Football is the most popular sport in the world and the FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event on the planet. The current edition in Qatar has continued to drill this into our minds and hearts. With the group stage producing some upsets and a crop of dark horses who threaten the European dominance on the sport, we are witnessing a truly remarkable spectacle. With arguably the most exciting group stage of the 21st century done and dusted, let us take a quick look at how the groups stand –
Group A
An overall lackluster group with pretty boring matches. Netherlands finished as group winners as expected with Senegal finishing as runners up. While Ecuador showed their spark, they ultimately fell short. Hosts Qatar were disappointing given how other Asian teams have fared in the competition. The Asian Champions lost each of their group stage matches despite their heavy investment in the sport over the years. This will not please the powers above.
Qualified for Ro16 – Netherlands, Senegal
Group B
A competitive group where the qualification was decided on the final day. England started out with a bang with a 6-2 thrashing of Iran before limping to a goalless draw against USA. They beat Wales in the final match to finish top of the group. USA drew against Wales and England before beating Iran in their final match to finish second. Iran beat Wales in their second match to give them some hope going into the final match but ultimately fell short. Wales were expected to be one of the dark horses but were disappointing throughout.
Qualified for Ro16 – England, USA
Group C
What was initially labelled as an easy group surprisingly went into the final round of matches with each team having a chance of qualifying. Argentina were stunned by Saudi Arabia in the first upset of the tournament. Despite the pressure, they went onto beat Mexico and Poland quite convincingly and top the group. Poland were far from their best throughout the tournament but was still on 4 points ahead of Saudi Arabia on 3 points after 2 games. Despite a loss to Argentina on the final day and Mexico beating the Saudis, they still limped through to the Ro16 thanks to having fewer yellow cards than the Mexicans. The Saudis showed their class and despite finishing bottom, they should be proud of themselves for the passion shown.
Qualified for Ro16 – Argentina, Poland
Group D
Despite the drama in the final round, this was relatively straightforward. France won their first two games to become the first team to qualify for the Ro16. Despite a loss to Tunisia in their last game they still finished top of the group. Australia overcame a 4-1 thrashing by France in their first game to beat Tunisia and Denmark and qualify for the Ro16. Tunisa drew against Denmark in their first game and beat France in their final game to cap up an impressive world cup for them. The African side showed their grit and will take inspiration from it. Denmark were labelled as the dark horses going in but were disappointing throughout despite having an excellent squad. It is back to the drawing board for them.
Qualified for Ro16 – France, Australia
Group E
The most nail biting finish to any group in recent history which also featured two of the biggest upsets of the world cup. Till the last minute, almost every team were in danger of dropping out. In the final round of fixtures, the events during Japan vs Spain and Costa Rica vs Germany ensured that each team was in the top 2 for a brief period. Japan stunned both the favorites Germany and Spain in thrilling comebacks to top the group with 6 points. They showed their determination and never die attitude to script two improbable results. Despite losing to Costa Rica in the second match they are the biggest dark horses in this tournament and have setup a Ro16 clash with Croatia. 2010 champions Spain started out with a 7-0 thrashing of Costa Rica before fading away in a draw to Germany and a stunning defeat to Japan in the final round to finish second. Germany were stunned in their first match against Japan and drew against Spain to setup a must win clash against Costa Rica. Despite beating Costa Rica their fate depended on Japan losing to Spain which resulted in heartbreak. The 2014 champions are out of the group stages for a second consecutive world cup. There will be inquests into the latest debacle to plague German football and questions will be asked of Hansi Flick. Costa Rica came back from a heavy defeat in their first match to beat Japan. In their final game they lead the Germans for large parts of the game but mistakes and luck ensured they lost. They have nothing to be ashamed of for they pushed the Germans all the way.
Qualified for Ro16 – Japan, Spain
Group F
Another group with a dark horse topping the group and a European powerhouse getting knocked out. Morocco have an excellent side and were labelled as dark horses but nobody expected this to happen. A draw with Croatia in the first game was followed by a stunning victory over Belgium and then beating Canada to top the group. Croatia beat Canada in their second match and drew against Belgium to secure a second place finish in the group. Belgium who finished 3rd in 2018 were disappointing throughout the tournament with growing disharmony in the squad and manager Roberto Martinez unable to freshen up his tactics. Martinez resigned after crashing out literally moonwalking his way out. What a waste for the golden generation. Canada were bright but ultimately outclassed by all three teams.
Qualified for Ro16 – Morocco, Croatia
Group G
As expected, Brazil and Switzerland qualified for the knockout stages. Brazil haven’t been at their best but were effective to win their first two games against Serbia and Switzerland. Playing their second team against Cameroon almost proved costly as Switzerland came close to snatching top spot away. Cameroon scored a last minute winner while Switzerland came from 2-1 down to beat Serbia 3-2. Switzerland missed out on top spot due to having a lower goal difference. Portugal will be thanking their stars they don’t have to face Brazil in the Ro16. Serbia failed to live up to their potential and finished bottom of the group.
Qualified for Ro16 – Brazil, Switzerland
Group H
Another crazy last round finish with an unexpected result. Portugal had already qualified for Ro16 going into their clash against South Korea. Ghana were second having lost to Portugal and beat South Korea to setup a must win match against Uruguay. Both Korea and Uruguay were on a point each with Korea ahead due to goals scored. Portugal took the lead early to almost guarantee that Korea were going out. In the other game, Ghana were awarded a penalty and an opportunity to avenge their 2010 loss to Uruguay. But as fate would have it, Andre Ayew’s tame effort was saved and things changed in both games. Korea equalized against Portugal while two quickfire goals in the first half put Uruguay 2-0 up and second in the group. In the second half, Korea came out guns blazing to put Portugal to the sword. Portugal opted to substitute key players including Ronaldo to keep them fresh for Ro16. In a stunning turn of events Hwang Hee-chan scored in stoppage time to stun Portugal and ensure they were second. They were tied on Goal difference with Uruguay but ahead on goals scored. The last few minutes of both games were utterly chaotic as Uruguay looked to score one more goal and Korea looked to maintain their lead. At full time, the Koreans celebrated and the Uruguayans faced heartbreak.
Qualified for Ro16 – Portugal, South Korea
The knockouts are bound to provide more excitement if the group stages are anything to go by. Let us hope for more upsets and possibly an Asian or African team to win it this time.
