Sports – FIFA World Cup

2023 Women’s World Cup – Group F Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

As we’re getting closer to the start of the Women’s World Cup, FIFA already has it as its main feature on its website. There’s a lot of talk of new talent, but there’s also talk that this will be the last WWC for Megan Rapinoe, Christine Sinclair and Marta. That’s normally how it is in sport. Greats eventually retire and new legends are made. Nevertheless it’s exciting to see them play one last time.

Up next is Group F. This is a rarity as there are two CONCACAF teams in this group. This became the case as one CONCACAF team, Jamaica, was drawn while the inter-confederation berth was drawn months before the matches were to be played. This seems to be a new thing with World Cups. Drawing before certain berths are decided. The inter-confederation playoff was played in New Zealand in February and it was between four teams from four confederations. In the end, Panama won! Without further ado, here’s my look at Group F:

-France (5): France is one team that has struggled to show how great of a team they are. They made their first WWC in 2003 and achieved a fourth-place finish in 2011. Since then, they’ve been out in the quarterfinals at the last two Women’s World Cups and their best Olympic finish was fourth in 2012. Even hosting the Women’s World Cup in 2019 didn’t give them they breakthrough they sought. Last year, however, they achieved their first-ever Top 3 finish at the Women’s Euro.

The team is currently managed by Herve Renard who assumed his position in March after coaching the Saudi Arabia team during the men’s World Cup and taking the job after their original manager was dropped. Most of the team plays for teams part of France’s Division 1 Feminine. Top players include forward Eugenie Le Sommer and defender and captain Wendie Renard. The team has not had a loss yet in 2023. In the past 12 months, they’ve achieved wins against Canada, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. They’ve also had a draw to Norway as well as Iceland. Losses in the last 12 months have been to Germany and Sweden. Nevertheless Australia/New Zealand 2023 could write a new chapter for Les Bleues.

-Jamaica (43): Jamaica is one women’s team that was late to start its progress. Lately they’ve shown great improvements as they made it to the last Women’s World Cup in 2019 and they’ve finished third at the last two CONCACAF Women’s Championships. As of now, the last 12 months have seen the Reggae Girlz with their best-ever FIFA World Rankings.

The team is coached by Jamaican Lorne Donaldson who coached the team two months before they officially qualified. The team play for teams for various leagues in the US and in Europe. Interestingly, Jamaica’s ten most capped players are part of the current national team as well as seven of their eight best scorers! Leading the team is Khadija “Bunny” Shaw with 38 caps and 56 goals. These last 12 months have been difficult. The only national teams they had wins against are Paraguay and Costa Rica. They recently achieved a draw against Costa Rica. Their losses have come from Canada, South Korea, Australia and Mexico, This Women’s World Cup is a great chance for Jamaica to prove to the world they’re better than most people think.

-Brazil (9): The Brazilian men have the reputation as one of the most legendary football teams in history. The Brazilian women, or As Canarinhas, hope to achieve the same excellence the men have achieved. Like the men, they’ve competed in every Women’s World Cup. Unlike the men, they’ve never had a major win on the world stage. They’ve only made it to the WWC final once, back in 2007, and won Olympic silver twice. They’ve finished in the Round of 16 in the last to WWC’s and only made it to the quarterfinals in the last Olympics.

Since the 2019 Women’s World Cup, the head coach is Sweden’s Pia Sundhage who has coached the US women’s team to two Olympic golds. The current team consists of legends like forwards Marta, Debinha, and Bia Zaneratto along with defenders and defenders Rafaelle and Tamires. The team also has some young rising talents like forward Geyse, midfielders Kerolin and Ary Borges and young defender Lauren. In the past twelve months, they’ve achieved notable wins against Germany, Italy, Norway and Japan. At the UEFA-CONMEBOL Finalissma, they drew against England 1-1falling on penalty kicks. They played Canada three times, Brazil winning once and Canada winning the other two times. Their only other loss came to the US. The 2023 Women’s World Cup is a chance for Brazil’s women to get back their reputation as one of the best in the World and hopefully go to new heights.

-Panama (52): Panama is one women’s team that was slow to start. Their first-ever international game was in 2002. They were a team slow to start but their first sign of promise was at the fourth-place finish at the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship. They followed it up with a quarterfinal finish at the 2019 Pan Am Games. It received its breakthrough at the 2022 CONCACAF championships after a win against Trinidad and Tobago granted them their berth to the inter-confederation playoffs which they won and gave the Canal Girls their first-ever Women’s World Cup trip! Right now their 52nd World ranking is its best ever.

The team has been coached by Mexico’s Ignacio Quintana who has not only coached to team since 2021 but successfully lobbied to have the women receive equal pay with the men’s team. The team’s players play mostly in teams belonging to women’s leagues throughout the Americas. Despite having a team with players having less than 20 caps, the team has played well in the last twelve months. They have achieved wins against Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic. They’ve had a win and a draw against Ecuador. They’ve also had a loss and a draw against Colombia, a win and a loss to Chile and a loss to Spain. This Women’s World Cup is an opportunity for Panama’s team to achieve bigger feats and take the team to greater heights.

My Prediction: Once again, a case of two clear favorites, which I normally hate going with. Nevertheless I predict the qualifiers from Group F to be France and Brazil.

And there you go. Those are my predictions for Group F of the 2023 Women’s World Cup. We shouldn’t forget that this Cup’s slogan “Beyond Greatness” isn’t just about winning. I’ll focus more on it in my next blog.

2023 Women’s World Cup: Group E Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

The funny thing about draws for the World Cups or any other major football event is that it can give you a lot of surprising results. In this very group, we have the two finalists from France 2019! How did that happen? Also in this group, we have two teams making their Women’s World Cup debut. This is the only group with two debut teams. Without further ado, here is my look at Group E of Australia/New Zealand 2023:

-United States of America (1): What can’t be said about the USA or the USWNT? Since women’s football got their own Women’s World Cup in 1991 and was added to the Olympic program in 1996, the Stars and Stripes have reigned supreme winning four of the eight Cups and four of the seven Olympic gold medals. As time goes on, they keep on churning out new legends. Many people here are expecting the American women to “threepeat.” The American women have often been the case that the only women that can defeat the American women are the American women. And they have done that in the past. Such as missing out on Olympic gold in the last two Olympics. There are team that know how to win against the United States and have done so unexpectedly. Even in the four years since their last WWC, the American women have had issues such as player conflicts within the team and pay discrimination. The latter issue saw a lawsuit launched against the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) in 2019 and the GOALS Act (Give Our Athletes Level Salaries) passed by congress in 2021 which allowed the USSF settle the lawsuit with $24 million for the players.

Since October 2019, the USA has been coached by a Macedonian: Vlatko Andonovski. All players play for teams for the NWSL except for Lindsay Horan who play for a French team. The team is full of legends and current greats like Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Horan, Julie Ertz, Crystal Dunn and Kelley O’Hara. The team also has some promising young players like Emily Fox, Sophia Smith and Emily Rodman. In the last 12 months, their play has been mostly wins. Their most noteworthy wins have been against Canada, Japan and Brazil. They’ve had a win and a loss to Germany as well as losses to England and Spain. The team comes to Australia and New Zealand with the biggest of expectations and they will be ready to deliver.

-Vietnam (32): To think the Vietnam women’s team didn’t officially start until 1990 and play their first-ever match in 1997. Since then, Vietnam has made themselves into a team to be reckoned with. At the South East Asian Games, the women’s football tournament is often a Vietnam vs. Thailand affair with Vietnam having won eight times. They’ve also won the AFF Women’s Championship three times. Their play in the Women’s Asian Cup through overcoming old rivals Thailand and Chinese Taipei allowed them to win the playoff round and qualify for their first-ever Women’s World Cup.

The team’s coach is Mai Đức Chung who first managed in 2003 and has coached off and on. All the players play for teams in the Vietnamese league except for captain Huỳnh Như who plays for a Portuguese team. In the past 12 months, all their wins have been to Asian teams. They’ve endured losses to Philippines, New Zealand and Germany. Australia/New Zealand 2023 is the perfect arena for them to prove to the world they’re capable of breaking new ground.

-The Netherlands (9): The last Women’s World Cup was a pinnacle moment for Oranje Leeuwinnen as the reigning Euro holders made it to the final for the Cup and played well against the US despite losing 2-0. Since then, the Netherlands appears to have lost some of their spark. They only made it as far as the quarterfinals at the 2020 Summer Olympics and were even out in the quarterfinals at the 2022 Women’s Euro.

The team is coached by Andries Jonker who was hired after last year’s Women’s Euro. The team play for various teams in leagues throughout Europe. Top names include forward Lieke Martens and midfielders Danielle van de Donk and Sherida Spitse. In the past 12 months, their wins include Portugal. Switzerland and Denmark. They’ve also had losses to France, Norway and Germany. This Women’s World Cup is a chance to regain their reputation as one of the best in the World.

-Portugal (21): If there’s one European team that has made a lot of improvements over the years, it’s Portugal. Despite hosting a major women’s football tournament The Algarve Cup, the women’s team has often been lackluster. It wasn’t until 2017 when they first qualified for their first Women’s Euro. In the two times they’ve qualified, they’ve never made it past the Group Stage. A breakthrough happened in UEFA qualifying for the WWC. They finished second in Germany which allowed them to progress to playoff matches against Belgium and Iceland and won both matches. Even then, they had to go through the intercontinental route to qualify. Their playoff was against Cameroon and their win granted them their first-ever berth!

The Selecção das Quinas are coached by Francisco Neto who has coached the team since 2014. Most of the team plays for teams as part of Portugal’s Liga BPI. The team consists of many well-capped players such as forward Ana Borges, midfielder Dolores Silva and defender Carole Costa. In the past 12 months, the team has had notable wins against Ukraine, New Zealand and Iceland. They’ve also had draws against England and Wales and losses to Japan, Netherlands and Sweden. Chances are possible Portugal could be one of the surprise teams of this Women’s World Cup.

My Prediction: It’s hard not to choose teams other than the big favorites. However my basic sense tells me the qualifiers from this group will be United States and Netherlands.

And there you go. That’s my prediction for the Group E of the Women’s World Cup. Hard to believe there’s less than a week to go. Already the national teams have arrived. The excitement just grows!

2023 Women’s World Cup: Group D Focus

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

I’ll be touching on the more serious topics in a later blog. In the meantime, I want to touch on some of the other unique traits of this Women’s World Cup:

  • Number of venues and cities hosting: ten stadiums in nine cities (Sydney hosting two)
  • Slogan: Beyond Greatness
  • Mascot: Tazuni – A penguin endemic to New Zealand
  • Match Ball: Adidas OCEAUNZ
  • Official Song: “Do It Again” by BENEE and Mallrat

That’s only some of the traits of this Women’s World Cup. There’s too much to tell in detail so I limited it to five things. In the meantime, here is my look at the teams from Group D. One thing I have to say about the groups is that right when you think you know who will qualify, you will second-guess yourself. So here’s my take:

-England (4): Lately the Lionesses have become the toast of England. The Women’s Euro was held in 2022 in England just a year after the men’s Euro was held. Just like the men, they made it to the final to be played in Wembley Stadium. While the men lost on penalty kicks, the women won against Germany 2-1 in added extra time. So it ended up being the women who got the nation to sing “It’s Coming Home.” They also won the Arnold Clark Cup after winning all their games. Their win of the Euro last year makes them one of the favorites to win here in Australia/New Zealand.

Their coach is Sarina Wiegman, the Dutch coach who coached the Netherlands to the 2019 World Cup final. The team consists of legends like Lucy Bronze, Jordan Nobbs and Millie Bright as well as rising young talents like Lauren Hemp and Ella Toone. Since 2022, they’ve had a stellar record with wins against top teams like Sweden, Germany and the US. They’ve also had draws to Norway, Brazil and Portugal and a recent loss to Australia; their first loss in thirty matches. Never underestimate England. They’re a team that can rise to the occasion here. And possibly have the nation singing “It’s coming home” again!

-Haiti (53): Haiti is known as the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Despite it, they place a lot of hope in their athletes. This year is a delight because for the first time, Les Grenadières qualify for the Women’s World Cup. They achieved it in a playoff round and it was wins against Senegal and Chile that allowed them to clinch their berth.

The team is coached by French coach Nicolas Delepine. The team has at least half the members under 23 and most play for colleges or leagues in the Unites States or France. Their two wins to qualify for the World Cup are two of the team’s three wins they’ve had in the last 12 months. They’ve also had losses to Costa Rica, Nigeria, Portugal and Jamaica. Haiti may be a team new on the international circuit but they can use this World Cup as a great learning experience and help them excel further in the future.

-Denmark (13): This is a comeback for Denmark. When women’s football was just starting to get recognition, Denmark was at its first Olympics in 1996 and at four of the first five Women’s World Cup. After that, it appeared De rød-hvide lost their edge as the last WWC they competed in was in 2007. They did finish as runners-up at Euro 2017, but failed to qualify for France 2019. Recently a new Danish team have arrived to bring Denmark back to being a top world contender.

Bringing Denmark back to its first Women’s World Cup in 16 years is head coach Lars Sondergaard who has coached the team since 2017.The team is composed mostly of member who play for various women’s leagues around Europe. Top names are forward Pernilla Harder, midfielder Sanne Troelsgaard and defender Katrine Veje. Denmark has had mixed success in play in the last 12 months. They’ve scored wins against Switzerland, Norway, Sweden and Japan, but endured losses to Spain, France, the Netherlands and Australia. The stage is here in Australia and New Zealand to prove to the world that Denmark are back and ready to challenge.

-People’s Republic of China (14): Like Denmark, China has also been widely regarded as a past great team in women’s football. They were runners-up at the 1999 World Cup and the 1996 Olympics. Since then, they went through a decline to the point they didn’t qualify for either the 2011 Women’s World Cup or the 2012 Olympics. In the past ten years, the Steel Roses have been showing signs of making a comeback with finishing in the quarterfinals at the 2015 WWC and the 2016 Olympics. In 2022 they won their first AFC Women’s Asian Cup since 2006.

The team is coached by Shui Qingxia who was part of the 1996 Olympic team that won the silver medal. Most of the players come from teams from the Chinese Women’s Super League. Very few team members play in leagues outside of China. Leading the team is forward Wang Shanshan and midfielder Zhang Rui. China is one of few teams willing to play against Russia and they played two friendlies against them early in July winning both. China’s also had draws against Switzerland, Ireland, Japan and South Korea, and losses to Spain and Sweden. China comes to the Women’s World Cup with something to prove and they are ready to prove it here.

My Prediction: This is another group that is not as easy to predict as it looks. Some games can go either way and there’s the possibility of shockers. For this group, I predict England and the People’s Republic of China to qualify to the knockout round.

And there you have it. That’s my prediction for Group D. I’ve already reviewed a lot of top contenders, but there’s still more to come over the week.

2023 Women’s World Cup: Group C Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

It’s something how after eight years, the Women’s World Cup goes from a tournament of 24 teams to a tournament of 32 teams! So how exactly do they split the 32 berths among the continents? Here’s a breakdown:

  • AFC (Asia and Australia): 5 + host Australia
  • CAF (Africa): 4
  • CONCACAF (North America): 4
  • CONMEBOL (South America): 3
  • OFC (Oceania): 0+ host New Zealand
  • UEFA (Europe): 11
  • Inter-confederation playoff berths: 3

Now the inter-confederation play-offs are interesting. Most men’s inter-confederation playoffs consist of a single game between two teams. For the women, the three berths were to be decided between groups of three or four! it was a mix of teams from all six confederations. Teams were usually those who missed the direct qualifying berths but were given chances by their placing in tournaments or through a repechage tournament or in the OFC’s case, the tournament winners. Teams were divided into three groups and all played matches in February for the last team standing in each group. Here are the groups with qualifiers bolded:

  • Cameroon, Thailand, Portugal
  • Senegal, Haiti, Chile
  • Chinese Taipei, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Panama

What can I say? Deciding the other 30 qualifiers wasn’t easy. And now it’s leading up to World Cup play which is already known to be crazy enough. My next Group of focus is Group C. Four nations from four continents:

-Spain (6): The men of Spain have often been referred to as “Football’s Greatest Underachievers.” Spain’s women have shown their prowess in recent years, even been in the World Top 10 for the first time ever in 2021, but they are looking for their first tournament performance to show the world what they’re capable of. This Women’s World Cup will actually only be the third-ever for La Roja. First in Canada 2015 and the second in France 2019 where they made the Round of 16. They’ve competed in the last three Women’s Euros but have only made it as far as the quarterfinals all three times. 2022 was a case where two of their best players were injured and out. They did finish second in this year’s Cup Of Nations.

In recent years, as Spain has improved, there have been troubles with the team. The most notable has been a labor dispute within the past twelve months. The last while has seen a lot of labor disputes involving Women’s football team which I will focus on in a later blog. In terms of Spain, the team wanted improvements after their disappointment at Euro 2022. The women brought up they wanted a higher level of training, less authoritarian manner from the head coach and took their concerns to the head of the President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF). In September 2022, fifteen players who would come to be known as “Las 15” sent and email to the RFEF speaking their concerns and their withdrawal from the national team. The RFEF leaked the letters hoping the women would cave in and return, but all hell broke loose, including Coach Vilda playing innocent and English player Lucy Bronze showing support for Las 15 in a social media picture. The months continued with disputes but there would be talks with the team member by April 2023. As of now, not all of Las 15 have returned to the national team. It’s unclear how many exactly have returned.

Since 2022 Spain have won all but four of their games, drawing once and losing three times. Notable wins include China, Denmark, United States and Japan. Their one draw was 1-1 against Sweden and their losses came to England, Germany and Australia. This Women’s World Cup is a new chance for Spain to prove itself and the team’s ability to play well.

-Costa Rica (36): This is only the second time Las Ticas will perform at the Women’s World Cup. Nevertheless their previous appearance at Canada 2015 showed them delivering a brave performance of drawing against Spain and South Korea before losing to Brazil. The women’s team have delivered impressive results in the past such as twice bronze medalists at the Pan American Games, five-time semifinalists at the CONCACAF Women’s Championship and even runners-up in 2014, and twice medalists at the Central American and Caribbean Games.

The team is coached by Costa Rican Amelia Valverde. Most of the players play for teams in the Costa Rica Women’s Premier Division and three who play for the US’s NWSL. Since 2022, the team has more losses than wins and draws combined. They’ve won against the Philippines, Trinidad and Panama, drawn against Colombia and Mexico, and their losses have included USA, Canada, Netherland, Portugal and Nigeria. The Women’s World Cup is another chance for the team to prove how good they are. They could just surprise again.

-Zambia (77): Zambia comes as the low expectations team. Of all the 32 teams here in Australia/New Zealand 2023, they have the lowest FIFA ranking of all with 77th. This is the Copper Queens’ first-ever Women’s World Cup, but their talent has been starting to catch notice in the football world in the last four years with playing in the 2020 Summer Olympics and finishing third in last year’s Africa Cup. Their finish in the Cup is what made them qualify.

Most of the players play for teams in the division of the Zambia Premier League and most are under 25 years of age. Since 2022, Zambia has had notable losses to Colombia, South Korea and Ireland and draws to Senegal and Switzerland. Most of their wins have been to African teams, but they’ve also achieved wins against Uzbekistan and North Macedonia. Most recently, they achieved a surprise 3-2 victory over Germany, who are ranked second in the World! Pele always said football is a box of surprises. The 270 minutes of group play can be a chance for Zambia to deliver more big surprises. Especially for the world!

-Japan (11): Japan have been part of the Women’s World Cup since it all started in 1991. The Nadeshiko peaked in 2011 when they won the Cup against the US in a penalty shootout. They had continued success shortly after winning the 2012 Olympic silver medal and WWC finalists again in 2015. Since then, the team has had a bit of a struggle. They didn’t qualify for the 2016 Olympics, finished in the Round of 16 in France 2019 and only got as far as the quarterfinals during the 2020 Olympics. They even lost out in the 2022 semifinals of the Women’s Asian Cup after winning it the two previous times. They have shown improvement as they finished second in this year’s SheBelieves Cup.

The team is coached by Futoshi Ikeda who has coached two Japanese age-group national teams and named senior team coach in 2021. Most of the team plays for teams with Japan’s WE League. Since 2022, they’ve had wins against Serbia, South Korea, New Zealand, Canada and Portugal. They also had a draw against China and losses to the US, Brazil, England and Spain. The 2023 Women’s World Cup is an opportunity for Japan to make a comeback among the best in the World.

My Prediction: Here it comes again. Just when you think you know the two will qualify, there’s always the chance for surprises. I predict the two qualifiers to be Spain and Japan.

And there you go. That takes care of my review of Group C for Australia/New Zealand 2023. At first I didn’t think I’d find the time to do these blogs, but I’m getting more confident now!

2023 Women’s World Cup: Group B Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

It’s interesting that this year’s Women’s World Cup is timed well. Normally it would be held in June but summer up in the Northern Hemisphere is winter for the Southern Hemisphere. July and August will be like January and February down under. Nevertheless the weather should still be great for playing.

It’s crazy how because of COVID, there were a lot of setbacks in the sports world and football tournaments had to inch their way back to its normal holding. Euro 2020 was held starting in June 2021. The Women’s Euro that was to be held in the summer of 2021 was held in the summer of 2022 instead. The men’s World Cup in 2022 was held in November and December instead of July and August. Seeing how the Women’s World Cup is held only a month and a half later than usual shows things are slowly getting back to normal.

Now the focus is on Group B. There are teams with high expectations and underdogs. All can pull a surprise:

-Australia (10): Many can argue that the Matildas are the sleeping giants of Women’s Football. The highest they ever finished in a Women’s World Cup is in the quarterfinals. The highest they ever finished at the Olympics was fourth in 2021. They’ve won an Asian Cup and three Oceania Cups. Being host, they could surprise everyone and possibly make their first-ever semifinal.

Australia is coached by Sweden’s Tony Gustavsson. The team consists of nine members who have achieved more than 100 caps including captain Sam Kerr and defender Clare Polkinghome. Most of the players play for England’s Women’s Super League teams. Since 2022, they’ve scored wins against England, Spain, Czechia, Sweden and Denmark. They’ve also lost to Scotland and twice to Canada. I’m sure the Matildas are eager to show the world what they’re made of on home soil.

-Republic of Ireland (22): One thing about having 32 teams at this year’s Women’s World Cup, we will be having a lot of teams that have been underestimated in the past coming alive. One of which is the team from the Republic of Ireland, commonly known as “The Girls In Green.” Interesting they’ve never qualified for a Euro, but their qualifying stats for the World Cup resulted in them achieving a berth.

The team is coached by Dutch woman Vera Pauw who played for the Netherlands in the 90’s. Most of the players play in teams for England’s Women’s Super League. Since 2022, Ireland have won against Zambia, Morocco, Scotland and Finland. They’ve drawn against China and lost both their games against the US this year. Here in the Group Stage, anything can happen. It’s very possible Ireland can prove here to be a stronger team than what most of the world thought.

-Nigeria (40): Nigeria is one of only seven teams that have competed at every Women’s World Cup. The Super Falcons have often been seen as the best women’s team from Africa. They’ve made the knockout round of the Women’s World Cup twice, including the last WWC in 2019. They’ve won the African Women Cup of Nations eleven out of fourteen times and have won African Women’s National Team Of The Year four times. Nevertheless there’s no doubt they want to take things further.

The team is coached by American Randy Waldrum who has over 30 years of experience coaching women’s teams in both the NCAA and women’s national teams. Most of the women play for leagues around Europe but team captain Onone Ebi plays for the Nigerian league. Since 2022, they’ve achieved wins against Costa Rica, Haiti and New Zealand, a draw against Morocco and losses to United States, Japan and Colombia. 2023 is another test to see how far they’ll go.

-Canada (7): Canada is a team that’s hard to describe. At the Women’s World Cup, their highest finish ever is 4th. At the Olympics, the team has amassed two bronze medals and won gold in 2021! Canadians have produced many big names like Christine Sinclair, Melissa Tancredi and Kadeisha Buchanan. No kidding Canada wants to come here to challenge.

Despite not having a hard time qualifying for the WWC, the Canadian team is one of many women’s national teams that has had labor or pay disputes in the four years since 2019. The first came in February of this year when the team said they’d go on strike because of intended budget cuts, including to its youth team. They also received support from the men’s team as they claimed Soccer Canada obstructed justice in not making clear why the cuts were necessary. Teams from England, the US, Ireland and Japan wore purple armbands in support of gender equality for the Canadian women’s team. Things got uglier later in February as Soccer Canada forced the women to return to the team, claiming they never got legal permission to strike. Later that month, Soccer Canada president Nick Bontis resigned under pressure. Since March 9th, there has been no major news whether a pay equity resolution has been reached.

The team is coached by England’s Bev Priestman who was an assistant coach to England from 2018 and 2020. Most of the women play for American professional or intercollegiate teams. The current team has a lot of legends like Christine Sinclair, Sophie Schmidt, Kadeisha Buchanan and Kailen Sheridan, but also has some rising stars like Jordyn Huitema, Julia Grosso and Jayde Riviere. Since 2022, Canada has had wins against Australia, Argentina and Morocco, has drawn against South Korea, has had two wins and a loss against Brazil and has had losses to the US, Japan and France. Anything can happen at the Women’s World Cup and Canada could just reach new heights.

My Prediction: Predicting for this group should be easy, but it’s not that easy since football is an unpredictable sport. I would predict hosts Australia to top Group B with Canada coming in second.

And there you go. There’s my look at the teams of Group B for the Women’s World Cup. Be sure to check the FIFA website to see which networks will broadcast the games.

2023 Women’s World Cup Intro And Group A Focus

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

Yes, the Women’s World Cup is back for its ninth edition. This is actually the very first Women’s World Cup that the hosting will be between two countries: Australia and New Zealand. This will be quite something as their time zones greatly differ and most of the games will be contested during times most people aren’t used to: early morning in Europe and sleeping hours in North America.

This year’s tournament promises excitement with this being the very first WWC to have thirty-two teams competing! How about that? Right after Qatar 2022 becomes the last men’s World Cup with 32 competing teams, Australia/New Zealand 2023 will be the first Women’s World Cup to contest 32 teams. I will be focusing more on various aspects of this year’s Women’s World Cup over future blogs. In the meantime, this is the first of my eight group focuses. Here’s my look at Group A. In addition, FIFA ranking as of June 2023 is in brackets:

-New Zealand (26): Usually for the World Cup, the draw is to make sure the host nation or nations don’t have such a tough time trying to qualify to the knockout round. It backfired for Qatar 2022 as the host nation achieved three ignominious World Cup records: first host nation to lose its opening game; first host nation to lose all three of their Group Stage games; and first-ever host nation to get a last-place finish at the World Cup.

New Zealand is one of the two host nations. It has always finished in the Group Stage in all five of their previous Women’s World Cup appearance without ever winning a game. Nevertheless the Football Ferns are a team that can deliver. They once made the quarterfinals of an Olympics (in 2012) and have won two Olympic matches. The current team plays for teams mostly in Australia and the United States. The team is coached by Czech coach Jitka Klimkova. You can be sure New Zealand won’t deliver the same Qatar-like disappointment here.

New Zealand has not had it good this year. They played seven friendlies this year, five at home, and they lost all but one. Their last win was back in September against the Philippines. Whatever the situation, New Zealand knows they will need to deliver a team that will make their nation proud. Sometimes home-field advantage can work and I’m confident the Ferns will deliver. Even achieve New Zealand’s first WWC win ever.

-Norway (12): If there’s one thing about Norway, they want people to stop seeing them as a blast from the past. Their WWC and Olympic wins may have come in 1995 and 2000 respectively and their last Top 4 finish may have been in 2007 but they still have a lot to prove. In fact 2019 saw them return to the WWC quarterfinals and win the Algarve Cup that year The team is even coached by Hege Riise who was part of both the 1995 World Cup winning team and the 2000 Olympic champions.

Most of the team plays for the Norwegian league and other leagues around Europe. The Grasshoppers, as they are commonly known, finished third at this year’s Tournoi de France. Since the start of 2022, their play has been off and on. They’ve won against New Zealand and the Netherlands, had draws against England and Sweden, had a win and a loss against Denmark, a draw and a loss to France and losses to England, Brazil and Spain. The World Cup is where the team has to come together if they want to prove they’re a force to be reckoned with now.

-Philippines (46): It seems as though ever since the Philippines have qualified for this World Cup, they’re doing the best they’ve ever done. Mind you football is a new sport in the Philippines. The team has had a stellar set of last few years winning the AFF Championship (for Southeast Asian teams and Australia) and becoming semifinalists at last year’s Asian Cup. The Filipinas even won their first medal at the Asian Games since 1985.

This will be the team’s World Cup debut. The team is coached by Australian Alen Stajcic. The team members play mostly for leagues in Europe and Australia. In its play since 2022, the team have amassed a lot of wins but they were all against Asian teams. Outside of Asian teams, they’ve had a draw and a loss to both Costa Rica and Chile. They’ve also had losses to New Zealand, Scotland and Iceland. Whatever the situation, this World Cup is the perfect opportunity for the Philippines team to grow and learn and maybe surprise us sooner than we expected.

-Switzerland (20): Switzerland is a team working to make a name for themselves. La Nati have competed at Euro 2017 and 2022 but never made it past the group stage. In their first and only previous World Cup back in 2015, they did qualify for the knockout stage but lost to hosts Canada in the Round of 16.

The current team is coached by German Inka Grings who was part of Germany’s bronze medal-winning team at the 2000 Olympics. The team mostly plays for leagues in Switzerland, Germany, England and Spain. Since the start of 2022, Switzerland have had wins against Croatia and Wales, draws against Portugal, Poland and China and losses to Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark. Australia and New Zealand provide Switzerland with another chance to make a name for themselves and a chance to go further than most will predict.

My Prediction: For first timers at my blog, I usually predict as I go with the World Cup. That means whenever I do group reviews, I predict who from that group will qualify into the knockout round. Group A is not too easy to predict which two will advance to the knockout round. All four teams have noticeable strengths and noticeable weaknesses. My prediction will be Norway will top but New Zealand will also qualify.

And there you have it. That’s my review for Women’s World Cup Group A. There’s more to come over time. Hard to believe it’s just two weeks away!

World Cup 2022: My Prediction For The Final, And Third-Place Playoff Too

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

I always say about the World Cup after month of play, there’s only one nation still smiling in the end! It’s been unusual to see World Cup matches as winter has been approaching. The time zones didn’t help too much. Nevertheless I made every opportunity to enjoy games at cafes and other viewing places. I also had my share of entertainment with the 442oons videos.

It’s crazy that World Cup 2022 already felt like a circus. I think every World Cup becomes a bit of a circus. Throughout this World Cup, talks of endless corruption, the corruption of the nation of Qatar, questions about matches being fixed or some referees having prejudices. Possibly one of the best things about the match for the Cup is not just to reward the winner, but the fact that all this will end. I remember before the start of one World Cup final, I thought to myself that all the craziness is over. What happened, happened. What didn’t happen, didn’t happen. And now all that should matter is who will win the Cup.

Onto the World Cup finals, it’s interesting that the two teams playing have a few notable things in common. Both have won the World Cup twice before. In both cases, their first World Cup win was when they were host nation. Both played in the very first World Cup in 1930, and one of the teams was even a finalist. Both teams have a striker who has amassed a total of five goals this World Cup, and both teams lost a group stage match here in Qatar. Without further ado, here are my reviews of the last two matches of World Cup 2022:

THIRD-PLACE PLAYOFF REVIEW:

The third-place match will take place on Saturday December 17th in Khalifa International Stadium in Al-Rayyan: a suburb of Doha. One team is looking to make this its third Top 3 finish. The other is looking to make it their first Top 3 result ever. Both teams didn’t get a defeat until their semifinal match. Both teams are also the same two Group F teams that rivaled each other in their first group play match. This is the second consecutive World Cup in which the bronze-medal match is between two group play rivals!

Past Head-To-Head Results:

Croatia and Morocco have met only twice before. Besides the scoreless group play match here in Qatar, the only other time was back in 1996. That too ended in a draw. The score was 2-2.

CROATIA

They’ve only existed as an independent nation since 1991 and they’ve gotten as far as the World Cup semifinal or further a total of three times. It’s no wonder why I call Croatia “The little nation that can.” Since their independence, they’ve qualified for the World Cup six times out of seven attempts. Three of those times they’ve made it to the semifinals or further. The first was in 1998:their very first World Cup. Last World Cup, they made it to the final. Sometimes you wonder what’s the secret to The Blazers? Me, I can’t answer. One thing I have to say is that Croatia is one team low on arrogance, big on play!

Croatia has been getting a lot of attention for the overall play of Luka Modric, the scoring of Ivan Perisic, and the eye-catching fashion of Ivana Knoll! At the last World Cup, Croatia was known for great play as well as good luck. They opened with three wins in group play and then followed with penalty kicks in both their Round of 16 match and quarterfinal. Their semifinal was a win against England, but France ended their dream in the final 4-2.

At thins World Cup, the Croatian team has changed, but it’s also kept some similarities. In group play, they had two scoreless draws and a 4-1 win over Canada. In their Round of 16 match and their quarterfinal, history repeated itself and they bagged wins on penalty kicks. It was in their semifinal against Argentina where their luck finally ran out.

Croatia has shown a lot with their play from midfielder Luka Modric and from striker Ivan Perisic. Worthy of credit to the team’s success is goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. He’s one of the younger goaltenders of the tournament at 27, but he has done an excellent job in keeping Croatia alive, having only allowed in three goals before their match with Argentina. They could just be the team that has what it takes to clinch another Top 3 finish.

MOROCCO

It happens every World Cup. There’s always one team that has modest expectations before the competition but ends up going further than expected. Last World Cup, it was a case where Croatia and Belgium achieved their best-ever results. This year, it’s a case where Morocco is the “Cinderella story” of Qatar 2022. Nevertheless it’s wrong to dismiss Morocco’s success as a complete “Cinderella story.”

Morocco has to be one of the top African nations to adopt a football culture. They competed in their first World Cup in 1970. When they returned in 1986, they became the first African team in World Cup history to advance past the opening round. Returning to that success or taking it further has been a struggle. They qualified for the 1994 and 1998 World Cups, but went out in the group stage. Despite claiming a second-place in the African Cup of Nations in 2004, they had to wait until 2018 for their return to a World Cup. Even then, they were ousted with a draw and two losses.

When they arrived in Qatar, nobody knew what to expect of the Atlas Lions, but they delivered. They started with a scoreless draw against Croatia and then delivered a surprise 2-0 win over Belgium. A 2-1 win over Canada placed them at the top of Group F. Their Round of 16 match against Spain went goalless, but penalty kicks were the trick as they sunk three while Spain couldn’t sink one! The quarterfinals paved the way for a 1-0 win over Portugal. Their win made history as they became the first African nation to qualify for the World Cup semifinals. It was France that ended their quest for the Cup at 2-0.

Having Morocco in the semifinals was a big boost for African teams. Especially since none of the African teams of 2018 qualified for the knockout round. It’s hard to pinpoint how Morocco became so successful this tournament. I made the claim it could be since they’re a Sahara nation, they have better knowledge of how to play in a desert climate. Recently I’ve credited it to manager Walid Reguagui. Since he was hired four months ago, their semifinal loss to France is Morocco’s first loss since he was hired. Maybe that’s the secret. Others give credit to the great defensive play and the goalkeeping of Yassine Bounou. Bounou has only conceded three goals and a penalty kick this Cup. Whatever the situation, they had what they needed and they could just do it again on Saturday.

My Final Verdict: This is hard to tell. Both teams have played well. Both have been able to deliver when they needed to. Croatia has scored six while Morocco has scored five. Croatia however has conceded a total of six goals while Morocco has conceded a total of three. Both teams have a star player that may be absent. From Croatia, Mario Mandzukic because of his red card while assistant coach. From Morocco, Romain Saiss because of an injury sustained in the tournament. I think it will be a tight game but I expect Croatia to win 1-0 in added extra time.

THE FINAL

Can you believe it? After 28 days and 63 matches, there will be only one match left! This is the moment for a team to claim to their nation the world’s biggest bragging right! The final will be held in Lusail Stadium. One team aims to be the first South American team to win the World Cup in 20 years. The other team aims to be the first team in 60 years to successfully defend the World Cup.

Past Head-To-Head Results: France and Argentina have dueled each other a total of twelve times. Argentina have won six times including during the 1978 World Cup. France have won three times. Their last match was in the 2018 World Cup Round of 16 where France won 4-3.

ARGENTINA:

La Albiceleste knows about World Cup finals. This is Argentina’s sixth time to the World Cup final. Only three other nations have achieved six of more appearances. Argentina was even a finalist in the very first World Cup in 1930. Getting back to the finals was a real struggle. They didn’t return to the finals until 1978, which they hosted and won. Then in the 1980’s emerged a great player by the name of Diego Maradona. He helped captain Argentina to their second win in 1986. He retuned in 1990 to try and make it two in a row, but the team lost to Germany 1-0. From 1990 onwards, it was a struggle for the team to get back to the final. Early in this century, a young player named Lionel Messi was dazzling the world with his club play. Whenever the World Cup happened, he and the team would fall short. Then in 2014, they made the finals for the first time in 24 years. Unfortunately like in 1990, they lost to Germany 1-0.

Trying to get back to the finals has not been easy. In 2018, they had a disastrous run. They finished second in their group with a win, a draw and a loss, and then went out in the Round of 16. After the 2018, they hired Lionel Scaloni, who played for Argentina at the 2006 World Cup, as their new manager. Since his hiring the Argentine team has shown a lot of positive changes. Its most notable change was when they won the 2021 Copa America..

Here at the World Cup, Argentina got off to a rough start. The 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia isn’t the first shocking opener Argentina’s delivered at the World Cup, but they knew they had to get themselves in order if they wanted to advance well. They succeeded with 2-0 wins over Poland and Mexico. In their Round Of 16 match against Australia, they dominated play as they won 2-1. In their quarterfinal against the Netherlands, they endured a game marred with frequent carding from a referee to a 2-2 draw. Penalty kicks kept them alive. In their semifinal match against Croatia, they dominated to win 3-0.

Throughout this World Cup, people have been constantly talking about “This is Messi’s last chance.” or “This will finally be Messi’s” No kidding there’s a lot of attention on Messi. In fact winning the Cup will make the difference between Messi being remembered as The Best Ever or The Best Never. Nevertheless we should remember the success of Argentina isn’t just Messi. There’s also the goaltending of Emiliano Martinez and young player Julian Alvarez rising to the occasion. Argentina has the right mix of youth and experience for the team and it just might pay off in winning the Cup on Sunday.

FRANCE:

Success for Les Bleus has been like a yo-yo. Like Argentina, France has been there at the very start back in 1930. They themselves would have difficulty establishing themselves as a football power. Even when they hosted in 1938, the team was out in the quarterfinals. It wasn’t until 1958 that they finished in the Top 3 for the first time. During the 60’s and 70’s, it was a case of either failing to qualify or out in group play. It was in the 1980’s when France saw a spark of improvement. Led by Michel Platini, the team finished fourth in 1982 and third in 1986. Just after, they followed with two failures to qualify. Then in 1998, France hosted and the team performed brilliantly en route to winning their first-ever World Cup.

It hasn’t been easy for France to return. At the 2002 World Cup, they were out in the group stage without even scoring a single goal. In 2006, they were runner-up to Italy. In 2010, the team revolted against the coaches and their federation and they went out in the group stage. Then in 2014, there emerged a new French team coached by 1998 player Didier Deschamps. The team featured a lot of young promising talents and they finished in the quarterfinals. That was just the warm-up as they’d go on to make the finals of Euro 2016 and win France’s second World Cup in 2018. Staying on top wouldn’t be easy. France was reminded of that when they bowed out of Euro 2020 in the Round of 16.

France was often reminded of the alleged curse of the defending champion. At the beginning of 2022, it was still in question how France would do after they endured three losses in Nations League play. Any questions France were given, they were answered in Qatar. They won their first two games of group play 4-1 against Australia and 2-1 against Denmark.The win against Denmark was a boost as they lost to them earlier this year. The 1-0 loss to Tunisia didn’t set their confidence back much, if any. After group play, it’s been nothing but wins for France as the won their Round of 16 match against Poland 3-1, their quarterfinal match against England 2-1 and their semifinal against Morocco 2-0.

The success of the French team has proven this “Curse of The World Cup Winner” is a myth. Mind you it was uncertain at first. And now they appear poised to repeat as World Cup champions. Only twice before has the reigning World Cup champion successfully defended its title: Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962. The World Cup team had a lot of notable players from 2018 like Paul Pogba and Samuel Umtiti left off and Karim Benzema benched because of injury. Nevertheless the team has delivered excellently with the striking of Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud and the goaltending of Hugo Lloris. They’ve shown they won’t give up their World Cup title easily.

My Final Verdict: A lot to think about. Argentina’s group play loss came in the opener. France’s came after they were guaranteed qualification. Argentina has scored twelve goals while France has scored thirteen. Argentina has conceded five goals and so has France. This will be an extremely tight match. I think this is a match where it would go to a 1-1 draw and Argentina winning on penalty kicks. I’m sure it will be that tight!

And there you have it. My review and predictions for the third-place match and the World Cup final. This will definitely be one World Cup we will never forget.

World Cup 2022: Semifinals Predictions

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

The funny thing about this World Cup tournament is that with FIFA’s app, I’ve been making predictions for each game’s final score. Only three have I got the score absolutely bang on. Of course there are many I wrongly predicted would win. It’s interesting how this whole World Cup is a big circus both inside the field and outside the field. Not just the play but the politics, disputes and even brawls. In short, this World Cup is completely unpredictable. I find it weird because I’ve been quite good at making predictions on this blog and it’s come at mixed results. I successfully predicted all the Round of 16 winners, but I only got one quarterfinal winner right.

What can I say about this Cup’s semifinal teams. Before I talk about them, it’s interesting many teams that delivered some of the biggest wins in the Round of 16 lost their quarterfinal match! As for the semifinalists, two are from Group F. Two are from different groups. Only one team has won their knockout matches without even needing added extra time. While one team qualified with nothing but matches that went to penalty kicks. Two teams are renowned for their goal scorers, while the two others owe most of their credit to their goalkeepers. Two are finalists from the last World Cup. Two have won the World Cup in the past. One has made it to the semis for the first time ever. Two teams have lost one group play game while the two Group F teams have not had a defeat. This is only the second World Cup where the semifinal teams come from three different continents.

Without further ado, here is the look at the four teams that qualified for the two semifinals and my prediction for each one:

SEMIFINAL #1: ARGENTINA vs. CROATIA

Head-To-Head Stuff: Croatia and Argentina have played each other five times in the past; two of those games in the World Cup. Croatia has won twice and Argentina have won twice. For World Cup play, their first meeting was in 1998 group play. Argentina won 1-0. The second was group play of the last World Cup. Croatia won 3-0.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

ARGENTINA

For almost fifteen years when you think of Argentina, one name comes to mind: Lionel Messi. No doubt about it Messi has shone over the sport like no other player. Despite his accolades in club play, he has consistently been denied major international prizes like the Copa America and the World Cup. A common reminder that one player does not make the whole team. Argentina has a lot of talented players, but it’s always been a struggle to get them all together and win one of the biggest tournaments. They qualified for the final of the 2014 World Cup, but lost to Germany. In the two years after that, they qualified for the final of the Copa America both years and lost finals on penalty kicks. The failure of falling 4-3 to eventual champions France in the 2018 Round Of 16 added further insult to the injury.

Since the pandemic, Argentina has shown a change of play. Last year they won the Copa America and it became Messi’s first major international trophy ever. On to World Cup action, Argentina had the misfortune of losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia. La Albiceleste knew they needed nothing but wins to qualify and they delivered with 2-0 wins in both games. They topped Group C and were one of five teams to top a group in Qatar with two wins and a loss. They won their Round Of 16 match against Australia 2-1 and won their quarterfinal against the Netherlands on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw and a load of yellow cards. One highlight of the match was Lionel Messi scored the tenth World Cup goal of his career.

CROATIA

Croatia should be seen as the little team that can. They’re a nation of under 5 million that competed in six World Cups since their debut in 1998. They’ve made the Top 4 for the third time this very tournament! Returning back to the World Cup semifinals wasn’t easy. Shortly after play resumed after the pandemic, Croatia endured a lot of UEFA Nations League losses. They only made it as far as the Round Of 16 at Euro 2020, and they even struggled to resume winning during World Cup qualifying.

Things made a big improvement after their early Euro exit. Since then, they’ve only lost a single Nations League match and more than made up for things in World Cup qualification. In their play here in Qatar, the group stage was a case where they had scoreless draws against Morocco and Belgium and a 4-1 win over Canada. That big win was what they needed to qualify second in Group F. In their Round of 16 match against Japan, they drew 1-1 but won on penalty kicks. Their quarterfinal against Brazil also ended in 1-1 and again penalty kicks gave them the win. Top play has come from striker Ivan Perisic, midfielder Luka Modric and goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.

My Final Verdict: This is hard to judge. Sure, Croatia won against Argentina in 2018 group play, but both teams were different teams in 2018. Back then Croatia won all three of their group stage games while Argentina had a win, a draw and a loss. Looking at the World Cup 2022 stats, Argentina has scored a total of nine goals while Croatia has only scored six. Croatia however have only conceded three goals while Argentina has conceded five. Croatia has never lost here in Qatar while Argentina had their shock loss to Saudi Arabia. On top of it, Argentina have picked up a lot of yellow cards from their card-crazy quarterfinal against the Netherlands and they might not want to risk their best players. Looking at all the facts, I have to say I predict Argentina to win 1-0 in added extra time.

SEMIFINAL #2: FRANCE vs. MOROCCO

Head-To-Head Stuff: France and Morocco have faced off against each other 11 times in the past, but never played each other at the World Cup before. Morocco’s only win came in 1963. France won seven times.

Team-By-Team Analysis:

FRANCE

Many of you remember my story of France’s long road of recovery from their embarrassing collapse in 2010 to winning theWorld Cup in 2018. It’s one thing to get to the top but it’s another to stay on top. After the World Cup win, France was still very skillful for the rest of 2018 and 2019, winning eleven of their sixteen games and only losing two. Things changed after the pandemic. They still managed to win many games but they showed sings of weakness. Especially during Euro 2020 when they topped their group with a win and two draws, but went out to Switzerland in the Round of 16 on a penalty shootout. 2022 also showed weakness in France as they lost three Nations League games including one match to Croatia: their opponent in the 2018 World Cup final. Many were suspecting France would become yet another casualty of the ‘curse of the defending World Cup champion.’

Here in Qatar, France had a lot to prove and they proved it. They were the first team to qualify for the knockout stage after a 4-1 win over Australia and a 2-1 win over Denmark. With that, they could afford to lose 1-0 to Tunisia and still top Group D. In their Round of 16 match against Poland, they won in convincing fashion 3-1. In their quarterfinal against England, the game was a controversial one with France winning 2-1. In addition, Kylian Mbappe is the World Cup 2022 scoring leader with five goals.

MOROCCO

Morocco is a team that deserves more respect than you know. Although they’re not the first African nation to compete in the World Cup, they’re the first team to qualify via a direct African berth back in 1970. They didn’t qualify again until 1986 and when they competed, they became the first African nation to qualify past the preliminary group stage. Their Round of 16 finish from 1986 would remain Morocco’s best result ever for a long time. They would return to the World Cup in 1994, 1998 and 2018, but would go out in group play. Over the next four years, Morocco would continue to have frustrations with team play and their coaches. French coach Herve Renard who coached the 2018 World Cup team would resign after the team’s Round of 16 exit at the 2019 African Cup of Nations. Bosnian coach Vahid Halilhodzic would step in his place right after. Morocco’s ouster in the quarterfinals of the 2021 African Cup of Nations and Vahid’s fallout with star player Hakim Ziyech would cause him to be fired in August 2022. More than three months before the World Cup!

Placed in Halilhodzic’s place was Walid Reguagui. Reguagui would be the first Moroccan since 2016 to coach the team. Things looked promising as Morocco won two for their friendlies before the World Cup and tied the third. Here in the World Cup, it’s nothing but up. Morocco opened with a scoreless draw against Croatia, but would go on to a surprise 2-0 win over Belgium and a 2-1 win over Canada. In their Round Of 16 match, they would have to go against Spain: one of their Group B rivals from World Cup 2018. The match went scoreless, but Morocco won the penalty kick match 3-0. Their win made them the fourth African team to play in the World Cup quarterfinals. In their quarterfinal, they were up against Portugal: another Group B rival from 2018! The goal from Youssuf En-Nesyri was fluky, but it was enough for Morocco to win 1-0. The win made Morocco the first African team to qualify for a World Cup semifinal!

My Final Verdict: This is tough to call. Morocco hasn’t lost a World Cup game yet while France had a surprise loss to Tunisia. France has scored a total of eleven goals compared to the five Morocco has scored. However, Morocco has only conceded one goal in World Cup play while France has conceded one goal per game. You can thank Montreal-born Yassine Bonnou for that record. Also worth keeping in mind Morocco will play one man down thanks to a double-yellow card on Walid Cheddira during their match against Portugal. I’d predict the win to France 2-0.

And there you have it. Those are my predictions for the two semifinals. It should make for some interesting play. This whole World Cup has been a case of surprises and upsets so expect the unexpected here too.

World Cup 2022 Predictions For The Knockout Rounds

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

Anyone else find it odd to be catching World Cup games while you’re doing Christmas shopping? I think this may be the last World Cup where the Round of 16 will kick off the knockout round. As many of you know, the next World Cup will be having a field of 48 teams. It’s unclear how they’ll do the second stage. It could be the knockout stage starts with a “Round of 32.” Or it could be a second set of group play. Four World Cups — 1950, 1974, 1978 and 1982 — did have a second set of group play. In the meantime, it hangs in the balance and is up for FIFA to decide.

As for 2022, the sixteen teams for the knockout round have been decided over the past thirteen days of group play. I don’t know about you but this seems like the fastest World Cup I’ve ever seen. With 3/4 of the total games completed, the play was quite something. Qatar became the first host nation to lose all three of their group games. Senegal is the most notable of many nations fined by FIFA for managers not bringing a player with them during a pre-game press conference. Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey became the first player of the Cup to get an instant red card. South Korea coach Paulo Bento had the rare achievement of a coach being given a red card. VAR use has caused excessive additions of stoppage time. It’s also been the subject of some controversial goal calls like one disallowed for France and another all owed for Japan. There were surprise losses like Argentina falling to Saudi Arabia, Germany to Japan and Belgium to Morocco. With six goals, Germany became the highest-scoring team that failed to advance. Speaking of Germany, highly lauded teams like Germany, Belgium and Uruguay didn’t advance, and the three teams that were guaranteed advancement after their second games lost their final match with a -1 goal differential. I guess they figured since they were already guaranteed, why put in the effort?

What can I say? Every World Cup has their shocking moments and controversies. There were a lot of good things that have happened during the World Cup. First of all, only three red cards have been given out. Only two own-goals have been scored. Every team in Qatar scored at least one goal and the goal average is 2.5 per game right now. Attendance for games has been excellent. Their lowest-attended match was just over 39,000 and their highest-attended match so far was Argentina vs. Mexico with just about 89,000. The World Cup attendance record is over 91,000 for the 1994 Final. Television broadcast has been excellent and American television has it highest-ever World Cup ratings. Plus this Cup’s knockout round makes it only the second ever to consist of teams from all six continents! On a Canadian note, Canada had the relief of only finishing second-last! Thanks, Qatar! Actually I don’t feel too bad. Like I illustrated in my previous blog, the team was mostly young and I think the team was had a bigger focus on 2026 when we co-host instead of 2022. Best of luck to the team!

Anyways enough about my blabbing about the previous 48 games. We’re heading to the knockout round where each round separates the contenders from the pretenders. Here’s my look at the first two sets of knockout rounds.

ROUND OF 16 PREDICTIONS

This is where it all starts. The sixteen being reduced to eight, the quarterfinals reducing the eight to four, the semifinals reducing the four to the two to play in the final for the Cup. The knockout format is the same it’s been since 2006 for which team from which group plays who. We have some interesting pairings to start off with. So here I go starting my predictions for the Round of 16. For my predictions, I will be taking into account their play here in Qatar as well as past head-to-head results. Note that my pick to win will be in bold.

NETHERLANDS vs. UNITED STATES

The first Round of 16 match will be contested between two teams that didn’t qualify for 2018 and are obviously eager to be back. For the Netherlands, it all started with a 2-0 win against Senegal, then a 1-1 draw against Ecuador and finalized with a 2-0 win against hosts Qatar. The US opened their World Cup with a 1-1 draw against Wales followed by a scoreless draw against England. The US knew they needed nothing less than a win against Iran to advance. It just took a single goal from Christian Pulisic at the 38th minute to book the US to the knockout phase.

For this opener, I will have to go with the Netherlands. In head-to-head, The Netherlands have won four times while the US won only once. On top of it, the US has a team mostly of young men. The Netherlands has a well-seasoned team of young and experienced players. That’s why I feel it’s Oranje’s for the taking.

ARGENTINA vs AUSTRALIA

The second Round of 16 match is between two teams that couldn’t be more different in reputations. One team hasn’t missed a World Cup since 1970, advanced past the opening stage 14 out of 18 times, and even won the Cup twice. The other has competed in only six World Cups, this being their fifth consecutive, and just advanced to the Round of 16 only for the second time ever. Both teams lost their opening match but won the other two. Argentina opened with a shocking 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia. The Albiceleste knew they needed nothing but wins for qualification and their reputation, and they delivered with 2-0 wins over Mexico and Poland. Australia opened with a big loss to France 4-1. However the Socceroos did what they needed to do with 1-0 wins over Tunisia and Denmark.

As for the match, this will be the eighth time the two will square off. In the past, Argentina won five times and Australia has only won once. Even though this is the World Cup where Australia has had their best-ever group play, I expect the magic to end here. I’m sure this will be a clear victory for Argentina with a big score.

FRANCE vs. POLAND

It’s something how instead of being subject to the alleged curse of the defending champion, France was actually the first team to qualify, thanks to winning 4-1 against Australia and 2-1 against Denmark. Les Bleus had the luxury of losing 1-0 to Tunisia in its last game (Tunisia’s first-ever win over France) and still finish top of the group! Poland didn’t have it as easy. They started with a scoreless draw against Mexico, won against Saudi Arabia 2-0 but ended with a 2-0 loss to Argentina. Nevertheless their game stats and goal differentials held up to take the Eagles to the knockout round for the first time since 1986!

This Round of 16 pairing will become the seventeenth time the two will have dueled each other. France has won eight times before while Poland has won three times before. I will have to go with France because they’ve shown more consistency and have been better at scoring.

ENGLAND vs. SENEGAL

For England, it was another chance to start the chase on football glory. The team headed by coach Gareth Southgate is seen by many as the best England team ever. In its opening game against Iran, they proved they were ready by winning 6-2. Against the US, they came to a scoreless draw. Then against common rivals Wales, they delivered big in the second-half winning 3-0. For Senegal, it was a chance to get the berth that eluded them by such a close call four years ago. It actually started on a bad note as they lost to the Netherlands 2-0. Against Qatar, they were able to prove themselves better, winning 3-1. Then their match against Ecuador. Whoever won qualified, and it was Senegal that stepped up to the challenge winning 2-1.

This will be the first ever match between England and Senegal. They have never dueled before. It’s hard to tell, but I feel it will be England that will take it. Senegal have proven themselves to be more than what most people expected, but England has continued to show their brilliance and team chemistry on the field.

JAPAN vs. CROATIA

When a group has big-name teams like Spain or Germany, you think you’re chances are over, right? Not Japan. They opened with a 2-1 win over Germany and ended with another 2-1 win to Spain. Even a 1-0 loss to Costa Rica didn’t stop Samurai Blue from topping Group E. On to Croatia. Interesting that the group play of this World Cup has amassed six nil-nil draws, and Croatia was part of two of them! Despite that, they had the biggest win of Group F play: 4-1 against Canada. That gave The Blazers what they needed to qualify to the knockout round for the third time!

Now down to the game. Two different teams. One has been to the Top 3 of the World Cup twice, the other is eager to win their first ever World Cup knockout match. The two have squared off only three times ever, with Croatia winning once (in World Cup 1998), Japan winning once, and a draw. I feel this will be a very tight match. Judging by their play these past two weeks. both teams are roughly parallel in scoring and defending. I feel this will be a tight came that would end in a draw, with Croatia winning on penalty kicks.

BRAZIL vs. SOUTH KOREA

When people watch the World Cup, most people want to see what Brazil has to offer. Brazil opened with a 2-0 win over Serbia, with both goals coming from Richarlison. Brazil followed it up with a 1-0 win over Switzerland With qualification secured, Brazil could afford to lose to Cameroon 1-0 and still top Group G. For South Korea, they opened with a 0-0 draw against Uruguay and endured a 3-2 loss to Ghana. They needed a win against Portugal to advance and nothing less, and they got it 2-1! Their big scoring in their Ghana loss gave them the edge against Uruguay in advancing to the knockout stage for the third time ever.

This match will become the eighth time Brazil and South Korea will have faced off. In their seven previous matches, Brazil won six. This is their first time squaring off at the World Cup. Brazil may have been rather tame compared to the Brazil we’re used to seeing while South Korea has delivered consistently. I pick Brazil to win it.

MOROCCO vs. SPAIN

Interesting this is the Round of 16 match has two teams with the least geographical separation! Just the Aiboran Sea separating the two! Before the World Cup play, I had a feeling nations with desert climates might have an advantage in Qatar. Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Iran scored surprise wins, but neither of them qualified. Morocco, on the other hand, delivered their best World Cup group play results ever. The Atlas Lions opened with a scoreless draw against Croatia, but went onto a surprise 2-0 win over Belgium and a 2-1 win over Canada. This is their second time qualifying to the knockout round and first since 1986! Their rivals Spain opened brilliantly with a 7-0 win over Costa Rica. After that, La Furia Roja were lacklustre with a 1-1 draw to Germany and a 2-1 loss to Japan.

Now onto the game. The two have met three times before. Morocco has never won. Spain won twice. Their one draw was a 2-2 draw at the 2018 World Cup. I have a feeling with Morocco pulling a lot of surprises, they will take this game in added extra time.

PORTUGAL vs. SWITZERLAND

Even before Qatar 2022 began, Portugal was one of the headliners. Possibly because this is likely to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s last chance to win the Cup. They secured their qualification with a 3-2 win over Ghana and a 2-0 win over Uruguay. With their qualification already clinched, the Selecao could afford to lose 2-1 over South Korea and still top Group H. Switzerland arrived with low expectations here in Qatar. They proved a lot as they first won 1-0 against Cameroon, then lost 1-0 to Brazil, but ended their run with a 3-2 win over Serbia. Their two wins were just what they needed to advance for the eighth time and third consecutive.

This will be the 26th time Portugal and Switzerland will have challenged each other. In their previous 25 duels, Switzerland has won eleven times while Portugal has won nine. In their ten most recent matches, Portugal has won more often but Switzerland won the last match 1-0 back in June. For this one, I think it will go to Portugal in added extra time.

QUARTERFINAL PREDICTIONS

Very rarely do I make another blog about quarterfinal predictions. Only if my Round Of 16 predictions end up being dreadfully way off would I go out of my way to make a new blog of quarterfinal predictions. So assuming that my Round Of 16 winners do in fact win, here are my predictions for the quarterfinals:

UPDATE – December 7, 2022: I can’t believe it! All eight of my predictions were right! That means the teams I predicted to be in what quarterfinal tuned out to be right. Since the Round of 16 matches ended, I did some minor updates on the predictions below. The play from the Round of 16 shifted my opinion a bit on the teams.

CROATIA vs. BRAZIL

It’s interesting the two matches they had. Croatia’s match against Japan was a case the Japanese scored first, but Croatia led the second-half to equalize. It came down to penalty kicks and Croatia did it. Brazil was a case that they won their first two games, but they looked relaxed in their play. Even that loss to Cameroon can be seen as holding back. Whatever the situation, it was like the sizzle Brazil is famous for exploded in their win over South Korea.

The two have faced off against each other four times before. Brazil winning three times and a draw the other. Two of those Brazil wins were in World Cup group play in 2006 and 2014. After the play I saw on Monday, I’d expect another win from Brazil. I doubt there will be a Croatian surprise this time around.

NETHERLANDS vs. ARGENTINA

This is the pair from the very first day of Round of 16 matches and both won in strong fashion. Netherlands went on a scoring spree against the USA, proving they are ready for this tournament..Argentina were the ones in control against Australia. The Albiceleste were the ones in control of the game while the best Australia could do was stick to defending.

They’ve met nine times before; Netherlands winning four times and Argentina winning once. As for World Cup results, Netherlands won the first duel in 1974. As for the second duel, Argentina’s one win was in the 1978 World Cup final! Netherlands did get some World Cup revenge winning their 1998 quarterfinal.

For this match, I pick Argentina in added extra time. Both teams have shown their strengths and weaknesses in their group play. I think it will be Argentina that most has what it takes to deliver the win.

MOROCCO vs. PORTUGAL

Both teams were decided on the last day of Round Of 16 matches. Morocco has normally lost to Spain, but they defended like never before to a 0-0 draw. When penalty kicks happened, Morocco was 3 for 4 while Spain couldn’t sink a single one! That makes Morocco only the fourth African nation to qualify for a World Cup quarterfinal! For Portugal, they knew they had to play well against Switzerland to win. They’ve won some but lost some to the Swiss. In the last Round of 16 match, they were a scoring force, winning 6-1.

Interesting that Morocco’s Round Of 16 rival Sapin was also their rival in 2018 group play.Here in the quarterfinal, Morocco will again meet up with another group play rival from 2018! They’ve met twice before. Morocco won the first time. Portugal won the second time. Yep, the World Cup game was won by Portugal.

On Saturday, I anticipate Portugal to win in regulation time. I am expecting Morocco to challenge and defend well, but for Portugal to win in the end.

FRANCE vs. ENGLAND

Here’s another case of two teams with brilliant wins in the Round Of 16. France opened up with a strong 3-1 win over Poland. The second-half scoring of Kylian Mbappe has him as the World Cup scoring leader with five goals! England continued to perform well as they won their first-ever match against Senegal 3-0.

They’ve crossed paths 31 times before. England has won seventeen times. France nine. In the two times they’ve faced off at the World Cup, England won both times: 2-0 in 1966 and 3-1 in 1982. Their last meeting was a friendly which France won 3-2. As for this match, I think this will go to a draw that will be decided on penalty kicks. Of course, France will win.

And there you have it. Those are my predictions for the Round Of 16 and Quarterfinal matches. Now time to see how they pan out. Also don’t expect to see another blog from me until the semifinals.

World Cup 2022: Group Stage With One Game To Go

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Many of you may ask why do the final games of the World Cup group play for each group happen simultaneously? It’s a controversy that goes back to the first round of group play at the 1982 World Cup. For a long time, I thought it was the 1978 Cup but it’s 1982.

The first round of group play at Espana 1982 was just like at this World Cup; four in a group and the top two advance. With 24 teams in 1982, they were divided in six groups of four. Group 2 had West Germany, Algeria, Chile and Austria. In the opening match West Germany lost to Algeria 2-1 while Austria beat Chile 1-0. For the second matches, West Germany won big over Chile 4-1 and Austria beat Algeria 2-0. The third matches were held a day apart. Algeria played Chile and won 3-2.

With a day to go, West Germany and Austria knew Algeria’s final results: two wins, a loss, five goal scored, five conceded. Austria had two win, three goals scored, none conceded. West Germany had a win and a loss, five goals scored, three conceded. For West Germany and Austria to qualify to the next round, West Germany would have to win 1-0 or 2-0 to advance along with Austria. In the match the next day in El Molinon Stadium in Gijon, Spain, West Germany did beat Austria 1-0 and both progressed to the next round. Three teams with two wins and a loss, but West Germany’s and Austria’s better goal differentials helped them advance.

It was right there in the stadium that thousands of people suspected something. Especially since the lone goal from Horst Hrubesch in the tenth minute was pretty lacklustre and Friedrich Koncilia appeared to put a weak effort into stopping. The mostly Spanish crowd was infuriated, West German fans even were angered, and FIFA investigated it to see if any match fixing. In the end, they could not find any evidence to prove that the match was fixed between the two. Nevertheless the match, one of many shockers and scandals of Espana 1982, would be remembered as the “Disgrace of Gijon.” In addition, FIFA instituted a new rule that each World Cup group’s final matches of group play all be held simultaneously. Simultaneous play of final group matches even happens at the Euro, Copa America, CONCACAF Gold Cup and World Cup qualifiers.

Now onto Qatar 2022 and the tenth time the final matches of group play will be played simultaneously. With one game left to play, three teams have already qualified for the knockout stage, two teams are already out of all chances, and twenty-seven teams will need Game 3 to decide who’s among the other thirteen to advance. In this blog, I’ll break down each group’s action and give the details of which team needs what to qualify for the knockout round. Teams that have already qualified are in bold and links to my original blogs are in the headings.

Group A:

It started with a win for Ecuador over hosts Qatar. Then followed with a win for Netherlands over Senegal. Senegal won against hosts Qatar, then Netherlands and Ecuador had a 1-1 draw. As of now, none of the teams have guaranteed qualification. The Netherlands and Ecuador can make qualification happen if they just draw in both their games. Senegal will face Ecuador in their third game. Winner definitely qualifies. Ecuador can afford to draw but this is a must-win game for the Senegalese to qualify. The only way the Netherlands can’t qualify is if they lose to Qatar and the Ecuador/Senegal game ends in a draw, and I bet that won’t happen.

As for Qatar, it’s over. They are now the second host nation to not advance past the opening round of a World Cup. Netherlands and Ecuador have a win and a draw each which means even if Qatar win against the Netherlands, which I doubt would happen, it will be too much too late.

Group B:

Sometimes it happens in a group with a World Cup group with a single game to go, all four still have chances to qualify. That’s how it worked out with the play. England opened strong with a 6-2 win over Iran. The US and the Welsh drew 1-1 thanks to goals from American star Tim Weah and Welsh sensation Gareth Bale. In Wales vs. Iran, goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey got the Cup’s first instant red card in the 86th minute. That may be what allowed Iran to score two goals in stoppage time and give them their biggest World Cup victory ever! The England-US game was expected to be a tough rivalry, but it ended in a scoreless draw. That’s how it all makes game three to be a free-for-all.

England has the easiest chance to qualify. Even if they lose to Wales, the loss will need to be 3-0 if they’re to fail to advance. Iran could qualify with a draw, but they shouldn’t take chances as it may be possible Wales wins and qualifies based on goal differentials. Don’t forget Iran’s loss to England was by four goals. Both Iran and Wales have goal differentials of -2. The US need nothing less than a win to qualify. Wales not only needs a win over England to qualify, but for a draw to happen in the Iran-US game. If a winner happens in that game, Wales victory over England will have to be a three-goal differential like 3-0 or 4-1. It’s that tight!

Group C:

Of all groups here in Qatar, this group has the most shockers. Nobody expected Argentina to lose to Saudi Arabia 2-1. Saudi Arabia was so elated by the win, a national holiday was declared! The Mexico/Poland match resulted in a scoreless draw: one of five scoreless draws in Qatar 2022. Game 2 became a case for teams to want to play like they meant it. Poland made up for its lackluster opener by defeating Saudi Arabia 2-0. Argentina, disappointed with their loss in what should be called the “Saudi Surprise,” knew they had to defeat Mexico to regain their reputation. And they did 2-0.

All four teams have a chance of qualifying. Poland in the top spot has it easiest because they could just simply draw against Argentina and it would be enough to qualify, but they know the Albiceleste are hungry to redeem themselves, so they don’t want to take any chances. Speaking of Messi and the boys, they could draw against Poland, but could face elimination if Saudi Arabia defeats Mexico, so you can bet the Albiceleste will want to make this a win. As for the Saudis, they too can’t take chances against Mexico. Don’t forget they had a win at the last World Cup, but also had two losses and failed to advance. A draw would be too risky with goal differentials coming into play, plus who knows how the Argentina/Poland game will go? So a win against Mexico will be needed. Mexico, in last place, still have a chance if they win against the Saudis and Poland beats Argentina. If Argentina wins or draws against Poland, Mexico will need a win of either 3-0 or 4-1 to make it in. Slim, but still possible.

Group D:

It’s widely considered that there is a curse of the World Cup champion. Four of the previous five World Cups, including the last three, have seen the defending champion end their World Cup run in the group stage. Here in Qatar, France ended all concern of the curse by winning their first two games and becoming the first team to guarantee qualification! They opened with a 4-1 win over Australia and followed it up with a 2-1 win over Denmark, and that secured it. They ended the curse! Funny thing is they appear to have started it in 2002 when they not only were ousted, but failed to score a single goal! Even if France loses against Tunisia, they will still qualify.

All of the other three teams still have a chance. Second in the group is Australia. After their 1-4 loss to France, they knew they needed to win their next game against Tunisia to be in contention, and they did it: 1-0. For the Australia/Denmark match, it’s a case of whoever wins qualifies. While Denmark needs nothing short of a win to qualify, Australia could qualify simply by drawing, but they could be ousted if Tunisia defeats France and goal differentials come into play. A win against France and the Australia/Denmark game being a draw is Tunisia’s only chance of qualifying for the group stage. Also if Denmark wins over Australia, Tunisia’s win over France will have to be 2-0 or 3-1 to have that chance. Although I don’t think France will have them win, anything is possible.

Group E:

Group E is another case where all four teams still have chances to qualify for the knockout round. Group E is another group that had surprises. First was Japan’s win over Germany 2-1. Then came the huge win of Spain over Costa Rica: 7-0. Then Costa Rica won over Japan 1-0 and Spain drew against Germany 1-1. Although it’s not guaranteed, Spain has the best chances of qualifying even if they lose. It could be a case they lose to Japan and Germany wins their game, but their big win over Costa Rica puts them in an excellent position to qualify.

Japan looks like the team that can best qualify if they draw, but their chances are slim because of Spain’s huge win. A win over Germany will solidify. Same with Costa Rica. They will need to win over Germany if they want to advance because of the huge loss they had to Spain. Their win against Japan was a boost, but goal differentials will have an impact in qualifying. Germany is the nation where a win is absolutely critical. The Mannschaft are the only team in this group without a win. They will not only need to win against Costa Rica, but hope that the Japan/Spain game results in a draw or Spain winning because if Japan wins, Japan and Spain will have the advantage with goal differentials. That’s the World Cup for you.

Group F:

At first it appeared that Group B would be the “Group Of Death” of the Cup. Seems like almost every group has become like a Group Of Death and Group F is no exception. The first matches started with Morocco and Croatia in a scoreless draw and Belgium defeating Canada 1-0. How about that? The first games end and there’s only a single goal! Then in the second matches, Morocco surprised Belgium 2-0– Morocco’s first World Cup win since 1998 — and Croatia dominated over Canada 4-1.

Three teams still have a chance at qualifying. Although both Morocco and Croatia have a win and a draw, Croatia have the best chances of qualifying because of their goal differentials. Either team can qualify by simply drawing, but it may not be something they’d want to do because of the opponents they’ll face. Belgium knows it will need a win if they want to stay alive. That loss to Morocco really set them back and they can’t afford to take chances since Morocco will be taking on Canada.

Canada is the second team in this World Cup to be eliminated after the second game. They lost 1-0 against Belgium but impressed the world with their strong play and strong defense. In their match against Croatia, they opened strongly with Alphonso Davies delivering what is so far the fastest opening goal of the World Cup. Over time, the Croatians poured it on and exposed the weaknesses in Canada and they lost 4-1. Even before the World Cup, I knew Canada’s chances of qualifying were slim. Nevertheless, I wasn’t too worried about qualification because Canada will be co-hosting the next World Cup. I figured this would be a learning experience for the team as the team consists mostly of young players while teams like Belgium and Croatia consist of well-seasoned players. I wish Canada all the best for 2026.

Group G:

Before Monday, November 28th, France was the only team assured qualification with one game to go. At the end of Monday, two more were added, and both are lusophone nations! You can imagine that the nation football fans would most have their eyes on would be Brazil. Brazil did not disappoint. They opened their World Cup with a 2-0 win over Serbia, thanks to two second-half goals from 25 year-old Richarlison. Their second match was against Switzerland and it was a single goal from Casemiro in the 83rd minute that gave Brazil their victory 1-0. Even if they lose to Cameroon on Friday, they’re guaranteed in there.

The three other teams in Group G also have chances to be the other team to advance. Switzerland has the best chances as they had a 1-0 win over Cameron and their loss to Brazil leaves them with even goal differentials. In fact if Switzerland wins over Serbia and Brazil loses to Cameroon, they can take the top spot of Group G if their win is 2-0 or 3-1! A draw against Serbia is too risky because if it so happens that Cameroon beats Brazil, Cameroon could advance because of better goal differentials thanks to their 3-3 draw to Serbia. Actually both Cameroon and Serbia will need wins to have any chance of advancing. Serbia has the slimmest of chances to qualify with a loss, a draw, three goals sores and five conceded. If they win against Switzerland and Cameroon draws, they can be the team that advances. Even in football, the slimmest of chances are still possible.

Group H:

Four short hours after Brazil became the second team to qualify to the knockout stage, Portugal became the third! It all started in their first match against Ghana. After a scoreless first-half, Portugal won 3-2 and Cristiano Ronaldo made history as the first player to score a goal in five World Cups! A win against Uruguay thanks to two second-half goals from Bruno Fernandes booked them qualification to the Round of 16! Even if they lose to South Korea on Friday, they’re still going!

Any of the other three Group H teams can become the second team to qualify, but their play in the third game will finalize who’s the one. Both matches on Friday are of intrigue. The South Korea/Portugal match because both have Portuguese head coaches, with South Korea’s playing in the 2002 World Cup. The Ghana/Uruguay game because…well, if you saw the 2010 World Cup quarterfinal, you’ll know why Ghana has an axe to grind with Luis Suarez!

Of the three still waiting, Ghana is the one with the best chances. To think before Qatar 2022 began, Ghana was seen as the team with the least odds of winning the Cup and was the team in Qatar with the lowest rank on FIFA’s list: 61st. They may have lost in their opener to Portugal, but their 3-2 loss sent the message not to underestimate the Black Stars. Then against South Korea, they clinched a 3-2 win! A win against Uruguay will solidify qualification. Ghana could qualify if they draw, but they better hope South Korea doesn’t beat Portugal. I’ll bet they don’t want to chance it. As for South Korea and Uruguay, both are in a case where they will need nothing less than a win to qualify. Not only would South Korea need Ghana to draw to qualify, but the Taegeuk Warriors have to win 2-0 or 3-1. Uruguay have it toughest of all as they haven’t even scored a single goal yet. They’ll have to win 2-0 or 3-1 over Ghana and just hope Portugal either beats South Korea or draws against them in order to advance.

And that’s my breakdown of the qualifying chances of the teams of the World Cup right now. These next four days will finalize everything. No wonder I call the final games of the group stage a test of nerves.

WORK CITED:

WIKIPEDIA: Disgrace of Gijón. Wikipedia.com. 2022. Wikimedia Foundation Inc.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disgrace_of_Gijon>