Category: Sport

The FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar has been one of the most exciting football tournaments in history,  in many respects. We have compiled the most interesting facts about the FIFA 2022 World Cup.

Germany and Brazil were the most harmless World Cup participants

You can’t blame each team for not trying everything to prevent the preliminary round elimination, especially for Germany.

But the difference between effort and outcome was dramatic: the German team fired 69 shots in the three games of the group stage – 23 shots per game – and thus the most at the end of the preliminary round.

However, Hansi Flick’s team needed twelve shots rounded up to score a goal. Together with record world champions Brazil, this was the weakest result of all World Cup participants who scored at least four goals.

World Cup legends are replaced

At the World Cup in Qatar, some legends had to and still have to have their entries in the history books deleted. Lothar Matthäus was particularly badly hit: the German record national player held the record for 24 years with 25 appearances. In the final, Lionel Messi – should he play – will overtake him by 26 World Cup games.

Manuel Neuer became the record goalkeeper against Costa Rica with his 19th World Cup game, but will probably have to give that record again in the final – France’s Hugo Lloris played game number 19 in the semifinals and will probably overtake Neuer against Argentina with 20 games.

And then there’s Pelé, who can at least share his record: Brazil’s legend scored 77 goals in his international career, and he has had to share the title of record goal scorer with Neymar since the Selecao quarter-finals against Croatia.

Ronaldo remains goalless – in knockout games

Cristiano Ronaldo said goodbye to the World Cup stage in the quarter-finals against Morocco – at the age of 37, probably for good. CR7 has to live with the blemish of failing to score in a knockout game in his fifth World Cup!

He scored all eight World Cup goals for Portugal in the group stage, and in 570 minutes in knockout mode Ronaldo failed to score in 27 shots. Ronaldo also made history in a positive way, becoming the only player to score in five World Cups since scoring against Ghana in the first group game.

Penalty killer Livakovic sets a record

Croatia prevailed on penalties in both the round of 16 and the quarter-finals.

The hero was in goal: Dominik Livakovic saved a total of four penalties, setting a World Cup record, because previously only compatriot Danijel Subasic in 2018, Argentina’s Sergio Goycochea in 1990 and Toni Schumacher (at the two World Cup finals in 1982 & 1986) had four attempts saved on penalties.

Klostermann is the “pass king”

The German national Lukas Klostermann said goodbye to the World Cup without having played a bad pass.

RB Leipzig’s defensive all-rounder can therefore call himself the “pass king” because he managed all 44 passes in his two appearances – among the players with a 100 percent pass rate, this was the highest number of passes.

However, Brazil’s Marquinhos brought this security with him to the quarter-finals and had a pass rate of 95.9 percent in 364 passes played.

Dumfries is the most indisciplined player in the World Cup

Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries had his moment of glory in the Round of 16, scoring and setting up the other two in a 3-1 win over USA.

Otherwise, the right-hand midfielder was particularly notable for his unfair actions: Of all the players, the 26-year-old was the player with the most fouls together with team-mate Jurriën Timber (17 each). As Dumfries was also sent off against Argentina in the quarter-finals, he is included in the statistics as the most unfair player of the tournament.

Card record in the quarterfinals (Argentina vs Netherlands)

The quarter-final game between Argentina and the Netherlands went down in World Cup history: the busy referee Antonio Lohoz pulled out the yellow card 18 times – including cards against Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni and his assistant Walter Samuel.

The previous record was “only” twelve yellow cards, including the 2010 final between Spain and the Netherlands.

Musiala gives chance after chance

Jamal Musiala attracted a lot of attention in his first World Cup tournament. However, the 19-year-old was also a symbol of the German offensive – the opposing goal seemed nailed to the Bayern star: Musiala tried it a total of 12 times and remained goalless.

No other player has had as many finishes without scoring a goal over the course of the tournament. Musiala was unlucky twice and hit the post.

Nobody stays on the bench in Brazil

Brazil’s national coach Tite provided a novelty: he used all 26 players in the squad – including the three goalkeepers – until the quarter-final defeat by Croatia. So many different players have not been fielded by one nation at any World Cup tournament in history.

So Tite used the entire width of the squad – even though 26 instead of the previous 23 players were allowed in a squad for the first time at the 2022 World Cup.

0-0 at the World Cup in Qatar was rampant

Seven games at the World Cup in Qatar ended in a clean sheet – six of them in the group stage alone. As of now, the negative record of the World Cup finals in 1982, 2006, 2010 and 2014 has been set, so a sad record is still possible.

Incidentally, the English played 0-0 for the 22nd time at a World Cup and are therefore the frontrunners of the zero numbers.

Portugal veteran Pepe has become the second-oldest World Cup goal scorer in history at the age of 39 years and 283 days.

In the round of 16 against Switzerland, the FC Porto central defender scored the goal from a corner to make it 2-0 (33rd minute), putting himself ahead of his team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo (37 years and 292 days).

Cameroon’s Roger Milla, who scored against Russia (1:6) at the 1994 World Cup at the age of 42 years and 39 days, is still in first place in the rankings.

Portugal dismantled Switzerland 6-1 and thus entered the quarter-finals of the World Cup. After a slow start, Portugal grew in strength as the game progressed, scoring twice before the break through Gonçalo Ramos and Pepe.

Switzerland seemed unimaginative in the first half but had two chances to score through Shaqiri and Freuler. Portugal turned up the heat after the break and put the result to a four-goal lead through Gonçalo Ramos and Guerreiro. Akanji’s goal for Switzerland failed to materialize as the superb Gonçalo Ramos crowned himself with a hat-trick and Rafael Leão completed the dread with a dream goal just before the end.

Portugal will meet Morocco in the quarter-finals next Saturday at 4 p.m. The Swiss, who are weak today, have to return home after the clear defeat. That was it from the Portugal vs. Switzerland game.

After a 3-0 penalty shoot-out, the big surprise team is now in the quarter-finals of this World Cup. The 31-year-old Bono saved the shots of Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets in front of 44,667 spectators at Doha’s Education City Stadium.

Pablo Sarabia hit the post right at the start – just like in the final seconds of extra time.

It was a true Moroccan wall

As a result, former world champions Spain failed to find a goal against the Moroccans in 120 thrilling but goalless minutes plus the ensuing penalty shoot-out. The Spaniards had already failed on penalties in the 2018 World Cup round of 16 (against Russia) and in the 2021 European Championship semi-finals (against Italy). It was the fourth defeat in a penalty shoot-out for the Spaniards at the World Cup. No other nation has ever had such weak nerves.

In addition, Spain was only the second team at a World Cup to miss all attempts in a penalty shoot-out. That had only happened to Switzerland in 2006 against Ukraine at the World Cup in Germany

“It was really cruel how we lost. Really cruel,” said Spain veteran Busquets. “It was a Moroccan wall. We looked for the gap but didn’t find it. We were just unlucky.” With the 2-1 defeat in the last group game, Spain had already raised doubts as to whether they would really be among the greats of this tournament.

Morocco is only the fourth African country to make it into the top eight teams at a World Cup: only Ghana in 2010, Senegal in 2002 and Cameroon in 1990 had previously done so. In the preliminary round of this tournament, the team of Bayern professional Noussair Mazraoui and former German U21 national player Abdelhamid Sabiri has already left Croatia, second in the World Cup, and Belgium, third in the World Cup, behind.

For a long time, La Roja searched in vain for a shooting space

The Spaniards, in their light blue third jerseys, played against a vociferous Moroccan majority in the stands, who mercilessly booed the Iberians. Morocco pulled far back with a tight five-man line in midfield in front of a four-man defence. A controversial free kick, kicked just over the bar by ex-Dortmunder Achraf Hakimi, was the first offensive action worth mentioning.

Before the break, La Roja looked in vain for gaps in the North Africans’ defence. Young stars Gavi and Pedri struggled in attacking midfield. Only Asensio with a shot at the side netting frightened the Moroccans.

Regardless of the course of the game, Gavi made a remarkable mark: The super talent from FC Barcelona is now the youngest starting XI player in a knockout duel at a World Cup since Pelé in 1958. The legendary Brazilian was then when his team won 5-2 against hosts Sweden , 17 years and 249 days old. Gavi now played at 18 years and 123 days. At the same time, the 34-year-old captain Busquets drew level with Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos in his 17th World Cup appearance for Spain.

The Moroccans set the accents

The Moroccans were increasingly bold: Full-back Noussair Mazraoui from FC Bayern with a sharp shot and Nayef Aguerd with a header created a threat to Unai Simon’s goal. Even after the break, coach Walid Regragui’s team did an enormous amount to ensure that their country’s sixth appearance at the World Cup did not end that evening.

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Meanwhile, Spain’s head coach Luis Enrique kept grimacing on the sidelines as the 2021 European Championship semi-finalists’ attacks faltered. An indirect free-kick from a tight angle then saw Morocco goalkeeper Bono raise his fists as Olmo fired. Alvaro Morata then came on with the recommendation of three World Cup goals in Qatar as fresh striker for the drained Gavi.

The Moroccans dwindled and half the defense broke down in the closing stages of regulation time: Munich’s Mazraoui and West Ham pro Nayef Aguerd were unable to continue playing. But they continued to fight valiantly and were lucky when Spain’s Sarabia hit the post in extra-time injury. The Spaniards then failed on penalties due to their nerves.

What the coach had to say

Walid Regragui (Morocco’s coach) said that his players were incredible, with their energy, with their determination against one of the best teams in the world, maybe the best. He said the players followed his instructions to the letter, while expressing uncertaity about how far the Moroccans can go.

Luis Enrique (Spain’s coach) said that they dominated the game but didn’t score. They had created chances, but couldn’t score because the opponents had a high defensive quality. He said that he was happy with his team because they implemented his theory, congratulating Morocco and acknowledging Bono’ exceptional performance.