Top News Desk: Argentina won the World Cup title after a long wait of 36 years, and Lionel Messi’s dream came true. The 28-day battle ended with a breathless final match at Qatar’s Lusail Stadium Bangladesh time on Sunday at 9 pm. Argentina defeated the defending champion France 4-2 in the penalty shootout and was crowned the world’s best for the third time.
Many matches in this Qatar World Cup have ended in tension. On the one hand, teams like Germany could not top the group stage. On the other hand, teams like Brazil and Croatia were heartbroken after losing in the knockout stages. Morocco surprised everyone by reaching the semi-finals as the first African team. In the end, Lionel Messi won the cup, so France could not reach Brazil’s record of winning the World Cup twice in a row. Despite scoring a hat-trick in the final, Kylian Mbappe remained a tragic hero.
Some special moments of each match have touched our hearts. Some of the goals, some of the excitement of the goals, and some of the records made headlines. Let’s take a look at some of the memorable moments of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, which will be remembered for a long time.
Argentina’s loss to Saudi Arabia: Argentina stumbled in the first match of Group C. They lost to Saudi Arabia. Lionel Messi led the team by scoring a penalty in the first half. But that happiness did not last long. In the second half, Saudi paid for the goal by surprising everyone. Saleh Al-Shehri scored the team’s first goal to equalize the match. Salem Al-Dawsari scored the second goal within five minutes of equalizing. Badass Argentina and its supporters. The Saudi fans did not forget to poke the Argentine fans about Messi. Of course, who knew then that these Argentines would have the last laugh?
South Korea look to reach the last sixteen: South Korea’s Hwang Hee-Chan scored a 91st-minute goal against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in their last Group H match. After defeating Portugal 2-1, they had to wait 10 minutes for their place in the last sixteen. South Korean footballers and fans watched the tough 10 minutes during Uruguay vs Ghana match. Ten minutes of extra time was awarded in that match. A goal in Uruguay would have eliminated Korea. Suarez couldn’t do it in the end. After the match between Uruguay and Ghana, South Korea’s place in the last sixteen was confirmed. The Korean players ran to the spectators and cheered with them.
Germany’s loss to Japan: Germany surprised everyone in their first Group E match. Germany took the lead in the first half of the match with Ilkay Gundogan’s goal. But in the second half, Japan, the land of the rising sun, came out as a changed player with goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano.
All the drama in Group E: Germany lost 2-1 to Japan in one of their first two matches in Group E, while Spain conceded 7 goals to Costa Rica in the other. Germany had to win their last group match and Spain had to win against Japan to advance to the next round. Everything was going well. At the end of the first half, both Spain and Germany were leading their respective games by 1-0 goals. After that, everything changed. At the beginning of the second half, Japan scored two consecutive goals in a span of 3 minutes. On the other hand, Costa Rica advanced with two goals. In the end, however, Germany won the match with 4-2 goals, but Spain could not repay the goal. They lost 2-1 to Japan. This changes all the equations. Japan advanced to the next round as group champions and Spain advanced to the next round as runners-up. On goal difference, the four-time world champions were knocked out of the group stage.
Red card after scoring the winning goal: Cameroon striker Vincent Abubakar left the field after seeing the red card after scoring the winning goal against Brazil. In the World Cup Cameroon became the first African team that defeats Brazil. Abubakar took off his jersey in celebration of scoring the goal and was immediately shown a yellow card by the referee. Earlier, Abubakar saw a yellow card early in the match. As a result, he had to leave the field after seeing two yellow cards.
First female referee in men’s World Cup: History was made when Stephanie Frappert blew the whistle to signal the start of the World Cup Group E match between Germany and Costa Rica. This is the first time a woman has refereed a match in a men’s World Cup. That too on the soil of Qatar. He was accompanied by two other female referees, Karen Diaz and Neoja Back. France’s 38-year-old female referee Stephanie set a precedent. In the 92-year history of World Cup football, Such an incident has never happened.
Ronaldo’s tearful World Cup exit: Fernando Santos left Cristiano Ronaldo out of the starting XI against Switzerland. Ronaldo won 6-1. Santos also left him out of the team against Morocco. However, when Portugal fell behind 1-0 against Morocco in the quarter-finals, Ronaldo was brought on but neither he nor his team could score. So Ronaldo had to leave the last sixteen after losing to Morocco. He left the field in tears. Football lovers will remember that scene for a long time.
Messi against defender Josco Guardiol: Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 in the semi-finals. In the match, Lionel Messi scored a penalty and Yulian Alvares scored the other two goals. However, the third goal of the match was scored by Alvarez from Messi’s pass. This was one of the best moments of that time, the way Messi left Josko Guardiol of Croatia to increase that pass who was one of the most promising defenders of the World Cup.
Whistles of Moroccan fans: Morocco became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup in Qatar. Thousands of fans filled the stands at every match to support the team. Whatever, whoever was the opponent of Morocco like Spain in the last 16, Portugal in the quarter-finals, or France in the semis, the whistles of the Moroccan fans blared every time the ball went to the opponent’s feet. The sound of that flute was enough to lock the ears of the opponent.
Emmanuel Macron comforts Mbappe: The tragic hero of this World Cup is Kylian Mbappe. The team could not win even after scoring a hat trick in the final. Argentina had to lose in a tiebreaker. But this created a wonderful moment. After the match, French President Emmanuel Macron came forward to console the devastated Mbappe. He hugged him to his chest.
World Cup in the hands of Messi: Every Argentine fan has been waiting for this scene for a long time. Germany’s Mario Gotze crushed that dream in 2018 final. And this World Cup was Lionel Messi’s last possible World Cup. So before leaving, this ‘god’ of football fulfilled the hopes of the fans by winning the final.
