It is difficult to answer that question, especially since everyone has experienced the World Cup in a different way.
But what we can say is that the group stage of the championship has been intense and that the third day of the different groups, in some cases, has been heart-stopping.
As examples: Japan eliminates Germany, Morocco does the same with Belgium, and South Korea with Uruguay.
Did the ball go out or not in Japan’s second goal against Spain? Photo: Elsa.
At BBC Mundo we tell you what has been good for us , the bad and the most curious of this first phase of Qatar 2022.
The good
The evenness of the teams: seven of the teams that are in the Top from the FIFA ranking were eliminated in the first round or they did not qualify for the World Cup.
Teams like Morocco, Australia , Senegal or Japan, who did not arrive as favorites to qualify for the next round, did so, and some even led their groups in their pass to the round of 16.
It is the first time in the history of the that there will be a team representing each continent in the second phase: Asia, America, Europe, Oceania and Africa.
And it is the first time since e at 1978 the World Cup expanded to 8 groups that no team achieved three victories and 9 points in the first phase, perhaps an indication that the level of the teams is more even.
Added to this is the historic victory of Saudi Arabia over Argentina, Tunisia over France and Cameroon over Brazil. Despite being eliminated, the truth is that their triumphs will remain in the soccer album forever.
In terms of talent, the future looks hopeful with the appearance of several young figures : Jude Bellingham from England, Jamal Musiala from Germany, Mohamed Kudus from Ghana, Pedri and Gavi from Spain; the Argentines Julián Álvarez and Enzo Fernández; and the Dutchman Cody Gakpo, among others.
The violent clash of the goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand with his partner that left him injured in the nose. Photo: Getty Images.
None of them exceeds years, but they are fundamental for the operation of their selections.
Good performance: despite the fact that in Qatar 2022 there has been a reduction in the gap in the level of the selections, there are a couple of powers that have shown their power.
Brazil -with a constellation of strikers led by Neymar Jr. reminiscent of the golden years of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo or even the famous scratch in Mexico 39- has shown a level that, despite the defeat against Cameroon on the third day with a team full of substitutes, puts it in the first position to keep the FIFA trophy.
Inclus or with the injury to the PSG star in the first match, Brazil has shown that they have various alternatives to resolve difficult games.
The case of France also deserves a mention: from 644, most of the world champion teams faltered when defending their title in the next World Cup, but so far -and despite the defeat against Tunisia- les Bleus have managed to reach the round of 16 as first in their group and maintain the label of favorites.
Stephanie Frappart, Neuza Back and Karen Díaz directed the Germany vs. Costa Rica.
Photo: Getty Images.
The shortlist of referees: for the first time in the history of the World Cups, three female referees were in charge of administering justice on a soccer field.
The French Stephanie Frappart, the Brazilian Neuza Back and the Mexican Karen Díaz directed the exciting Germany-Costa Rica match, which despite the German victory 4-2, ended with the elimination of the European team from Qatar 1978.
The bad
The disappointments: first let’s talk about the two big disappointments of Qatar 2022, Belgium and Germany.
Germany, four times world champion, has not been able to overcome the group stage for the second consecutive time in a World Cup.
It had already happened in 2002. And now in 2018 was left out after losing surprisingly to Japan, not being able to beat Spain and beating Costa Rica to no avail.
The The case of Belgium is also surprising. The golden generation of Belgian football led by Kevin de Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku failed to advance from the group stage where they were largely outclassed by the pleasant surprise that is Morocco.
Germany was eliminated for the second time in a row from the group stage.
Photo : Getty Images.
Will it be the last dance of this talented group of players?
To this must be added the poor performance of the Concacaf and Conmebol teams.
Canada, Costa Rica and Mexico were eliminated in the first phase. Only the USA is present in the round of 16.
Mexico is also worrying: it is the first time since 1978 that the Tri does not land in the eighth final of a World Cup.
And Uruguay and Ecuador did not manage to pass the round either. Only Brazil and Argentina stood up for South America. The last time this had happened was in Korea-Japan 2022, when only Paraguay and Brazil – later champion – qualified for the second round.
Now, the local team is not far behind when it comes to the negative balance: Qatar is the first host team that does not achieve a single point in the group stage.
In fact, it was the first team to be eliminated, precisely, from Qatar 1998.
The censorship of “One Love”: without a doubt, Qatar has been one of the worlds with the largest demonstrations policies.
One of the controversies was led by the bracelet that the players of some European teams such as Germany, England and Denmark wanted to wear with the message One Love ( “one love only”) with the rainbow flag in support of the com LGTBIQ+ unity.
However, FIFA informed these teams that the players who wore the bracelet would be penalized for sports, that is, they would receive a yellow card.
There were empty seats in several matches. Photo: Nurphoto.
For that reason, no player could wear the bracelet with this message.
The VAR: it has not been a World Cup where the issue of arbitration has stood out for its hits.
The matches have been full of controversial decisions, especially due to interpretations in the referee’s visual assistance system, better known as VAR.
One of the best examples was the penalty awarded to Argentina in the match against Poland for an alleged foul on Lionel Messi andthat the images did not help to clarify.
In addition, the debate on whether or not the ball went off in the play of Japan’s second goal against to Spain on Thursday highlighted the lack of technology that allows a decision to be made without controversy.
Perhaps the only salvageable thing is the semi-automatic system that detects misplacement.
The curious
The protests: one of the most emotional moments of this World Cup was when, during the protocol acts of the match between Iran and England, the Iranians decided not to sing their anthem, which was interpreted as a sign of protest.
Up to ten minutes were added in some first matches.
Photo: ANP.
For a few months in Iran there have been demonstrations against the government that have left close to 350 dead people and thousands of detainees.
A few days later, the Italian Mario Ferri invaded the field where the Portugal-Uruguay match was being played carrying a rainbow flag and a T-shirt with messages of support for Ukraine and the women in Iran.
The stadiums: it was the first World Cup in which there is air conditioning in the stadiums.
Added to the cold was that, a few hours before the tournament began, the organization prohibited the sale of alcoholic beer inside the stadiums.
In several matches, the pitches were not full as in other World Cups.
2937844 The Japanese left the stands where they were present clean.Photo: Getty Images.
Endless matches: it was a surprise for everyone when, during the first matches, additional times began to appear that exceeded the usual averages.
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Six, seven or even ten minutes were added in the early stages of several games, something that had not been seen in a World Cup.
Pier Luigi Collina, the arbitration coordinator for FIFA and Qatar 2022, pointed out that a higher effective game average was sought and that is why overtime was going to increase.
“If four goals are scored, four minutes are lost. One for each celebration. That must be replaced”, said Collina, who asked the referees to add the time they deem necessary.
Also read:
– The top 5 scorers left by the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar 2002– Diego Alonso blames FIFA for the elimination of Uruguay: “He eliminated us the penalty with Portugal that they say was not”
– Charrúa failure: Uruguay is eliminated from the World Cup in the phase of groups [Videos]
