Messi, Djokovic, Usyk, Haaland, Nadal - 52 of the best sports images of 2022

We pick out some of the most memorable images from the past 12 months

Left to right: Sepp Kuss, Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar and Brandon McNulty on the Col de Spandelles during Stage 18 of the Tour de France, on July 21, 2022. AFP

Takamoto Katsuta and Aaron Johnston competing for Toyota Gazoo Racing during Day 3 of the FIA World Rally Championship's Safari Rally Kenya on June 24, 2022. Getty

Dmitry Bivol lands a punch on Gilberto Ramirez during his WBA light-heavyweight title win at the Etihad Arena in ABu Dhabi, on November 5, 2022. Getty

Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates with the trophy after beating France in the World Cup final at Lusail Stadium in Qatar on Sunday, December 18, 2022. Argentina won 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out after the match ended 3-3 after extra-time. AP

British rider Fred Wright of Bahrain Victorious passes by as police officers try to move protesters sitting on the road during Stage 10 of the Tour de France 2022 on July 12, 2022. EPA

A competitor during practice at the BMX Freestyle venue in the Olympiapark ahead of the European Championships Munich 2022, on August 10, 2022. Getty

England's Matthew Lee in action in the men's 10-metre platform competition at the Commonwealth Games - at Sandwell Aquatics Centre in Birmingham, on August 7, 2022. Reuters

Migrant workers during the half-time show as hosts Qatar took on Ecuador in the opening match of the World Cup finals at Al Bayt Stadium, on November 20, 2022. Reuters

Al Fursan aerial display team above Yas Marina Circuit in their Aermacchi MB-339A jets joined by Etihad Boeing 737 before the start of the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, on November 20, 2022. Victor Besa / The National

Brazil's forward Richarlison scores against Serbia during the World Cup 2022 Group G match at Lusail Stadium in Qatar, on November 24, 2022. EPA

Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta celebrates after beating Palmeiras in the Fifa Club World Cup final at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Febraury 12, 2022. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Novak Djokovic celebrates after beating Nick Kyrgios in the final of Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, on July 10, 2022. Reuters

Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon is tackled during the first half of Super Bowl LVI against Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, on February 13, 2022. EPA

An Iranian fan holds a jersey in memory of Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody in a Tehran hospital, at the World Cup match between Wales and Iran at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Qatar, on November 25, 2022. Reuters

Anastasiya Andryianava of Belarus during practice for the freestyle skiing women's aerials at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, on February 13, 2022. Reuters

Noah Lyles of the US celebrates after winning the men's 200 metres final at the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, on July 21, 2022. Reuters

England's Chloe Kelly celebrates scoring against Germany in the Euro 2022 final at Wembley Stadium, London on July 31, 2022. Reuters

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez fails to stop Salem Al Dawsari's strike for Saudi Arabia hitting the back of the net during the World Cup Group C match at Lusail Stadium, on November 22, 2022. Reuters

Team Suzuki Ecstar's Alex Rins crashes out at the start of the Catalunya Grand Prix MotoGP race at Circuit de Barcelona, on June 5, 2022. Reuters

Jesper Tjader of Sweden during the freestyle skiing men's freeski slopestyle final at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on February 16, 2022. Reuters

Rafael Nadal celebrates after beating Casper Ruud to win the Australian Open final at Melbourne Park on January 31, 2022. Reuters

Lea Meyer of Germany falls in the water during the women's 3000m steeplechase heats at the World Athletics Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, on July 16, 2022. EPA

Germany's Markus Eisenbichler during practice for the ski jumping at the Four Hills Tournament in Innsbruck, Austria, on January 3, 2022. Reuters

Scotland's Eilidh Gorrell in the gymnastics women's team final and individual qualification during the Commonwealth Games at Arena Birmingham in Britain, on July 30, 2022.

Manchester City fans celebrate on the pitch after winning the Premier League following their match against Aston Villa at the Etihad Stadium, on May 22, 2022. Reuters

Suzanna Shahbazian of Team Canada competes during the individual all-around final during the Commonwealth Games at Arena Birmingham on August 5, 2022. Getty

Milwaukee Bucks's Giannis Antetokounmpo scores against Atlanta Hawks in a pre-season NBA game at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, on October 8, 2022. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Gabin Villiere of France dives over to score a try during the Six Nations match against Italy at Stade de France on February 6, 2022. Getty

Chioma Onyekwere of Team Nigeria competes in the women's discus final during the Commonwealth Games at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England, on August 2, 2022. Getty

USA coach Andrea Fuentes dives in to save Anita Alvarez from the bottom of the pool after she passed out competing at the Budapest World Aquatics Championships at the Alfred Hajos Swimming Complex, on June 22, 2022. AFP

Luka Modric of Real Madrid celebrates with the trophy after beating Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League final at Stade de France, Paris, on May 28, 2022. Getty

Britain's Dina Asher-Smith in action during the World Athletics Championships women's 100m heats at Hayward Field, in Eugene, Oregon, on July 16, 2022. Reuters

Medical staff in protective equipment are seen during a speed-skating training session for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, on January 28, 2022. Reuters

Oleksandr Usyk after beating Anthony Joshua in their heavyweight world title fight at King Abdullah Sports City Arena, in Jeddah, on August 20, 2022. Reuters

France's Romain Heinrich and Dorian Hauterville in the two-man bobsleigh heats during the Beijing Winter Olympics at National Sliding Centre, on February 14, 2022. Reuters

General view of Stage 10 of the Dakar Rally, from Wadi Ad Dawasir to Bisha in Saudi Arabia, on January 12, 2022. Reuters

Fighters training at Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi, for the Asian Jiu-Jitsu Championship being held in Bahrain. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

Serena Williams during a video monitor tribute after winning her US Open second-round match against Estonia's Anett Kontaveit at Flushing Meadows, New York, on August 31, 2022. Reuters

Trinidad And Tobago's Jereem Richards celebrates after winning gold in the Commonwealth Games men's 200m race at Alexander Stadium, England, on August 6, 2022. Reuters

Country Grammer, ridden by Frankie Dettori, wins the Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse, on March 26, 2022. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Rafael Nadal during his Australian Open fourth-round match against France's Adrian Mannarino at Melbourne Park, on January 23, 2022. Reuters

Team Europe and World members lift Roger Federer during the Laver Cup at the O2 Arena in London at the end of his last match before his retirement, on September 24, 2022. Reuters

The aftermath of a stampede at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, Indonesia, following the Arema v Persebaya football match that left at least 135 people dead, on October 2, 2022. Reuters

Carlos Alcaraz after beating Alexander Zverev to win the Madrid Open at La Caja Magica, on May 8, 2022. Getty

Alfa Romeo's Guanyu Zhou after crashing out of the F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, on July 3, 2022. Reuters

Kamila Valieva breaks down after her performance during the Beijing Winter Olympics figure skating competition at the Capital Indoor Stadium,on February 17, 2022. Reuters

Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic walks with his team after landing at Dubai International Airport after the Australian Federal Court upheld a government decision to cancel his visa to play in the Australian Open, on January 17, 2022. Reuters

Everton's Richarlison celebrates scoring in the Premier match against Chelsea at Goodison Park, on May 1, 2022. Reuters

England's Jonny Bairstow celebrates reaching his century during the second Test against New Zealand at Trent Bridge, on June 15, 2022. PA

Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema after winning the Ballon d'Or award at Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on October 17, 2022. AFP

Manchester City's Erling Haaland after scoring against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League, on October 5, 2022. PA

Novak Djokovic kisses the trophy after beating Nick Kyrgios in the Wimbledon final at the All England Club, on July 10, 2022. PA

All eyes were on the Middle East at the end of 2022 as the first football World Cup finals to be held in the region took place in Qatar

And what a tournament it turned out to be, climaxing in a dramatic final in Doha between Lionel Messi's Argentina and Kylian Mbappe's France.

After 120 rollercoaster minutes – that saw Messi score two and Mbappe three – the scores were level at 3-3 and the match was decided by penalties that ended with Argentina winning a third world title, after coming out top 4-2 in the shoot-out.

Victory meant, at the age of 35 and playing in probably his final World Cup, Messi had finally lifted the one trophy that had eluded him throughout his illustrious career.

On the tennis court, it was certainly an up and down year for Serbian great Novak Djokovic. He started the season by being deported from Australia by the government ahead of the opening Grand Slam of the season due to his refusal to have a Covid-19 vaccine. He would also be forced to miss the US Open at Flushing Meadows for the same reason.

But it was business as usual at Wimbledon as he defeated Nick Kyrgios to seal a seventh title at the All England Club and a 21st Grand Slam crown. Djokovic would also go on and win the season-ending ATP Finals by beating Casper Ruud in Italy.

It was also normal service for Rafael Nadal at the French Open as the Spaniard sealed an incredible 14th title at Roland Garros at the age of 36. He dispatched Ruud in ruthless fashion in straight sets to make it Slam crown No 22 after winning the Australian Open less than five months earlier, when coming back from two-sets down against Daniil Medvedev.

In boxing, Saudi Arabia played host the heavyweight title rematch between reigning champion Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.

The Ukrainian again came out on top after beating his British opponent with a split decision verdict at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium in Jeddah to keep a tight hold of his WBA, WBO and IBF belts. A unification bout against Tyson Fury hopefully looms in 2023.

In November, the boxing bandwagon headed for Abu Dhabi as undefeated WBA light-heavyweight title-holder Dmitry Bivol took on Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez at the Etihad Arena.

Bivol simply had too much for Ramirez in the headline bout of the inaugural Champion Series as the judges gave it to the dominant Russian by unanimous decision.

There was a familiar winner of the Formula One season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as world champion Max Verstappen stormed to yet another victory at Yas Marina Circuit.

After the drama of 2021, this year's race saw the Red Bull driver lead from the moment the lights turned green, taking the honours for a third year running.

In the gallery above, we have picked out 52 of the most memorable images from the last 12 months of sporting action.