FIFA World Cup 2022: Drama in the desert | Football News – Times of India

The Qatar World Cup has delivered a rich feast of excitement for the past month, with shocks, great goals, incredible celebrations and record-breaking feats served up by the assembled cast.
TOI looks back at the roller-coaster journey along 62 matches…
MOROCCO’S MAGICAL JOURNEY: The Atlas Lions roared in a statement-making style, becoming the first Arab and African country to reach the World Cup semifinals. Their journey saw them get the better of three European powerhouses (Belgium, Spain and Portugal) before their 0-2 loss to France in the last-4 stage. Their coach Walid ‘Avocado Man’ Regragui became the first Arab manager to lead a team to the knockout rounds. Interestingly, Morocco did not concede a goal to an opposition player until their defeat in the semifinal.
CR7 LEAVES WITH A MIXED LEGACY: When Cristiano Ronaldo converted a penalty in Portugal’s group stage clash with Ghana, he became the first man to score at five World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022). However, having started on the bench in the Round of 16 (vs Switzerland) and in the quarterfinal (vs Morocco), Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer (118 goals) in men’s international football, bowed out failing to score in all eight of his knockout stage appearances at the World Cup (including Portugal’s third place play-off in 2006).
SPAIN’S PAIN: When it comes to penalty shootouts, Spain have the worst record in World Cup history. Out of the five such instances, they have lost four penalty shootouts, the first nation to do so. England and Italy have lost three times. La Roja’s only win in a shootout came against the Republic of Ireland in 2002.
NEYMAR EQUALS PELE BUT BRAZIL’S WAIT CONTINUES: Neymar equalled Pele’s record of 77 goals for Brazil but his goal against Croatia was not enough as the five-time champions crashed out in the quarterfinals following a penalty shootout heartbreak. Neymar didn’t have his chance at a shot in the shootout. Earlier, he became the third Brazilian player to score in three different editions of the World Cup, along with Ronaldo and Pele. But, just like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, it could be the end of an era if Neymar decides not to play for Brazil again.

IT’S NOT COMING HOME: England finished as group toppers for the first time in a World Cup since 2006. Gareth Southgate’s side, however, saw their campaign come to an end with the 1-2 loss to France in the quarterfinals. England became the only team to have been eliminated from the last-8 stage seven times in World Cup history.
LEWA BREAKS DUCK: Robert Lewandowski was in tears when he scored Poland’s second goal in the 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia. This was the 34-year-old Polish star’s first goal after going five World Cup games without scoring and missing a penalty in his team’s opening Group C game against Mexico. He ended up netting home another penalty in the Round of 16 but Poland lost 1-3 to France.
HAT-TRICK HERO: Portugal striker Goncalo Ramos scored the only hat-trick of the ongoing Cup in Qatar so far. The 21-year-old achieved it when he scored 3 in the 6-1 win against Switzerland in his first start for the national team.
FAREWELL TO DUG-OUTS: With France and Argentina now left to fight for the title, the past few days have seen several coaches bid goodbye to the dug-out following the exit of their respective teams. The list includes Tite (Brazil), Luis Enrique (Spain), Fernando Santos (Portugal), Louis van Gaal (Netherlands), R Martinez (Belgium), Tata Martino (Mexico), P Bento (South Korea) and Otto Addo (Ghana).
FRANCE BUCK THE TREND: Didier Deschamps managed France, the defending champions, broke a recent jinx. In the past three editions, all the defending champions crashed out in the group stage: Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014 and Germany in 2018.
REFEREE FRAPPART BREAKS A GLASS CEILING: Stephanie Frappart became the first woman to take charge of a men’s World Cup match when Germany faced Costa Rica on December 1. The 38-year-old Frenchwoman was the fourth official during the earlier game between Mexico and Poland.
GERMANY’S WOES: Germany suffered a second successive World Cup humiliation after being eliminated at the group stage in Qatar, four years after meeting the same fate in Russia. They started with a 1-2 loss to Japan, managed to hold Spain 1-1 and eventually crashed out despite beating Costa Rica in the final group match.