A bit late for it but here a thread to discuss whats going on in the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

What already happened as of making this thread:

• Qatar historical defeat as a WC host vs Ecuador
• Senegal brave effort vs Netherland despite their 2-0 defeat
• England 6-2 trashing or Iran
• 1-1 game of two halve between USA and Wales
• Argentina unpredictable defeat at the hand of Saudi Arabia

If you wanna discuss any of those match, or any of the upcoming games, this is the thread for it.

My takeaway from some of those game:

Qatar vs Ecuador was scary with some worry of corruption from referee after a 3 minute opener by Valencia was canceled for offside. However, I think its fair to say most people were reassured when Ecuador were given an obvious penalty later on. For a team that has been practicing together since June, Qatar has been rather underwhelming in what was probably one of their most important game ever.

Senegal vs Netherland was a pretty even game imho. But Senegal can clearly regret quite a few thing in that game. Their finishing and decision making in the final third was surely what costed them the game as they had a pretty solid performance from what I seen. Worth mentioning they could have propably gotten away with a draw if not for 2 mistake by Edouard Mendy.

England vs Iran was a great win by England, reassuring me that what we saw at the nation league has nothing to do with the current momentum England had in big tournament. I won't get too hyped for England as Iran really wasn't that great and they still let in 2 goal. My big takeway though is that England is a team who enjoy playing together, very little selfishness from a lot of great players and honestly, even if im not impressed tactically, if such quality individuals keep on playing for each other like that, it could help England keep on a great dynamic.

USA vs Wales Like I said, game of 2 half, USA were super good in the first half, then got completely dominated in the second one. Great sub from Wales though by bringing Kieffer Moore at half-time, this guy feel like Olivier Giroud on a budget.

Argentina vs Saudi Arabia was crazy. Got little to say as I have only seen the highlight but Argentina felt both cursed and blessed in that game. Getting what I would call a very soft penality early on, only to be denied at least 3 goal for offside. After that, Saudi Arabia were quality and equalised before scoring a banger to get the win at the end. Argentina will propably need to get big results against both Poland and Mexico if they still want to qualify.

Qatar vs Ecuador: Not much to say really. Bad quality game overall. Ecuador could have gone for more, they simply decided to step a bit off and conserve energy for their next game.

Words by Brazil media: Qatar could play in Brazillian C league and still relegate to D. - Well I find that statement too much, but yeah, they wouldn't even make B league top half I think. Which is strange. Qatar were Asian champions. They played really well against, for example, Saudi Arabia - that just defeated Argentina - Japan and Korea.

Senegal vs Netherlands: I did guess 2-0 for Netherlands but hell that was too painful to watch. I watch the first half, some HUGE chances but none were converted. Went for a meeting, arrived back still at 0-0, and the stats said Netherlands with 10 shots and 0 on goal. 3 shots on goal (later 4) for Senegal and all were goalie saves (yes, later 4 too). I have a feeling Senegal deserved it more. But both had very serious issues with their attack.

England vs Iran: Again, not much to say. Oh I mean, one thing. I think Maguire is slowing down the team too much.

USA vs Wales: Honestly was not interested. Happy for Gareth Bale though. Tough to be this good of a player, not being appreciated enough, the National team to fight so hard to finally getting into WC after 60+ years, and make a goal. Historic in a way.

Argentina vs Saudi Arabia: Brave for the arabs to press so high and succeed. And so intelligent to make constant "offside traps" for 60 minutes... and then went for fouls and time wasting until the end - I don't blame them, they are against players with absurd quality afterall. Btw, outstanding goalie. Some incredible saves and decision makings I did not expect from the arab side.

PS: Despite props to the arabs, offside by an arm is simply ridiculous.

Some really good take as usual kirsi16, some of the stuff you said I'd like to react about:

Despite props to the arabs, offside by an arm is simply ridiculous.

Yeah, they are using the new ruling and technology we've seen in the Champion League, not a big fan of it, I wish they'd switch to the same ruling they are using in the PL this season where the defender have a thicker line than the attacker.

I think Maguire is slowing down the team too much.

Yes, thats a fair assessment but his dominance in the air is truly astounding, doubt the second goal happen if he isn't there. I think he fit this England team better than he does United.

They played really well against, for example, Saudi Arabia - that just defeated Argentina - Japan and Korea.

Yeah, thats the thing, I was also surprised considering all their prep and good results in friendly games. But when you consider that a lot of those player has been preparing for this world cup since their childhood, I fear the pressure might have been too much. Only explanation I can think of for such a poor showing.

But when you consider that a lot of those player has been preparing for this world cup since their childhood, I fear the pressure might have been too much. Only explanation I can think of for such a poor showing.

I felt the Brazil 2014 PTSD all over again reading your phrase. Lots of expectation, home soil, best player brutally injured, best midfielder absent, taking a beating in a full stadium. 0-2 to Ecuador was ok I guess.

And so intelligent to make constant "offside traps" for 60 minutes... and then went for fouls and time wasting until the end

Wrong, Saudi were playing the offside trap the whole game. As the end of the game got nearer Argentina were just becoming more desperate by diving more to get incorrect decisions in their favour. The referee was trying to help Argentina get back into the game too.

One thing I appreciate about this world cup is how accurate they decided to be with the added time. They stop the time whenever there's time wasting and the play has been stopped. We are all surprised at how much that adds up to by the end of the game. Even in the stoppage time, if the play has been stopped, the ref adds on more stoppage time. This rule should be applied in league football.

One thing I appreciate about this world cup is how accurate they decided to be with the added time. They stop the time whenever there's time wasting and the play has been stopped. We are all surprised at how much that adds up to by the end of the game.

Yes, thats one thing I agree on. Some people were shocked at first but I like it, I mean, we all know we don't get 90 of actual football most of the time and that lots of minutes are spend celebrating goals, players preping free kick and corner or anaylising VAR and while we alway had added time at the end of a game, those numbers were never close to the time actually lost in game.

What is it with Germany and chocking in the world cup lately... I mean, credit to Japan for winning 2-1 against them but it truly felt like they weren't sharp at time.

People are calling it a shock but if you watched the game then you would've expected Japan to possibly win.

Costa Rica are a disgrace. I really want the Japan and Germany to put more than 10 goals past them each if they show 0 defence and 0 attack again like their game against Spain. They should be fined for not showing up at all. There are too many nations which are way better than them but they arent in the world cup.

@Footy_watch Hey, no need to be so rude to Costa Rica, they didn't want to lose 7-0 and they qualified like anybody else. I mean, maybe that had a bad day or maybe they were nervous but for me, the biggest problem were their gameplan, defending deep against a team like Spain mean accepting to lose control of the game but for me, against a team like Spain who love to control game and create chance against chance, thats just not the best way to go.

I think we should give more credit to a team when they win by a big margin instead of dunking even more on the losing team, I mean, they clearly taken enough punishement as it is. ^^'

As for Japan winning against Germany, I'm not saying its a terrible shock but you expect Germany to win or draw this even if they aren't having their best game. Still, Japan alway seem to improve WC after WC, so here wishing them the best.

Finally, for Canada vs Belgium, this one a bit depressing because I felt like we played a better game than Belgium for many part of the game but sadly, we just weren't realist enough and got punished for it. We propably could have gotten one or more pens as well but no use complaining about those decision. Belgium experience propably was the big difference, hope the team get stronger from this lose though. We need to be sharper if we want to go further in the tournament.

I thought Canada would win the game with the way you were dominating from the start, but then you kept missing chance after chance frustratingly and I knew it was heading in Belgium's favour.

Belgium won simply because they have the quality, but they didn't deserve it.

You deserved another penalty when the attacker placed his left foot infront of the German defender but I'm guessing VAR deemed it as the attacker looking for the penalty.

We have so much talent upfront, each one of our attackers deserve to be in the first team. We didn't even fulfill half of our potential against Serbia.

I thought Canada would win the game with the way you were dominating from the start, but then you kept missing chance after chance frustratingly and I knew it was heading in Belgium's favour.

Yeah, cannot argue with that. we had more than enough chance but we just didn't had the composure to take and bury them.

Belgium won simply because they have the quality, but they didn't deserve it.

Well, I mean, the reaction by the Belgium players at the end of the 90 minutes tell it all, they seemed pretty dissapointed with themselve. Still, in football if you don't bury your chance, you don't deserve to win. That was our case and Belgium is the reverse so I case you could argue they derseve it but I think the players will want to do better starting next game. I mean, would have loved to win but if our performance served as a wake up call to Belgium, thats already a strong performance capable of leaving a mark on some of the top pro in europe.

We have so much talent upfront, each one of our attackers deserve to be in the first team. We didn't even fulfill half of our potential against Serbia.

22 shot vs 5. Thats Brazil shot vs Serbia. To put that in perspective, spain had 17. This Brazil team is really super dominant and really good, if anything, they should have gotten more goal, but putting 2 through Serbia and shutting them so strongly was good enough. There some worry about the defense but its also seem really good.

Only problem for Brazil right now is Neymar sprain, hopefully he's back for the knockout round.

Qatar is on pace of becoming the hosting team with the worst record ever in a World cup🫣🧐

@Pelle First team officially eliminated from this world cup. First time the host is the first to be eliminated and second time only the host doesn't make it past the group stage. Its been all kind of bad for them and while I'm a bit sad for their players, I feel this is what their nation, especially its governement deserve. Sorry if this seem crude but that how I feel.

More takeway from me:

Portugal vs Ghana: Portugal looked the better team despite having some trouble with their finishing earlier in the gamae. You could argue they could have lost or draw this game if it wasn't for a somewhat soft penality or Inaki Williams slipping in the dying minute of the game, personnally, I think they did enough in this occassion but they need to be careful or they might get punished if they don't act more seriously in defense.

Netherland vs Ecuador: Honestly, am I the only one who think Ecuador deserved more from this game? They were really good imho and really dominated an uninspired Netherland team.. Gakpo is amazing though, really talented, don't know if United will actually move for him this winter of next summer but if they do, their attack trident is about to look mighty exciting.

USA vs England: Pretty much the inverse of what we saw against Iran and thats because USA actually played with intent, very similar to us against Belgium. Sadly, similar to us, they couldn't come up with a finisher. Still, I will argue the problem with this England team isn't with the player or their team spirit but more with the manager and lack of flexibility. I mean, Southgate had the player to change the momentum of the game in his team favor but somehow I think he has a hard time adapting on the go. Should have brought on Phil Foden.

Senegal vs Qatar: That one wasn't all that great despite what the scoresheet might imply. I mean, Senegal was good, way better than Qatar but not really all that convincing either. I'm more or less convinced by now that Ecuador might just be the best team in that Group.

Well we kind of know they didnt get the world cup fairly… so this is the least kind if justice that could be made.

btw this is becoming a meme😁

France vs Denmark: Solid game by France, Denmark were also good but honestly, France for me were the better team and deserved to win here. This win is also big in the sense that France is the first team since the 1998 word cup to win the previous WC and manage to get out of the group stage. They are also the first team to get 6 point in two match. France looking good now and hopefully for them, they can build up on those wins to prepare for the knockout round.

Argentina vs Mexico: This wasn't a great game imho and considering how many (me included) were expecting Argentina to be favorite, their performance wasn't all that impressive. However, individual quality was enough and Messi and Enzo Fernandez gave Argentina the 3 point. They'll need to win against Poland to be sure to qualify as a draw would require Saudi Arabia to draw or lose against Mexico (and not by a too big margin).

I have not said much, mostly because I have been traveling a lot, but still watching matches, of course. I will try to comment more now that I am home, and I will start with today's bigger matches. I'll leave the USA v England comments to myself. haha

France was too much for Denmark, even though Denmark played a solid match. France never really seemed to take things out of 2nd or 3rd gear and we all know they have like 4 or 5 gears. Scary that they can coast and still beat a decent team 2-0.

The Argentina v Mexico match was very gritty. This fits the style of ball played in this part of the world, so I expected a rough, foul, tricky match. I was not 100% sold on Argentina after watching them implode in their first match, but I knew they had more quality on the field, so I felt they had the edge.

It just takes a few good finishes to change a match, be it from the favorite or the underdog. I saw Argentina get more and more comfortable, tightening the grip on the match, then Messi finished a nice shot, which opened up Mexico more.

While this is not the strongest Mexican team they have taken to the cup, make no mistake, they are not pushovers, and any team would find it difficult against them. Does Argentina need to pick things up more, yes, yes they do. They won't get away with how they are playing in the later rounds, but they do have the team to do it.

So frustrating, Canada couldve won both of their games, now they are eliminated. They made the mistake of letting Croatia play after taking the lead when they couldve went on to score more.

@DarthFooty Welcome back mate, hope your travel went well. Would have love to hear what you thought of England vs USA tbh.

Same goes for @Sunflash if you ever pop up here and see this, I'd be super interesting in having some of your feedback, especially about USA and Canada.

@Footy_watch Yeah, its too bad, we scored a beauty early on but we clearly didn't play as good as we did against Belgium in that game. Croatia took control of midfield for the rest of the first half and it was hard to go back in after that. Some change by the coach evened thing out but our lack of sharpness from the Belgium game was back.

Its a tough results to swallow but its feel actually more fair in Croatia case as they actually did play good and were better than us most of the time in that game. Congrats to them anyway and I hope they go on to beat Belgium.

As for Canada performance, the good thing is the experience and the fact we weren't completely ridiculous in those games. We obviously will need new players in 2026 and hopefully, we'll manage to find some quality to strenghten our team, especially in defense. Also, getting our first WC goal is great.

Now about the other games:

Belgium vs Morocco: Belgium is dreadful and if there any regret to be have for us, its losing to that team. I mean, I like Kevin De Bruyne but going out and saying stuff like 'No we are not gonna win the WC, we are too old.' is not gonna do his team any good. How are you gonna have a shot if you don't believe it? Seemed to me De Bruyne is far too pessimist already and I wouldn't be surprised if the team atmosphere was pretty bad. Anyway, their defending on corner and freekick were terrible, seeing Courtois of all people allowing goal like that is distressing, this team is just underperforming terribly right now. Sad way for Belgium golden generation to end. Congrats to Morocco, they were solid defensively and played their chance to the maximum.

Spain vs Germany: I thought that was a pretty even game, if anything, German seemed to be a bit more dangerous. Really, its quite dissapointing that those 2 teams doesn't have a great 9 to finish their action more often as they be so much more dangerous with that.

Japan vs Costa Rica: Dissapointed for Japan, they basically had done the hardest part by beating Germany but I guess thats the beauty of the WC, you never know what can happen. Ironically, Costa Rica surprised Japan similar to how Japan surprised Germany.