Key unforgettable moments of 2022 World Cup Group stage in Qatar

The 2022 World Cup hosted in Qatar has been nothing but spectacular sporting. The drama, the jeopardy, the jubilation and the agony have so far left football lovers in Qatar and beyond in an emotional roller-coaster.

Unlike previous World Cup games when countries with ‘Big teams’ were automatically deemed the favourite to win their contests, Qatar 2022 has so far proven to be a David and Goliath tournament where unsuspecting teams with up and coming players floor countries with stellar and accomplished players.

The international tournament began with 32 countries out of which 16 teams qualified for the round of 16. The group stage of the tournament ended Friday, December 2, 2022, with a historic game between Brazil and Cameroon.

GhanaWeb in this article brings all the unforgettable moments of Qatar 2022 group stage.

Qatar’s tragic loss to Ecuador

For over 92 years in the history of the World Cup, no host country has ever lost its opening game. The almost a century long streak came to a tragic end when Qatar, the host country conceded two goals in its opening game against Ecuador.

Qatar’s defeat naturally gives them an unenviable spot in the history of World Cup and makes the game, ‘Qatar vs Ecuador’ unforgettable.

South Arabia’s historic win over Argentina

Day three of the Qatar 2022 World Cup will go down in footballing history for the victory of Saudi Arabia over the Lionel Messi-led Argentina. Ahead of the game, football pundits and football technical experts had predicted a straight win for Argentines.

However, at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, the ‘Green Falcons’ of Saudi Arabia gave the Argentina national team a run for their money and secured a 2-1 victory over the Lionel Messi side. This victory left the jaws of many football lovers dropped and gave hope to smaller teams who had to face bigger and more accomplished teams.

Uruguay’s second defeat of Ghana, the win that was not a victory

Arguably one of the most emotional games of the tournament, Ghana vs Uruguay. Ahead of the game, most Ghanaians and Africans yearned for a revenge against the Luis Suarez-led Uruguay team because, during the South Africa 2010 World Cup, Luis Suarez denied Ghana a chance to play at the semi-finals of the tournament when he hand-kicked a ball from Uruguay’s net.

On their part, the South American football giant was also on a mission to prove to Ghanaians and all their naysayers that they won their 2012 match fair and square and also to secure a spot at the Round of 16 of Qatar 2022 by defeating Ghana.

At the end of the game, Ghana could not fulfill its revenge mission as the Black Stars conceded two goals after missing a penalty kick again.

Unfortunately for the South American side, Uruguay was eliminated in the group stage even with a 2-0 win and a brace by Giorgian de Arrascaeta. Their win over Ghana was not enough to keep them in the World Cup after South Korea beat Portugal in the group's other game. So, although Uruguay won the battle, they lost the war.

The Asian victories

With A Record Six Teams in a World Cup for the first time, Asia resets football history. Hosts Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Iran, South Korea and Australia represented Asia in FIFA World Cup 2022.

By far, these Asian countries have performed great compared to past times. Saudi Arabia secured a 2-1 victory against football giant Argentina, Japan floored both Spain and Germany in a 2-1 victory in both games to advance to the Round of 16, and South Korea defeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal to advance to the Round of 16. Australia also upset Denmark in a 1-0 win to qualify for the Round of 16.

Brazil’s first defeat to an African team

Although one of the favourite teams tipped to win the FIFA 2022 World Cup, the five-time winners, Brazil was stunned by a ten-man Cameroon team in a 1-0 defeat in the final Group G match at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.

This makes it the first time the South American side is losing to an African team in the 92 years history of the World Cup. Although Cameroon couldn’t make it to the Round of 16, the team bowed out as Giants of football in their own rights.

EAN/ESA