World Cup

By Elena Fuentes

March 2023

The most anticipated sporting event in the world returned for its 2022 tournament, and it did not disappoint. The World Cup which began on November 20th and ended on December 18th was filled with heartbreak and happiness and ultimately ended in Argentina being crowned champions of the world. 

The group stage was filled with unexpected results. Group stage play began in group A with a dominant 2-0 Ecuador win over Qatar. Qatar ended up being the first host nation to ever lose their first match, and their bad luck continued when they lost all three group stage matches and were the first host country to do so. In Group A, the Netherlands and Senegal ended up advancing to the knockout stage. In Group B one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament happened, England vs the United States, which ultimately ended as a stalemate, 0-0. The biggest upset of the group stages occurred in Group C, when Saudi Arabia upset Lionel Messi and Argentina 2-1. Argentina was able to recover from this loss and they and Poland moved onto the knockout stage. This marked the first time since 1978 that Mexico failed to make it past the group stage. In Group D the 2018 defending champions France, and Australia advanced to the knockout stages. In Group F, despite being the second ranked team in the world, Belgium failed to advance. Canada appeared in their first men’s World Cup in 36 years, but failed in the group stage with zero points. In Group G, the five-time world champions Brazil and Switzerland advanced. For Group H, Portugal and South Korea advanced. Not a single team lasted through the group stage with a perfect record of three wins. 

Despite the fact that the Spanish coach, Luis Enrique instructed his players to practice 1,000 penalty kicks, they were beaten by Morrocco 3-0 on penalties, topped off by a stunning penalty down the middle from PSG player Achraf Hakimi. Even though Cristiano Ronaldo did not get substituted on until the 73rd minute, Portugal had a dominant 6-1 win over Switzerland. Brazil defeated South Korea 4-1 with all four Brazil goals coming in the first half, South Korea was able to get one back with a goal by Paik Seung-ho, but that was it. Many people believed that Japan would get away with the upset against Croatia, but they ended up losing 3-1 on penalty kicks. England completed a dominant win against Senegal, 3-0. Argentina beat Australia 2-1. The Netherlands won 3-1 over the United States, and France also beat Poland 3-1.

The quarterfinals included some of the craziest matches of the entire tournament. Brazil versus Croatia had almost equal possession, and needed to go into extra time. Many fans thought that the game was won once Neymar scored in the 105th minute, but Bruno Petković saved Croatia when he scored with only three minutes left in the game. Croatia ended up winning the match 4-2 on penalty kicks. Argentina versus The Netherlands resulted in 18 yellow cards and one red being handed out. Argentina scored first when Nahuel Molina scored in the 35th minute and then Messi scored a penalty in the 73rd minute. The Netherlands' prayers were answered when Wout Weghorst scored in the 83rd minute and in the tenth minute of added time. The penalty shootout ended closely as Argentina won 4-3. Morocco won another match while being the team with less possession with a 1-0 win. Youssef En-Nesyri scored the matchwinner right before halftime. This game may have marked the end of Ronaldo’s international career. The last quarterfinal was England versus France, and after a goal from Aurélien Tchouaméni, France went into the half leading 1-0. England equalized in the 54th minute after a penalty kick from captain Harry Kane. Olivier Giroud took back the lead in the 78th minute with a header. England was awarded another penalty, but Kane skied it. 

In the semifinal between Croatia and Argentina, Argentina completed a 3-0 win. Croatia had 61% of the possession, but they could not break Argentina’s defense, as well as Julian Alvarez’s brace and Messi’s penalty kick. Morocco’s incredible tournament run came to an end with their 2-0 loss to France. Morocco actually dominated the possession, and had the same number of shots on target, but France inevitably got the victory. 

Morocco and Croatia clashed for the third place match. Josko Gvardiol opened up the scoring in the seventh minute for Croatia. But, Achraf Dari quickly equalized for Morocco just 112 seconds later with a header. Mislav Orsic scored the winning goal right before the end of the second half. 

The final match took place on December 18th, and has been dubbed one of the most exciting finals in world cup history. It was either going to be the defending champions France or Messi’s first star in his legendary career. Argentina opened up the scoring in the 23rd minute with a penalty kick. Argentina went into the second half up 2-0 after a beautiful counter-attack ending in an Ángel Di María. Despite the fact that many people thought that all chances of France winning, Kylian Mbappe scored a penalty in the 80th minute and then scored again in the 81st minute, a brace in exactly 93 seconds. His goals prompted the game to head into extra time, where Messi scored his second goal of the game in the 108th minute. Even when hopes had died down for France, AGAIN Mbappe managed to score his third goal of the game, another penalty. This meant that the match was going to head to a penalty shootout. France scored first, when Mbappe netted his third penalty of the game. Messi equalized the tally, with his third of the game. Kingsley Coman’s shot was saved by Emiliano Martinez, and Argentina led 3-2 after Paul Dybalo scored. Aurélien Tchouaméni then missed the net, and Argentina led 4-2 after a goal from Leandro Paredes. Randal Kolo Muani scored his shot to make it 4-3, but Gonzalo Montiel scored to win Argentina the tournament.

After an intense and thrilling tournament, Argentina were now crowned champions of the world.