The Qatar 2022 Word Cup has been very exciting and completely atypical. The Group Stage ended today and, of course, it finished with big surprises; one of them being the performance of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as it has more teams in the second round than Conmebol (where only Argentina and Brazil survived), and Concacaf, which only keeps the USMNT and Africa where Senegal and Morocco remain in the competition.
The AFC’s remaining teams are Australia, Korea, and Japan, the three teams with surprising performances while Saudi Arabia and Iran also achieved great surprises in the Cup. On the other hand, we have also had great disappointments such as Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Uruguay, Mexico, Ecuador, Canada, and even the host, which lost its three matches.
These are the matches that surprised spectators in the Group Stage of Qatar 2022
Argentina 1-2 Saudi Arabia
The first big surprise of the tournament was Saudi Arabia’s victory over Argentina, in their opening game in Group C. Argentina from the 10th minute with a Leo Messi penalty, but the green eagles were inspired in five minutes and turned it around at the start of the second half, including a Salem Al-Dawsari wonder goal, to disrupt all combinations in the pack. Argentina rallied and Arabia eventually faded.
Ecuador 1-1 Netherlands
In Group A, Qatar disappointed from the opening whistle against Ecuador, who looked very solid. In fact, the South American side surprised in their second match against the Netherlands, earning a historic 1-1 draw, with Enner Valencia scoring the only goal. But more surprising was their third match against Senegal, as they only needed a draw to advance and lost 2-1 leaving them out of the competition.
Iran 2-0 Wales
The big surprise of Group B was Iran’s last-minute victory over Wales, who looked like they could fight much harder after a great performance at Euro 2021. However, two goals in second-half stoppage time by Rouzbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaiean (90’+8′ and 90+11′, respectively) left the British with one foot out, after a good draw against the United States in their debut.
Australia 1-0 Denmark
In addition to favorites France, who came to the Cup with a hospital in the squad, Australia was the surprise of the pack by defeating Denmark 1-0, with Matthew Leckie scoring in the decisive match. The Vikings could only draw against Tunisia, who, for their part, pulled off another upset in their farewell match by beating France’s substitutes 1-0.
Japan!
The Japanese team is one of the great entertainers of the World Cup, as it was placed in Group E along with Germany and Spain and looked like a victim. However, they came from behind against the Germans in their presentation with goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano, both in the final stretch, and dealt a death blow to one of the historic teams of world soccer.
The Japanese lost their second match against Costa Rica, who were beaten by Spain in their opening match, but in the third match, they also came from behind to surprise La Roja, with goals from Doan and Ao Tanaka, and not only qualified from the “group of death” over Germany, but they also qualified as Group leaders. Morocco 2-0 Belgium
Speaking of great disappointments, the “Red Devils”, who, although they beat Canada in their opening match, were defeated in their second game by the best Moroccan team in history, 2-0, with goals by Romain Saiss and Zakaria Aboukhlal. The African team advanced as group leader, while Belgium’s golden generation could only get a draw against Croatia and was eliminated in their last match.
Cameroon 1-0 Brazil
Talk about a historical game with the “Indomitable Lions” facing Brazil as they had never defeated the “Canarinha”. Brazil qualified for the match and awaited the return of its main star, Neymar, while Cameroon was eliminated on goal difference against Switzerland, but achieved the historic victory with a goal by Vincent Aboubakar at 90’+2′, although he was sent off immediately afterward.
Korea 2-1 Portugal
Portugal had nothing to play for in their final match against the Koreans. However, the “Asian Tigers ” needed a win and a combination of results to advance and it all came together: they managed to beat the Portuguese and Uruguay and were a goal short in their victory over Ghana to advance. Korea had been trailing since the 5th minute, but in the 27th minute Kim-Young-Gwon equalized, and in the added time (90’+1′), Hwang Hee-chan gave them the pass over Uruguay.
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