In order to determine the pairs of the World Cup quarter finals, the teams first had to go through group stages and then the Round of 16. Here’s a quick look at how the group stags at 2022 World Cup turned out.
Group A [Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador, Qatar]
There was little doubt that the Netherlands will finish first in Group A, and they dully delivered on those expectations. Meanwhile, Senegal secured second place in a direct duel over Ecuador, while Qatar finished the group with all three losses.
Group B [England, USA, Wales, Iran]
England was the clear favourite to top this group and it’s safe to say that they cruised to it. The USA finished the group in second place thanks to their win over Iran in the last round, while Wales finished last with just one point from three games.
Group C [Argentina, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia]
Leo Messi and his buddies started the tournament with a surprising loss to Saudi Arabia, but they turned things around with wins over Mexico and Poland to claim the top spot in the group. Poland ened up in second place ahead of Mexico by virtue of goal difference since they were one goal ahead of them.
Group D [France, Denmark, Tunisia, Australia]
As expected, France topped Group D without many problems despite their loss to Tunisia in the last round when they already had secured the next stage. However, Australia was one of the biggest surprised in group stages since they managed to finish second in the group after beating Denmark in the last round.
Group E [Spain, Germany, Japan, Costa Rica]
All teams from gro0up E had a chance to get to the next stage ahead of the last round, but Spain and Japan ended up in the knockout stage even though Spain lost to Japan in that game. Japan topped the group, while the Spaniards finished second.
Group F [Belgium, Croatia, Morocco, Canada]
Another interesting group that brought us a big surprise is Group F, in which Morocco finished first after beating Belgium and Canada and drawing with Croatia. A scoreless draw between Croatia and Belgium sent the vice-champions of the world into the knockout stages and Belgium home.
Group G [Brazil, Switzerland, Serbia, Cameroon]
Brazil was unsurprisingly first in Group G, although it was closer than expected after their loss to Cameroon in teh last round, which nearly cost them the first place. However, despite Switzerland beating Serbia in the last round, they finished behind Brazil by one goal on goal difference.
Group H [Portugal, Uruguay, South Korea, Ghana]
The Portuguese team secured the top spot ahead of the last round and South Korea took advantage of that and managed to beat Portugal to get the second place, although they needed a goal in the final minutes of the match to do so and they still only went through ahead of Uruguay on goal difference.
Also read: World Cup Qatar 2022: Quarter Final Fixtures And Betting Tips
World Cup 2022 Round of 16 Results
Now that we covered the group stages, it’s time to take a look at Round of 16 and results that determined who will reach the World Cup quarter finals.
Netherlands vs United States – USA proved to hardly be a match for Netherlands, who beat them 3-1 to become the first team to reach the quarter finals.
Argentina vs Australia– Despite the game ending 2-1 to Argentina, the match was completely dominated by the South American team and Australia was lucky to get that result.
France vs Poland– In a clear display of dominance, France easily dispatched of Poland with a 3-1 win that send them further on their way to defending the title.
England vs Senegal– While many saw this as a potential mine for England, the Three Lions were convincing in their 3-0 win over Mane-less Senegal.
Japan vs Croatia– Not many people saw Japan in this stage and even fewer saw them beating Croatia. However, Japan took the lead and after Croatia managed to get back into the game, the two teams headed into the overtime and then penalties, where Croatia prevailed to secure a meeting with Brazil.
Brazil vs South Korea – This game was over after the first half in which Brazil scored four goals. South Korea managed to get one past the Brazilians to make the final result 4-1 to Brazil.
Morocco vs Spain – Spain didn’t seem too bothered by their loss to Japan in the last round since it sent them to Morocco in the Round of 16, but the Spaniards were thoroughly surprised by Morocco’s defensive display in this game. After a scoreless draw, Morocco managed to beat Spain on penalties.
Portugal vs Switzerland– This match was supposed to be the closest one in the Round of 16, but that notion was dispersed quickly as Portugal took a 2-0 lead at half time. But they didn’t stop there and the final score read 6-1 to Portugal after an impressive performance and hat-trick by Goncalo Ramos.
World Cup Qatar 2022: A Look at Group Stages and Round of 16 added by Turyasingura Kennedy on
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