The group stage is over and the Mondial-2022 has delivered its first lessons. Belgium and Germany eliminated and the six continents represented with good performances, notably from Morocco and Japan. Suspense, goals and a French team back on track, here is the first assessment of this World Cup in Qatar.
Morocco and Senegal bring Africa to 8th
With Morocco and Senegal, Africa will have two representatives in the round of 16 of this World Cup. A rebirth. During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, none of the five qualified African teams (Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal) had passed the first round.
Morocco even finished at the top of a very strong group F, with the Croatian vice-world champions and the Belgians, as it had done in 1986 before Portugal and England. The last African team to manage to take first place in a group was Nigeria in 1998.
Senegal digested Sadio Mané’s package just before the start of the competition and recovered after a frustrating opening defeat against the Netherlands (2-0). The Terenga Lions then beat Qatar (3-1), then Ecuador (2-1), to offer themselves a tantalizing round of 16 against England on Sunday.
>> Who are the 16 qualified for the round of 16?
Tunisia, which beat a revamped French team (1-0) for the last day of Group D, came close, like Ghana, eliminated after their defeat (2-0) against Uruguay. As for Cameroon, it offered in the last match a prestigious victory over Brazil (1-0), which however was not enough to qualify.
Africa has never had three teams in the round of 16 of the World Cup. It will wait a little longer but has proven that it is now necessary to reckon with the continent.
Six continents represented
With the qualifications of Japan and South Korea, Australia, the United States and two African countries, six geographical continents will be represented in the round of 16, a first for a World Cup.
In 2006, during the World Cup in Germany, Australia (which left Oceania to join Asia in 2010) had already qualified for the next round, narrowly beaten by Italy (1- 0). But during this edition, all Asian nations had been eliminated in the first round.
While this year, Japan made a strong impression by finishing at the top of a group E of which they were not favorites, thanks to great victories against Spain (2-1) and Germany (2-1) . Each time, Hajime Moriyasu’s men, led by the score, were able to overthrow their opponents through tactical adaptations and unwavering faith. Only quack, the defeat against Costa Rica (1-0), on a goal at the end of the match.
As for South Korea, they showed with their qualification snatched on the wire against Portugal (2-1) that they had resources and a realism of which we must be wary.
Challenge and suspense
With only three teams qualified for the round of 16 after two days and qualifications or first places which were played within a goal in all groups, this World Cup was not kind to the nerves of the supporters.
And remarkable and unprecedented fact, there was a sporting issue in each of the 16 matches of the third day.
The third day of Group E, where the four teams were qualified or eliminated at one point or another from their match, or the dramatic outcome for Celeste in Group H, are the most glaring examples of this.
And that’s not counting the many matches that saw turnarounds and goals in stoppage time, certainly very long in this World Cup.
Premature exits from the track
Germany, quadruple world champion, or Belgium, third in the last world will not see the round of 16 this year
The Belgian “golden generation”, first in the FIFA rankings for three years and third in the 2018 World Cup, will probably no longer shine. Third in their group behind Morocco and Croatia, the Belgians only scored one goal during the tournament, against the very modest Canada. De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Lukaku (barely recovered from injury) may have left the international scene through the back door.
>> From tensions to crash: the missed farewell tour of Belgium’s golden generation
“It looks like a horror movie,” summed up the German center-forward Kai Havertz, after the elimination of Germany, the second in a row in the group stage of a World Cup. In Qatar, the Germans got into trouble with a defeat against Japan (1-2), then a draw against Spain (1-1), and their success against Costa Rica (4-2) was not enough. Less than two years before organizing the Euro, Germany experienced an “absolute disaster” which “hurts incredibly badly”, recognized striker Thomas Müller.
Despite a failed start to the tournament, Luis Suarez believed in Uruguay’s qualification, but a goal from South Korea in the last moments against Portugal sent him back to 3rd place and he burst into tears on the bench , hiding his face in his jersey. La Celeste however ended with a victory against Ghana (2-0) but that was not enough. For the Suarez-Cavani generation, the Qatari World Cup will probably be the last and Uruguay will have to reinvent itself.
Qatar: a sporting flop, a restored image?
While everyone was wondering about the value of the host country’s team, which prepared in great secrecy for their tournament, the first minutes of the opening match against Ecuador provided the answer: Qatar was very far from the mark, totally overwhelmed in all areas of the game.
In the end, Qatar was the first host country to lose the opening game and ended up with three defeats, one goal scored and seven conceded.
But beyond football, the Gulf emirate, the subject of numerous criticisms and boycott threats on the subject of human rights, respect for minorities, in addition to the ecological aberration of this competition, has managed, with Fifa, to show a more positive image in Mondovision…
>> See: Qatar’s efforts to counter criticism
“The spirit of the World Cup is there”, repeated at will the Argentine, Mexican, Moroccan and Tunisian supporters interviewed by our special envoys.
>> “We feel at home here”: Morocco, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia… In Qatar, the celebration of Arab football
In Qatar, the Arab supporters are even the kings of the atmosphere. Since the beginning of the world, they have offered the most charged atmospheres of the tournament while the scenes of fraternization have multiplied. In particular with the Saudi neighbor, the most provided delegation of the competition. It must be said that Saudi Arabia, certainly eliminated before the 8th round, had a more than honorable course, with in particular a prestigious victory over Argentina for its first match (2-1)
Blues serious outsiders in title
Reigning world champions, the French team arrived in Qatar with many doubts, between cascading injuries and poor performance in warm-up matches. If the package of Ngolo Kanté had been acquired for some time, that of Karim Benzema took a blow to the morale of the Blues. The Ballon d’Or 2022, injured in the thigh in training, left Qatar on the eve of the opening of the World Cup.
The avalanche of injuries slid the French team from favorites to total uncertainty at the start of the World Cup. But on the pitch, France held on to their rank by easily winning against Australia at the opening, after a few scares at the start of the match (4-1), then ensured their qualification in the second match against Denmark ( 2-1). The defeat of the hairdressers against Tunisia (0-1), fortunately without consequence, ended up proving that the executives of the team were essential, since their late entry into play changed the face of the match.
Kylian Mbappé, the expected superstar, has taken on his responsibilities and has risen to co-top scorer in the competition, with three goals. As for Olivier Giroud, at 36, he has finally equaled the record he has been watching for several years: 51 goals in Blue by Thierry Henry, while his participation was still uncertain in September. And Antoine Griezmann has also done wonders in the raking and creative environment.
By offering themselves an accessible round of 16 against Poland, France showed that they had the means to go far in this competition, but be careful! As the group stage proved, this World Cup is one of surprises. An exit from the Old Continent quickly arrived…
With AFP
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