The pool stage matches of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 have concluded, with 16 teams competing in a knockout round of 16 to proceed to the quarterfinals.
The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 group stage matches have concluded, with 16 of the 32 teams advancing to the knockout rounds. The Round of 16 is the first round, in which each team competes against another team, with the winner advancing to the quarterfinal round.
Group A saw the Netherlands top the chart with 7 points coming from 2 wins and 1 draw against Ecuador. The team has yet to lose a match in the tournament. Senegal has joined the Netherlands in the same group with 6 points after failing to defeat the Netherlands 0-2.
England is coming too strong from Group B with a score similar to the Netherlands. Although one could argue that England appears to be in a better position with a goal difference of 7, the majority of that difference stems from an event played against Iran. The only drawn event was played against the USA, with neither side scoring a single goal. That worked for the USA, as it qualified for the first knockout round.
Argentina shocked Saudi Arabia but came back to win the group. Poland, despite one win and one loss, came in second. Saudi Arabia only managed to win one game while losing the other two, but Mexico at least managed to draw with Poland.
Even though Tunisia knocked France out of group play, it was already too late for France to avoid elimination. Regardless, it was a big factor in Australia’s advancement to the knockout stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Spain was stunned by Japan in its last event of the group fixture for Group E. Nonetheless, both teams advanced to the Round of 16, with Japan advancing first and Spain advancing second.
Morocco from Group F and Brazil from Group G have ended their group fixtures with 7 points each. They are followed by Croatia and Switzerland from the respective groups. Croatia turned out to be fortunate to have two drawn results. Canada lost all three events, and Belgium missed the opportunity due to a drawn fixture against Croatia.
Portugal, just like France and Brazil, qualified early with 6 points to its name. South Korea has made it as well.
Jumping to the Round of 16, the Netherlands and the USA played their events on December 3, 2022, with the Netherlands landing a 3-1 win for further qualification. Argentina and Australia came face to face on December 4, 2022. The Messi-led side emerged victorious 2-1. Other teams who have qualified for the next round, which is the quarterfinals, are:
- France defeats Poland 3-1.
- England defeats Senegal 3-0.
Japan and Croatia will play their Round of 16 matchup today at 8:30 p.m. IST, followed by Brazil vs. South Korea on December 6, 2022, at 12:30 a.m. IST.