Qatar World Cup 2022 has reached the semi-final stage. One of Argentina, France, Croatia, or Morocco will lift the World Cup title. When the game reached the semi-final stage, many new things were seen in this version. There were some such moments that are difficult to forget in football history.
Iran’s players did not sing the national anthem before the match
Iran’s players did not sing the pre-match national anthem in the first match of the World Cup. It was a strange incident in the World Cup. They protested an incident in Iran by not singing the national anthem in the first match against England.
After the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in moral police custody in Iran, protests were going on across the country. The Iranian players did not sing the national anthem in support of that protest. The Iranian government, feeling pressured by their actions, suspended the moral police last week.
Saudi Arabia’s win over Argentina
Argentina’s World Cup started with an unexpected result. In the first match, they lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia. Beating Argentina the second-weakest team in the FIFA ranking that qualified for the tournament is an unexpected result. In the second half, Saudi made a good sensation in the football world by scoring two goals in five minutes.
But losing two other matches in the group stage, Saudi could not pass the group stage. That victory of Saudi was not only the team’s victory, it was the victory of the whole country. Because of this, Saudi Arabia gave a national holiday.
German players cover their mouths with their hands
While taking a group photo before the first match of the group stage, the German players covered their faces with their hands and protested against apartheid. Before the start of the tournament, the captains of England, Wales, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Denmark announced wearing ‘One Love Armband’ as a protest against apartheid.
As FIFA said that they cannot wear any kind of armband, they covered their mouths with their hands and took a group photo in the prematch as a protest.
Messi’s goal against Mexico
After defeating the Netherlands in a penalty shootout, Argentina entered the semi-finals of the World Cup. After losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in the first match, Argentina’s World Cup began only after a 2-0 win against Mexico. In the second half of the game under a lot of pressure, Lionel Messi scored a goal in the lower corner of the outside box with his left foot and relieved Argentina.
Samba dance by Brazilian Players
After leading the Asian country South Korea 4-0 in the first half, Brazilian players showed a glimpse of samba dance on the field. South Korea was eliminated from the World Cup after losing 4-0 to Brazil in the last 16.
A moment where the great talent of Weghorst was revealed
Dutch striker Wout Weghorst scored a great goal in the quarterfinal match against Argentina. He surprised the Argentine defense in the extra 11 minutes of injury time and brought the Netherlands to a 2-2 draw. In the game, he showed the best example of his football style and talent. His goal surprised millions of football fans around the world.
Ageless Croatia
In the World Cup 2022 match, Croatia defeated Japan in the last 16 in a penalty shootout to reach the quarterfinals. After defeating Brazil in the quarter-finals, Croatia entered the semi-finals of the World Cup for the third time. The pace and age of Croatia’s players, who had a slow start in this tournament, was a matter of concern for everyone. On the field, speed and age could not stop them. Croatia, who reached the final for the first time in 2018, will play Argentina in the semi-finals.
Morocco writes World Cup history as they reach semi-finals
For the first time, an African nation has entered the semi-finals of the World Cup. After defeating Portugal in the quarter-final match, the players of Morocco expressed great joy by jumping coach Walid Regragui. Yasin Bono, the goalkeeper of the team, has a very big role in flying to Morocco in this World Cup. He has a very good grip on the goalpost and also defends well in the penalty shootout.
In every World Cup, there is a team that produces unexpected results. Like Ghana in the 2010 World Cup, Costa Rica in 2014, and Croatia in 2018, the flight of the Moroccan team is unpredictable. After winning the group with Belgium and Croatia, defeating Spain on penalty kicks in the last 16, and defeating Portugal in the quarterfinals, Morocco secured a meeting with France in the semi-finals.
Cristiano Ronaldo remains on the bench
Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo could not enter the field in the match against Switzerland in the last 16. This was a very surprising thing for the Portuguese and Ronaldo supporters. Gonzalo Ramos was taken to the field in his place. Similarly, he was not the first choice in the match against Morocco in the quarterfinals. He entered the field only in the 51st minute.
Coach Santosh gave a response to him on the field because he did not like his behavior in the match against South Korea. A captain like Ronaldo sitting on the bench was a very unexpected and surprising thing that happened in this World Cup. When Portugal gave young players a chance, he was benched.
Injury time
The injury time that will be added to the World Cup this time has been very popular. In the match between England and Iran, 27 minutes of injury time were added to the regular 90-minute match.
A total of 563 minutes of injury time was added in the group stage of this World Cup.