World Cup Qatar 2022 Winners & Losers: Match Week 1
Image Credit: Nasif Tazwar
By: Anthony Tazbaz
With the first round of Group Stage matches completed, we now look at some of the winners and losers of the past few days.
Winners
Enner Valencia & Ecuador
Facing the hosts in the opening match, La Tri passed their first test with flying colours. Defeating the hosts 2-0—thanks to a brace by striker and captain Enner Valencia—Ecuador obtained three crucial points and its players are riding high on confidence heading into the second Match Week, where they will compete against the Netherlands. With the Netherlands having defeated Senegal 2-0, the outcome of this match could dictate who will potentially claim Group A supremacy. Going forward, Ecuadorians should remain hopeful for a repeat of stellar performances by the likes of Enner Valencia, Michael Estrada, Pervis Estupiñan, and Moises Caicedo. It remains to be seen whether the Ecuadorian team could feature on the list of winners for Match Week 2.
UEFA Heavyweights
Facing the enormous amount of pressure to win and play at a significantly high calibre, the vast majority of European heavyweights weathered the storm quite well. In Group A, the Netherlands defeated defending AFCON champions Senegal 2-0, following two late goals by Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen. In addition to this convincing victory and climbing up to first place in Group A, this victory also constitutes a victory for Dutch football, with many of the featured players playing in the Eredivisie, including both scorers. These types of performances should put the world on notice by letting everyone know that the Eredivisie is a league of high calibre with the ability to produce world class talent on a consistent basis.
In Group B, England reminded the world of its might and attacking firepower after bagging six goals, consequently crushing Iran by the score of 6-2. A victory of such epic proportions fuels a tremendous amount of confidence in players, which will be needed when playing versus the United States and neighbouring rivals Wales.
Regarding Group D, the defending world champions France overcame a sluggish start and convincingly defeated Australia 4-1. Denmark, on the other hand, failed to break the deadlock versus an ambitious Tunisian squad, drawing 0-0. For the Danish, their next match versus France constitutes an incredible opportunity to bounce back and flex their muscles shown at the Euro last year.
As for the second half of groups, Spain crushed Costa Rica 7-0 and demonstrated that they can do more than retain 80% of ball possession and win by a bigger margin than simply 1-0 or 2-1. Their performance put the globe on notice that this young and energetic squad with incredible chemistry could go all the way. In Group F, Belgium escaped with a 1-0 victory versus a solid Canadian roster. However, Belgium should feel more relieved than anything else, having been outshot 22-7 and needing goalkeeper Thibault Courtois to save a penalty by Alphonso Davies.
In Group G and H, Switzerland and Portugal fought to claim 1-0 and 3-2 victories, respectively. Both performances entailed strong playmaking from both European nations, despite few scares and Ghana nearly coming back from being down 3-1—only for Inaki Williams to slip when facing an empty net following a gaffe by goalkeeper Diego Costa. Both nations will face tough opposition next time around, facing Brazil and Uruguay, respectively.
Asian Football Confederation (AFC)
Despite predictable losses incurred by Qatar, Iran, and Australia, the band of Asian nations nevertheless fared relatively well. As of writing, Iran overcame the trauma of their past result by emerging victorious over Wales by a score of 2-0, thanks to two stoppage time goals. As a result, their victory keeps them in the race for a spot in the Round of 16. Meanwhile, South Korea displayed a decent performance by drawing 0-0 versus Uruguay in their Group H opener.
The last two nations that were not mentioned, Saudi Arabia and Japan, undoubtedly produced the tournament’s biggest surprises thus far. Their 2-1 comeback victories versus Argentina and Germany, respectively, see them in the driver’s seat to booking a ticket for the Round of 16. It remains to be seen whether both nations can continue building on their past performances and create more surprises.
Breel Embolo
Although Switzerland played quite well against a confident Cameroonian side, the player who stands out in that performance is no other than their striker and lone scorer, Breel Embolo. Born in Cameroon and moved to Switzerland at age seven (moved out of Cameroon to France at age six, and then moved to Switzerland a year later), Embolo played with poise and calmness in what constituted an incredibly emotional match for him and his family. His goal makes him the first player to score a World Cup goal against his country of birth. He also receives further praise for not celebrating out of respect for his country of origin. Despite the controversy and outcry on social media for not playing for his home nation, Embolo’s performance and class are indicative of respect and love for both his country of birth and his country of citizenship.
Richarlison & Brazil
One word for Brazil’s performance: inspiring! Despite facing a strong and slightly depleted Serbian squad, Brazil’s second-half performance constituted a sight for sore eyes. La Seleção’s solid defending led by Thiago Silva and Marquinhos, as well as their strong attack led by Vinicius Júnior, Neymar, and Richarlison gave them the tools they needed to claim a victory in a high-stakes game. However, the main takeaway remains undoubtedly Richarlison’s brace, particularly the second goal. That incredible acrobatic kick constitutes, without a doubt, the goal of the tournament so far! With Neymar confirmed injured and out for the remainder of the group stage, Richarlison will need to continue to display incredible performances. However, expect a multitude of star players, namely Antony, Lucas Paquetá, Vinicius Júnior, and Gabriel Martinelli to make an impact in the ensuing games to come.
Losers
The 2014 Finalists
Finalists in 2014, Argentina and Germany both started their respective World Cup campaigns incredibly poorly, to say the least. Both nations lost their opening matches 2-1 with an identical match flow—taking the lead in the first half from a penalty shot and conceding two second-half goals. When Messi scored at the ninth minute, everyone thought this would culminate into a comfortable victory. However, an early second-half implosion led to two goals within the span of five minutes by forward Saleh Al-Shehri and midfielder Salem Al-Dawsari. Following that second goal, The Green Falcons remained calm and collected and kept their lead, offering Argentina little room to create few genuine scoring chances in the final third. Whenever Argentina produced any threat, the Saudi defence and goalkeeper rose to the task. Argentina will have to demonstrate their true colours and give it their all during Match Weeks 2 and 3 versus Mexico and Poland, respectively.
Germany, meanwhile, conceded goals at a far stage later of the match, particularly by forwards Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano. Japan’s inspiring comeback leaves Germany with little to no room for error as they face Spain for their second match, and Costa Rica in their final group match. However, if Spain defeats Germany and Japan defeats Costa Rica—both being a high probability—Germany would crash out at Group Stage of the World Cup for a consecutive time. Are Germany following the same path as Italy following their victory in 2006…?
CONCACAF
So far, the CONCACAF nations offered little inspiration, whether it is a missed opportunity to take all three points or demonstrating outright poor football.
The former, sums up the performances of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The Stars and Stripes have every right to be upset at themselves for how handled their 1-0 lead versus Wales. While dominating the majority of the game, the Americans seemed on course for victory and claiming all three points. That is, however, until Walker Zimmerman committed what is until now arguably the most questionable play when he decided to commit a poorly timed slide tackle from behind on Welsh captain Gareth Bale in the 18-yard-box. The tackle was unnecessary, and it ultimately led to a successfully converted penalty by Gareth Bale. The remainder of the match looked rather dull and a 1-1 draw seemed all but certain. However, the Americans have the opportunity next match to upset England and take a big step to claiming their spot for the Round of 16.
Despite not being favourites in Match Week 1, both Mexico and Canada must be expressing some sentiment of regret following missed opportunities, which could have led to a victory and a draw, respectively. Despite Canada’s laudable performance against one of the world’s best in Belgium, the CANMNT need to improve the quality in their chances; 22 chances with only three of them being on goal is unacceptable for a World Cup game. Also, Alphonso Davies’s saved penalty constitutes a perfect example of a squandered chance, which will need to come in abundance versus Croatia and Morocco. Mexico, however, had a decent showing versus a strong Poland side. Few positives could be the fact that they did not lose to Poland, Ochoa once again showing up and saving Robert Lewandowski’s penalty, and playing a shattered Argentinian side. If El Tri can apply the same amount of pressure as they did against Germany four years ago, they could surely win the game and send another round of shockwaves in the world of football/soccer.
As for Costa Rica, well… they displayed terrible football. Losing your opening game by a score of 7-0 constitutes rock bottom by the standards of any nation participating at a World Cup. Many do not expect much for Los Ticos at this World Cup, but one can only hope that they can redeem themselves versus Japan and demonstrate resilience and character versus the Germans.
Robert Lewandowski
The Polish star forward possesses many accolades to which he can reflect upon (even a Ballon d’Or which he should have won in 2020—had it not been for the pandemic shutting down all leagues for several months). However, one missing accolade is a World Cup goal. As mentioned in the Group C preview, Poland displayed an incredibly disappointing set of performances, which included a goalless stretch for their star striker. His missed penalty and lack of genuine chances versus Mexico extend such a stretch. However, Poland’s next match versus Saudi Arabia can be the perfect opportunity for Lewandowski to turn things around and end this goalless drought.
Confederation of African Football (CAF)
Five teams, five games, two points, zero wins. Those numbers indicate the outcomes by the African nations in Qatar. It is important to note, however, that most of these results were expected, especially a Sadio Mané-less Senegal losing 2-0 to a strong Netherlands team. With respect to Cameroon and Ghana—the two other sub-Saharan nations featured in the tournament—their performances included 1-0 and 3-2 losses versus strong Swiss and Portuguese squads. However, both African squads will rue their missed chances, which if some had been converted, could have altered the outcome.
On the other hand, Tunisia and Morocco—both North African nations present in Qatar—performed above expectations, particularly Tunisia drawing 0-0 against a very strong and confident Denmark. Morocco also demonstrated strong collectivity with a 0-0 draw versus defending finalists Croatia. While displaying lacklustre offence, both nations’ defences performed incredibly well against strong offensive talent.
With regard to every African nation, there remains lots to build on and to look forward to. For instance, as of writing, Senegal redeemed themselves with a 3-1 victory over the hosts Qatar. Tunisia is also facing an incredible opportunity to redeem themselves against a lacklustre Australia. Morocco and Cameroon, however, will face tougher challenges against Belgium and Serbia, respectively. Finally, Ghana will also face an opportunity to obtain their first victory against a competitive South Korean side, an underrated yet highly anticipated matchup that cannot be overlooked.
