy for his nation's fourth title at the Rose Bowl, the Americans became obsessed with the World Cup. In all subsequent World Cup editions, including Qatar this winter, they were responsible for the most ticket purchases by one country. The U.S. has been FIFA's biggest customer for 28 years.

If that's the legacy of 1994, how will we remember Qatar 2022 in the decades to come? From its inception, the first World Cup held in the Middle East has taken on a different tone than all of its predecessors. We cannot forget about the 2015 bribery scandal to host the World Cup that condemned 14 confederation heads from various countries and removed Sepp Blatter from the presidency, or the deaths and other abuses of migrant workers who built the venues where matches will be played.

That won't stop many Americans from attending the matches, nor consuming the images on TV. As the soccer portion of Qatar's World Cup nears, here is a brief look back at past tournaments hosts and which countries purchased the most tickets at each, according to the local organizing committees.

After Qatar, the next World Cup will be here. The prediction of yet another huge hit with the public only brings new expectations of an exponentially greater growth of soccer in the United States.

Qatar 2022

Among the countries that have hosted the World Cup, Qatar is yet another freshman trying to repeat the legacy of the USA. And again, Americans will make up the largest group of visiting supporters. It was highly expected for a European country or even Russia (2018 host) as the biggest buyer. But among the visiting countries, the USA, with more than 140,000, and Saudi Arabia with more than 120,000, are the ones that bought the most tickets.

Russia 2018

Russia held the record for the biggest ticket-buying host for a World Cup edition, with the USA (80,000+) as the biggest visitor and Brazil (66,000+) in third.

Brazil 2014

In the second edition of the World Cup hosted by Brazil, the USA surprised everyone. It was expected that a South American country, Argentina or Colombia, would be the second buyer behind the host Brazil. The passion of South Americans for football was not enough to overcome the Americans, with 190,000 tickets purchased, much more than Argentina with 61,000.

South Africa 2010

In the first and only World Cup held on the African continent, the USA once again confirmed itself as the biggest visiting ticket buyers, with more than 50,000 purchased, followed by Australia with 41,000.

Here is the complete list of all-time FIFA World Cup hosts:

• 1930 Uruguay
• 1934 Italy
• 1938 France
• 1950 Brazil
• 1954 Switzerland 
• 1958 Sweden
• 1962 Chile
• 1966 England
• 1970 Mexico
• 1974 Germany 
• 1978 Argentina
• 1982 Spain
• 1986 Mexico
• 1990 Italy
• 1994 USA
• 1998 France
• 2002 Japan/South Korea
• 2006 Germany 
• 2010 South Africa 
• 2014 Brazil 
• 2018 Russia
• 2022 Qatar