By Eddie Vasquez-Hernandez, Staff Writer | December 10, 2022
After 4 years of waiting, the World Cup is back.
What makes this event special is that it takes place during the wintertime rather than the usual summertime. The reason that the World Cup takes place in the winter is that it is taking place in Qatar, and in Qatar, the summer weather is too hot. The average high temperature in Qatar is 106 degrees Fahrenheit. Running an average of 7 miles and playing in 106 degrees is impossible to do for world-class athletes.
Despite many games being played early in the morning for people living in the United States, many are still tuning in to watch the World Cup through Fox Sports and Telemundo.
There are 8 groups in the World Cup with 4 teams each in every group. The top 2 countries with the most points go to the round of 16. The country that got first place plays against a team that got a second place from another group. If two countries have tied points, (3 points if you win, 1 if you tie, 0 if you lose) whichever country has the better goal to concede goal ratio moves on. If both countries are still tied, it goes to the most scored goals, and there is the fair play rule. The fair play rule: whichever country has fewer yellow or red cards is able to go to the next round
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In Group A the countries were the Netherlands, Senegal, Ecuador, and the host country, Qatar. The two countries that went to the next round were Netherlands and Senegal. Netherlands topped the group with 7 points, Senegal came in second with 6 points, Ecuador fell short with 4 points, and the host country came in a disappointed last with 0.
There was a tense game between Senegal and Ecuador since the winner of that match goes into the next round, and Senegal won the game 2-1.
In Group B the countries were England, the United States, Wales, and Iran. England topped the group with 7 points, the United States came in second with 5 points, Iran fell short with 3 points, and Wales was disappointed with 1 point. This was deemed one of the hardest groups but it was no problem for England and the United States.
Group C included the countries of Argentina, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Poland. Argentina topped the group with 6 points, Poland with 4 points, Mexico tied with Poland racking up 4 points, and Saudi Arabia with 3. Despite Mexico and Poland being tied with 4 points, the reason that Mexico did not go to the next round is because of the goal difference. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia shocked everyone winning beating Argentina’s 35 unbeaten streaks.
In Group D, the countries were reigning World Cup champions France, Australia, Tunisia, and Denmark. France topped the group with 6 points tying with Australia, Tunisia came up short with 4 points, and Denmark was disappointed with 1 point. In an upset, Tunisia beat France 1-0, shocking everyone.
In Group E, the countries were Japan, Germany, Spain, and Costa Rica. Japan shocked everyone by coming in first with 6 points, Spain came in second with 4 points, Germany tied with Spain with 4 points, and Costa Rica came in last with 3. The expected teams to make the next round were Spain and Germany, but Germany missed the round of 16 for two straight world cups. The shocking loss Germany faced against Japan really costs Germany.
In Group F, the countries included Canada, Belgium, Morocco, and Croatia. Morocco shockingly topped the group with 7 points, the runners-up of the 2018 World Cup Croatia came in second with 5 points, Belgium just barely came up short with 4 points, and Canada racked up 0 points. The predicted teams to make the next round were Croatia and Belgium, but Morocco defeated the odds, beating Belgium and tying against Croatia.
In Group G the teams included Serbia, Switzerland, Brazil, and Cameroon. Brazil, as expected, topped the group with 6 points, Switzerland tied with Brazil with 6 points as well, Cameroon came in third with 4 points and Serbia came in last with 1 point. Although these scores were predictable, what wasn’t supposed to happen was Cameroon beating Brazil 1-0.
The last group, Group H, included teams from Portugal, Uruguay, South Korea, and Ghana. Portugal came in first with 6 points, South Korea came in second with 4 points, surprising everyone, and Uruguay didn’t reach up to expectation coming in third with 4 points, while Ghana came in last with 3 points. South Korea wasn’t expected to make it to the next round, but they surprised everyone by doing so and by beating Portugal.
Outcome
So far, this World Cup is filled with shocking results, and this is what the World Cup is supposed to be about. Every country, whether they are considered favorites or not, is one dangerous team if you overlook them. The more teams are eliminated, the better these games will get since it’s the best playing against the best.
Latest Results
The final action-packed brackets have been created. In the semifinals, on December 13, Argentina defeated Croatia with a score of 3-0 while France got the best of Morocco, 2-0. This means that the long-anticipated finals will include Argentina and France on December 18, 2022, at 7:00 AM.
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