exploits, disappointments, surprises, what to remember from the first round

Africa in style

Four years ago, in Russia, no African team had set foot in the knockout phase. In Qatar, they will be two to play in the round of 16 out of the five present at the start of the tournament. the Morocco finished brilliantly at the top of their group, and Senegal, despite the defeat (0-2) against the Netherlands in the first match, managed to pull themselves together and finish behind the Dutch. Tunisia, on the verge of qualification, as well as Ghana, eliminated by Uruguay, have not gone far from the feat. What succeeded, in part, Cameroon. Rigobert Song’s team ended their adventure in Qatar with a prestigious victory against Brazil (1-0). This success, however, did not allow him to go beyond the group stage for the first time since 1990.

Mbappé, Gakpo, Rashford, Morata: golden scorers

We were expecting Lionel Messi, Neymar or Harry Kane, but the only superstar to top the scoring charts after the first round is Kylian Mbappe. An achievement against Australia (4-1), a double against Denmark to ensure the qualification of the Blues: the French striker from Paris SG responded.

He is in good company at the top of the scoring charts, with Dutch revelation Cody Gakpo finding the net against Senegal (2-0), Ecuador (1-1) and Qatar (2-0). Like Alvaro Morata with Spain, against Costa Rica (7-0), Germany (1-1) and Japan (2-1). English striker Marcus Rashford, scorer 49 seconds after coming into play against Iran (6-2) and author of a double against Wales (3-0), is also at the top of this ranking. Enner Valencia also have three goals, but Ecuador are eliminated.

The Brazilian Richarlison also distinguished himself with a double against Serbia (2-0). He is perceived as the author of the most beautiful goal of the World for the moment.

Japan leads the Asian armada

Fell in a group in the company of Spain and germanyJapan was not the favorite in Group E, and yet it was the Blue Samurai who finished in the lead by offering two prestigious victories (2-1) against the Europeans.

Performances all the more surprising as the men of Hajime Moriyasu, led by the score, were able to overthrow their opponents by tactical adaptations and unwavering faith. South Korea, for their part, snatched their place in the eighth thanks to a victory, in stoppage time, against Portugal (2-1), in the last group match, where Cristiano Ronaldo’s team presented themselves. already qualified.

One of the big surprises of the tournament was the qualification of Australia, with two successes, against Denmark (1-0) and Tunisia (1-0). At a time when Denmark, Germany and Belgium are the big disappointments of this 22nd World Cup.

With the qualifications of Japan and South Korea, Australia, the United States and two African countries, six geographical continents will be represented in the round of 16, a first for a World Cup.

World Cup 2022: match schedule and results