The 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off today in Qatar amidst plenty of controversy. Regardless, millions of soccer lovers and football fans around the globe will tune in to catch all the action live. Google usually cashes in on major global events like this one with a doodle or a special animation or even a game on the homepage. This time around, the company is opening the field up for multiplayer skirmishes, allowing hooligans to score goals against each other.

Activating this nifty game is as simple as Googling the term "world cup" on your mobile device — it seems to work on both Android and iPhones, enabling millions of fans to access it right away. While Google didn't devote a post on its The Keyword blog detailing the new addition, the company's VP of Engineering shared the news on Twitter.

Typing world cup on Google Search displays a soccer ball at the bottom right of the screen, (pictured below) accompanied by the schedule of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The mini-game is activated by tapping the soccer ball.

This is a great way to boost fan engagement ahead of soccer's largest event, and it seems like millions of people have tried out the game already. There are mini-games for every match at the World Cup, letting fans from either team shoot golden goals and build their side's tally into the millions. The feature went live on Friday and should be widely available for all users around the world.

Technically, this Doodle game is more single-player with an MMO element to it. Google has made actual multiplayer Doodle games before, though — 1v1 in the form of Petanque and 4v4 for a Halloween-inspired competition.

This edition of the World Cup has been overshadowed by one controversy after the other, with the focus being on the mistreatment of migrant workers in Qatar. The governing body of world soccer, FIFA, was in damage control mode earlier this month, asking participating nations to refrain from criticism of the host nation over their poor human rights record, and asking countries to "now focus on the football."