HIGHLIGHTS (Argentina VS Saudi Arabia, Denmark VS Tunisia, Mexico VS Poland, France VS Australia)
It is so obvious to start today’s highlights with the biggest upset till now. As the final whistle blew, Messi stands there in disbelief with his head down. Not taking away any credit from Saudi Arabia but what a disastrous performance by one of the favourites of this world cup. There were more than 88,000 football fans, packed inside Lusail stadium and about half of them appeared to have No.10 on their back but a huge disappointment was waiting. All eyes were on Messi but even with scoring a goal at the 10th minute of the match Messi was not able to break through their defence and neither was any other player of Argentina and whenever it seemed something could happen the brilliant offside trap of the Saudi team caught them each time. Finally the full time whistle blew and 11 fearless Arabian warriors against all odds stood there with pride and lots of tears praying and thanking god for what they have achieved.
Denmark and Tunisia played out a 0-0 draw during their opening World Cup 2022 group stage match on Tuesday afternoon. Both sides created chance but favourites Denmark were surprised by a well-organised Tunisia side who defended well and posed a threat on the coutner at times. There was late VAR drama but eventually no penalty was awarded when the referee went to the monitor.
Mexico and Poland both missed the chance to exploit Argentina's shock defeat by Saudi Arabia as their opening World Cup 2022 Group C encounter ended goalless.
Gerardo Martino's side had the bulk of possession and the better chances overall, but Poland might have sneaked victory only for star striker Robert Lewandowski to miss a second-half penalty.
The Barcelona forward won the penalty after a tussle with Hector Moreno in the box which went to a VAR review, but his weak spot-kick was saved by veteran Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo "Memo" Ochoa, who became only the eighth player — and fourth Mexican — to play at five World Cups.
Olivier Giroud's brace and a goal each from Adrien Rabiot and Kylian Mbappe helped France make a winning start to their World Cup title defence on Tuesday. The side defeated Australia 4-1 in a Group D match at the Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar. France started the game with some good attack in display but they were Australia who scored the first goal, courtesy Craig Goodwin. However, the 2018 champions bounced back with Rabiot's goal and dictated terms in the rest of the game to eventually seal a comfortable win.
UPCOMING MATCH PREVIEW (FOUR MATCHES)
MOROCCO VS CROATIA
As the carnival have already begun, the first few matches have already unfolded that the tournament is going to be full of surprises. Both Morocco and Croatia are set to lock horns in their opening game and make an early impact on the tournament.
The North African Nation will feel they have a fighting chance of getting out of the group, a feat they achieved just once, which was back in 1986. They have not been regulars at World Cups, as they will be featuring in only their sixth tournament at World Cup 2022.
Morocco’s recent form has been good, as they haven’t been beaten in five international outings. They have also shut out the opposition in their last four games while also finding the net at least twice in three of their last four internationals.
On the other hand Zlatko Dalic’s team head into this clash in good form, as they are undefeated in six international matches, having claimed five victories in a row. A relatively good defensive record had a hand in their recent stellar results, as they have conceded just two goals in their last five international outings.
The Balkan nation enjoyed their best-ever World Cup last time out in Russia, as they reached the World Cup final, only to suffer a 4-2 defeat at the hands of France. There are question marks over whether the current team can repeat that remarkable achievement in Qatar.
Croatia will feature the usual suspect of the likes of Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic, who both will be playing in their final World Cup. However, they also have talented youngsters emerging, such as Josko Gvardiol and Josip Sutalo, in their squad this time around.
GERMANY VS JAPAN
The "Group of Death" at this year's World Cup gets underway as Germany face their first big test in Japan.
With Spain and Costa Rica also looming in the other half of Group E, these two teams know that results in every single match will be absolutely critical towards advancing to the knockout round
Germany are touted as title contenders, but Japan will hope to play spoiler and knock one of the group's two European giants out early. Germany were eliminated from the 2018 World Cup in the group stage, ending a four-tournament stretch where they reached at least the semifinals.
Hansi Flick has a world-class squad to pick from and he can rely on Jamal Musiala, Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry and Kai Havertz to cause any team problems.
Japan won't be an easy team to break down but Germany have enough to get their World Cup campaign off to a flyer.
SPAIN VS Costa RICA
Spain will be bidding to get their World Cup campaign off to the best possible start when they take on Costa Rica in their Group E opener on Wednesday afternoon in FIFA World Cup 2022. The 2010 champions haven’t won a World Cup knockout match since the final in Johannesburg. However, Luis Enrique’s youth-infused setup comes into the contest buoyed by reaching the semi-finals of the European Championships and Nations League across the last 18 months.
Costa Rica finished in fourth place in their CONCACAF qualification campaign. They picked up a crucial victory against New Zealand to qualify for the World Cup. In 2022, Costa Rica has climbed 14 places in FIFA’s World rankings – more than any other nation at this year’s finals.
Spain has managed their transition admirably under Luis Enrique and now finds itself blessed with a new generation of technically-gifted players. The European giants have named one of the youngest squads in the tournament and will want their starlets to prove their mettle this year. Costa Rica has held their fair share of big names at bay in the past but has a mountain to climb in this group. It may be a slog – and they will have to be wary of Costa Rica’s speed in transition – but Spain should kick off their campaign with a victory.
BELGIUM VS CANADA
Once the best team in the world (according to FIFA rankings), Belgium has dropped in form quite a bit. Belgium managed to become the best team in the world without even winning a major trophy. The Red Devils is placed in Group F along with Canada, Croatia and Morocco. Belgium is expected to top this group in World Cup 2022.
Canada will go into their World Cup opener against Belgium with “belief, not hope”, according to midfielder Jonathan Osorio.
The North Americans defied expectations to top the final group of CONCACAF qualifying – ahead of the United States and Mexico – and earn an automatic qualifying place at Qatar 2022, and Osorio is confident of creating more surprises.
It is impossible to look past Belgium, despite the obvious confidence Canada gleaned from their impressive qualifying campaign.
But whatever the preview is, it is based on statistical data and whatever is happening in the field is not about data but about the players of all these nations battling it out to hold their head high and make their nations proud so we should always be prepared to expect the unexpected.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for all the excitement throughout the Greatest show on Earth.
