by Deepanshu Srivastava
In this part of the article, we have described the highlights of the matches being played in Qatar from Nov 25 to November 28 as part of the FIFA World Cup 2022( Match No 16 to 30).
During this period, defending champion France of group D and Holland of group A almost confirmed their places in pre – quarter-final. The host Qatar got the distinction of getting out of the race of entering into the pre -QF after losing both of its matches during this period. Subsequently, their journey in the world cup came to an end. Other countries whose claims in this world cup ended are Serbia and Canada. Other possible contenders of the Cup, such as Belgium, Germany, Argentina, and Brazil made their positions strong in their respective matches.
Let us know about the matches played in this part of the game.
(16) Match No 16
In the one-sided match played between Brazil and Serbia, Brazil comfortably defeated Serbia by 2-0.
(17) Match No 17
New South Wales and Iran clashed in the match and to anybody’s guess, Iran defeated NSW by 2-0. Both goals were field goals.
(18) Match No 18
Host Qatar took on Senegal and the match was won by Senegal by the score of 3-1.
This was Qatar’s first and only goal scored in the world cup.
(19) Match No 19
Played between one of the title contenders Holland and Ecuador and the result surprised many when Ecuador held Holland for a 1-1 draw.
(20) Match No 20
England and USA locked horns in the match which went goalless. The field plan of the US made England, the better of the two teams, helpless and the result was a draw.
(21) Match No 21
In the group D encounter between Australia and Tunisia, Australia managed to get better off Tunisia by a slender margin of 1-0.
(22) Match No 22
Poland and Saudi Arabia match was won by Poland by 2-0, although SA had created the first major upset of this tournament by defeating the strong team Argentina by 2-1.
(23) Match No 23
Played between the title holder France and Denmark, France as expected defeated Denmark comfortably by the margin of 2-1. It is interesting to note that a team like France was trailing behind by 1-0 till the first half of the game.
(24) Match No 24
The notable match between two good teams in the tournament – Argentina and Mexico – was won by Argentina by 2-0. It was Argentina’s first victory in spite of the presence of all-time great Messi in the team.
(25) Match No 25
Japan and Costa Rica played the match and to utter surprise, Japan which had done the second major upset of the tournament when they had defeated Germany could not do any wonders and got defeated 1-0.
(26) Match No 26
Played between Belgium and Morocco, this group F match was won by Morocco by 2-0 leaving the soccer-loving people stunned. The result of this match was one of the biggest upsets so far. The two goals scored by Morocco were done in the additional time.
(27) Match No 27
Croatia and Canada played the match in which Canada was crushed by a margin of 4-1. Croatia proved its supremacy in both parts of the game and showed its intention to move ahead in style.
(28) Match No 28
One of the much-awaited matches between Spain and Germany got tied by 1-1. The sports lovers enjoyed the match and saw the two greats of Football trying to bring a result. In the match, Spain was ahead
till the 83rd minute of the match.
(29) Match No 29
Cameroon and Serbia clashed in this group G match, which was another drawn match. The score was 3-3. Cameroon was trailing in the entire first half but strongly came back in the match in the last few minutes of the game. However, both teams had upset their opponents earlier in this tournament.
(30) Match No 30
Between South Korea and Ghana, the two bottom-placed teams in the tournament, the match was edged out in favor of Ghana by 3-2.
About the Author:
Deepanshu Srivastava, a proven Sports writer, and storyteller is from Pune.