Pele, the first King of football, dies

FOOTBALL legend Pelé died on Thursday at the age of 82 following a battle against colon cancer. 

The Brazilian catapulted himself on the world stage as a teenage phenomenon in 1958, and transcended his sport thereafter. 

He remains the only player to have won the World Cup three times - and, in 2000, was named as Player of the Century by FIFA. 

At his best, defences simply could not live with Pelé - he possessed skill, pace, and strength, could hit a powerful shot with either foot, and leapt like a salmon. 

Indeed, perhaps the best-remembered moment in England involving Pelé at a World Cup came in the 1970 tournament when he made a towering jump at the far post and directed a header towards the bottom corner in a group match against the Three Lions. 

In response, England's World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks produced that now iconic save. 

Notably, though, Brazil fashioned a similar move two weeks later in the World Cup Final against Italy - and, on that occasion, Pelé found the net to make it 1-0 with the last of his 12 goals in World Cup finals. 

Pelé had, of course, started young. At the 1958 World Cup, aged 17, he was a relative unknown and did not make an appearance until the third group game against the Soviet Union when he became the then-youngest player in finals history. 

The teenager provided an assist on debut but really announced himself on the world stage in the semi finals as Brazil beat France in a 5-2 thrashing which included a 23-minute second half hat-trick by the Santos striker. 

In the final, Brazil won 5-2 again, against hosts Sweden, as Pelé made it five goals for the tournament with a brace. 

Next, though, came two frustrating World Cup tournaments in the 1960s, as the young forward became a marked man. 

In 1962, Pelé only played the first couple of games before suffering a thigh injury while attempting a classic long-range shot, although Brazil retained the title. 

However, there was no such consolation at the 1966 World Cup in England as Pelé was subjected to a number of brutal fouls from the Bulgaria and Portugal defenders - and the Seleção were dumped out in the group stages. 

Four years later at the 1970 World Cup, Brazil - in response - had built their strongest ever team. 

Pelé, by then aged 29, was in his prime - and, even in a deeper role, he would carry the ball from midfield areas to set up the likes of Jairzinho, Rivellino, and Tostao. He also still contributed four goals. 

Of course, the crowning moment in 1970 came when, after a flowing team move, Pelé played a blind pass straight into Carlos Alberto's running trajectory - and, without breaking stride, the latter fiercely struck the ball in the bottom corner to make it 4-1. 

With a third World Cup win out of four, FIFA allowed Brazil to retain the Jules Rimet trophy for perpetuity - while the tournament in Mexico, broadcast for the first time in glorious technicolour, also secured Pelé's worldwide legacy. 

Thereafter, Pelé's biggest moments of the 1970s came in exhibition football in places as far flung as Hong Kong where he once scored a hat-trick as his club, Sao Paulo-based Santos, came from behind to beat Newcastle United 4-2. 

In 1973, Santos made the last of their semi-regular visits to England where they played Fulham and, bizarrely, Plymouth Argyle - who actually won 3-2. 

Later, Pelé attempted to popularise football in the United States by joining the New York Cosmos in the North American Soccer League (NASL) but the competition suffered a sharp decline following his retirement in 1977. 

Pelé starred as himself as one of the players in the hit 1981 film Escape To Victory and, inevitably - with such a high profile - eventually engaged in the murky arena of Brazilian politics. 

Named Sports Minister by President Fernando Henrique Cardoso for a three-year period between 1995 and 1998, it was a role in which Pelé was clearly never at ease. 

Meanwhile, his subsequent advertisement of Viagra, a drug to assist with erectile disfunction, also caused him to suffer some rather unmerited, if predictable, mockery. 

Worst of all, though, some members of younger generations had, by the time of his death, begun to besmirch Pelé's football achievements - although, in this regard, he also did not help himself. 

Pelé claimed to have scored 1,283 goals in 1,366 matches but many have disputed his count on the basis that he included goals scored in friendlies or matches against semi-professional and even amateur teams. 

For the record, Wikipedia shows Pelé as having scored 775 goals in 840 official games - however, this far more veriable statistic results in a ratio which is just about as prolific. 

At his death, Pelé was still Brazil's record goalscorer with 77 goals in 92 caps, having only recently been joined on that total by Neymar at the 2022 World Cup. 

In other words, Pelé was a true football great whichever way you look at it. He helped to coin a phrase recognised throughout football - The Beautiful Game - or O Jogo Bonito in Portuguese, which itself serves an appropriate epitaph for the man. 

Pelé was the Beautiful Game - and the Beautiful Game was Pelé.

World Cup 2022 Final: Sealed with a kiss

▪️ WORLD CUP FINAL ▪️

▪️ 18-December ▪️ 3pm GMT

ARGENTINA 3 Messi 23 pen, 108, Di Maria 36

FRANCE 3 Mbappe 80 pen, 81, 118 pen

▪️ After extra time. Argentina won 4-2 on penalties.

ARGENTINA ▪️ E Martinez, Molina (Montiel 90), Otamendi, Romero, Tagliafico (Dybala 120+1), De Paul (Paredes 102), Fernandez, MacAllister (Pezzella 116), Di Maria (Acuna 64), Alvarez (La Martinez 103), Messi (c) ▪️ Subs not used Armani, Foyth, Rulli, Palacios, Correa, Almada, Gomez, Rodriguez, Li Martinez ▪️ Booked Fernandez, Acuna, Montiel, Parades, E Martinez

FRANCE ▪️ Lloris (c), Kounde (Disasi 120+1), Varane (Konate 113), Upamecano, Hernandez (Camavinga 71), Tchouameni, Rabiot (Fofana 96), Griezmann (Coman 71), Dembele (Kolo Muani 41), Mbappe, Giroud (Thuram 41) ▪️ Subs not used Pavard, Guendouzi, Veretout, Mandanda, Saliba, Areola ▪️ Booked Rabiot, Giroud, Thuram

▪️ Attendance 88,956 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium ▪️ Referee Szymon Marciniak (Poland)

PENALTIES ▪️ 0-1 Mbappe, 1-1 Messi, 1-1 Coman (saved), 2-1 Dybala, 2-1 Tchouameni (missed), 3-1 Paredes, 3-2 Kolo Muani, 4-2 Montiel

ARGENTINA won the World Cup for a third time after beating France on penalties in a thrilling Final at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Qatar. 

The legendary Lionel Messi finally got his hands on the trophy which he craved most, stealing an iconic kiss while picking up the Golden Ball award as Player of the Tournament. 

But, at the end of 16 years of World Cup toil, it surely should have been easier than this. 

After all, for most of the first 90 minutes, Argentina were in control and went into the interval with a 2-0 lead. 

Midway through the first half, Ousmane Dembele paid dearly for getting the wrong side of Angel Di Maria - and Messi dispatched the resultant penalty. 

Then, 13 minutes later, La Albiceleste doubled their advantage with a brilliant team goal from an attack initiated and completed by Di Maria. 

France were dreadful in the first half - truly dreadful - as they failed to record a single shot, win a single corner, or even have a single touch in the opposition box. 

Head coach Didier Deschamps took drastic action as Dembele and Olivier Giroud were hauled off after just 41 minutes in favour of Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram. 

Nevertheless, the second half seemed as if it was simply drifting towards a straightforward Argentina victory until, with just over 10 minutes left, Nicolas Otamendi was caught out by Kolo Muani. 

Otamendi's clumsy challenge offered a lifeline to Les Bleus - and Kylian Mbappe squeezed the ball past Emiliano Martinez from the penalty spot. 

Amazingly, 97 seconds later, it was 2-2 as Mbappe struck a delightful volley after playing a one-two with Thuram. 

In a sub-plot, the race for the Golden Boot had heated right up - Messi had moved on to six goals while Mbappe's rapid-fire brace put him on seven. 

But, despite Messi stinging the fingers of Hugo Lloris with a blistering effort in the last minute of stoppage time, the match became eighth World Cup Final to require extra time. 

The extra time period was the best spell of the game as 35-year-old Messi helped Argentina find a much-needed second wind. 

At first, the South Americans were blocked twice in quick succession by Bayern Munich centre-back Dayot Upamecano. 

Eventually, though, the pressure told - and, after Lloris could only parry a fierce drive from Lautaro Martinez, Messi did just enough to force the ball over the line to draw back level with Mbappe on seven goals. 

However, there was yet another twist as France poured forward again and Gonzalo Montiel threw out an arm to block Mbappe's effort. 

A second penalty for France produced a third goal for Mbappe as he sent Emiliano Martinez the wrong way to become only the second man after Sir Geoff Hurst to score a hat-trick in a World Cup Final. 

Still, the chances came at both ends of the pitch in a manic finish as Emiliano Martinez brilliantly stuck out his left leg to deny Kolo Muani who had raced clean through. 

Argentina broke immediately - but, after Lautaro Martinez skewed his header badly wide, a third penalty shoot-out in a World Cup Final became an inevitability. 

Ultimately, that meant 23-year-old Mbappe picked up the Golden Boot with a face like thunder as France failed from 12 yards. 

Mbappe himself did not fail, of course - finding the net for the third time from the spot and a fourth time altogether. 

But, in a sign of things to come, Martinez had got a hand to the ball - and, after Messi levelled with consummate ease, the Aston Villa goalkeeper saved a poor effort from Kingsley Coman. 

Substitute Paulo Dybala made it 2-1 to Argentina - then, in front of a torrent of noise from thousands of Argentinians, Aurelien Tchouameni put his penalty wide of the post. 

Leandro Paredes stroked home a third successful kick for the Argentines out of three - and, though Kolo Muani scored to keep France in with a chance, Montiel - the man guilty of conceding the late penalty - coolly finished the job. 

Argentina players, fans and officials exploded into an orgy of unconfined joy - La Albiceleste are top of the world for the first time in 36 years. 

And, for all the talk of a winter World Cup spoiling the European club football season, it was the team of a nation enjoying the height of summer who were victorious. 

Overall, on the pitch at least, this was an excellent World Cup. 

For a start, there were 172 goals at an average of 2.69 per game, the highest ever total in a World Cup and best average since 1994. 

There were plenty of memorable games, both in the group stage and knockout rounds, only four red cards, a reasonably decent England run, and a fair few surprises including a first African team in a semi final. 

Then there was this amazing six-goal Final, which provided a lovely ending to a World Cup career for Messi. 

At the same, though, there were also off-the-field issues for FIFA to contend with - even beyond the well-worn, and well-deserved, criticism over human rights. 

Reports of supporters being unable to access the stadium in time for kick-off regularly blighted the tournament. 

Meanwhile, on more than a couple of occasions, attendances announced by the organisers exceeded the stadium capacity, casting doubt on any sort of official statements. 

Nevertheless, at least FIFA has pledged to review their stupid decision to use three-team groups scheduled from the 48-team 2026 World Cup onwards following a dramatic conclusion to this group stage. 

That tournament in three-and-a-half years will take place in United States, Mexico and Canada - so will also cause the world governing body fewer headaches than the last few editions hosted in South Africa, Brazil, Russia, and Qatar. 

But, regardless of that, one thing is for certain - defending champions Argentina surely once again will be there, and once again will be backed by a phenomenal wall of noise. 

All that was missing this time was the ticker tape. 

WORLD CUP 2022

THE FULL RESULTS

GROUP A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) NETHERLANDS	2	1	0	5	1	+4	7
(Q) SENEGAL	2	0	1	5	4	+1	6
ECUADOR	1	1	1	4	3	+1	4
QATAR	0	0	3	1	7	-6	0

(Q) ■ NETHERLANDS and SENEGAL qualified for the Last 16

20-Nov	16:00	QATAR	0-2	ECUADOR	Al Bayt, Al Khor
BBC				E Valencia 16 pen, 31
21-Nov	16:00	SENEGAL	0-2	NETHERLANDS	Al Thumama, Doha
ITV				Gakpo 84, Klaassen 90+9
25-Nov	13:00	QATAR	1-3	SENEGAL	Al Thumama, Doha
BBC		Muntari 78		Dia 41, Diedhiou 48 Dieng 84
25-Nov	16:00	NETHERLANDS	1-1	ECUADOR	Khalifa, Al Rayyan
ITV		Gakpo 6		E Valencia 49
29-Nov	15:00	ECUADOR	1-2	SENEGAL	Khalifa, Al Rayyan
ITV		Caicedo 67		Sarr 44 pen, Koulibaly 67
29-Nov	15:00	NETHERLANDS	2-0	QATAR	Al Bayt, Al Khor
ITV		Gakpo 26, De Jong 49

GROUP B	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) ENGLAND	2	1	0	9	2	+7	7
(Q) UNITED STATES	1	2	0	2	1	+1	5
IRAN	1	0	2	4	7	-3	3
WALES	0	1	2	1	6	-5	1

(Q) ■ ENGLAND and UNITED STATES qualified for the Last 16

21-Nov	13:00	ENGLAND	6-2	IRAN	Khalifa, Al Rayyan
BBC		Bellingham 35, Saka 43, 62 Sterling 45+1, Rashford 71 Grealish 89		Taremi 65, 90+13 pen
21-Nov	19:00	UNITED STATES	1-1	WALES	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
ITV		Weah 36		Bale 82 pen
25-Nov	10:00	WALES	0-2	IRAN	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
BBC				Cheshmi 90+8 Rezaeian 90+11
25-Nov	19:00	ENGLAND	0-0	UNITED STATES	Al Bayt, Al Khor
ITV
29-Nov	19:00	WALES	0-3	ENGLAND	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
BBC				Rashford 50, 68, Foden 51
29-Nov	19:00	IRAN	0-1	UNITED STATES	Al Thumama, Doha
BBC				Pulisic 38

GROUP C	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) ARGENTINA	2	0	1	5	2	+3	6
(Q) POLAND	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
MEXICO	1	1	1	2	3	-1	4
SAUDI ARABIA	1	0	2	3	5	-2	3

(Q) ■ ARGENTINA and POLAND qualified for the Last 16

22-Nov	10:00	ARGENTINA	1-2	SAUDI ARABIA	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
ITV		Messi 10 pen		Al-Shehri 48 S Al-Dawsari 53
22-Nov	16:00	MEXICO	0-0	POLAND	Stadium 974, Doha
BBC
26-Nov	13:00	POLAND	2-0	SAUDI ARABIA	Education City, Al Rayyan
ITV		Zielinski 39, Lewandowski 82
26-Nov	19:00	ARGENTINA	2-0	MEXICO	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
ITV		Messi 64, Fernandez 87
30-Nov	19:00	POLAND	0-2	ARGENTINA	Stadium 974, Doha
BBC				MacAllister 46 Alvarez 67
30-Nov	19:00	SAUDI ARABIA	1-2	MEXICO	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
BBC		Al-Dawsari 90+5		Martin 47, Chavez 52

GROUP D	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) FRANCE	2	0	1	6	3	+3	6
(Q) AUSTRALIA	2	0	1	3	4	-1	6
TUNISIA	1	1	1	1	1	0	4
DENMARK	0	1	2	1	3	-2	1

(Q) ■ FRANCE and AUSTRALIA qualified for the Last 16

22-Nov	13:00	DENMARK	0-0	TUNISIA	Education City, Al Rayyan
ITV
22-Nov	19:00	FRANCE	4-1	AUSTRALIA	Al Janoub, Al Wakrah
BBC		Rabiot 27, Giroud 32, 71 Mbappe 68		Goodwin 9
26-Nov	10:00	TUNISIA	0-1	AUSTRALIA	Al Janoub, Al Wakrah
BBC				Duke 23
26-Nov	16:00	FRANCE	2-1	DENMARK	Stadium 974, Doha
ITV		Mbappe 61, 86		Christensen 68
30-Nov	15:00	AUSTRALIA	1-0	DENMARK	Al Janoub Al Wakrah
BBC		Leckie 60
30-Nov	15:00	TUNISIA	1-0	FRANCE	Education City, Al Rayyan
BBC		Khazri 58

GROUP E	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) JAPAN	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6
(Q) SPAIN	1	1	1	9	3	+6	4
GERMANY	1	1	1	6	5	+1	4
COSTA RICA	1	0	2	3	11	-8	3

(Q) ■ JAPAN and SPAIN qualified for the Last 16

23-Nov	13:00	GERMANY	1-2	JAPAN	Khalifa, Al Rayyan
ITV		Gundogan 33 pen		Doan 75, Asano 83
23-Nov	16:00	SPAIN	7-0	COSTA RICA	Al Thumama, Doha
ITV		Olmo 11, Asensio 21 Torres 31 pen, 54, Gavi 74 Soler 90, Morata 90+3
27-Nov	10:00	JAPAN	0-1	COSTA RICA	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
ITV				Fuller 81
27-Nov	19:00	SPAIN	1-1	GERMANY	Al Bayt, Al Khor
BBC		Morata 62		Fullkrug 83
01-Dec	19:00	JAPAN	2-1	SPAIN	Khalifa, Al Rayyan
ITV		Doan 48, Tanaka 51		Morata 11
01-Dec	19:00	COSTA RICA	2-4	GERMANY	Al Bayt, Al Khor
ITV		Tejeda 58, Neuer 70 og		Gnabry 10, Havertz 73, 85 Fullkrug 89

GROUP F	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) MOROCCO	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7
(Q) CROATIA	1	2	0	4	1	+3	5
BELGIUM	1	1	1	1	2	-1	3
CANADA	0	0	3	2	7	-5	0

(Q) ■ MOROCCO and CROATIA qualified for the Last 16

23-Nov	10:00	MOROCCO	0-0	CROATIA	Al Bayt, Al Khor
ITV
23-Nov	19:00	BELGIUM	1-0	CANADA	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
BBC		Batshuayi 44
27-Nov	13:00	BELGIUM	0-2	MOROCCO	Al Thumama, Doha
BBC				Saiss 73, Aboukhlal 90+2
27-Nov	16:00	CROATIA	4-1	CANADA	Khalifa Al Rayyan
BBC		Kramaric 36, 70, Livaja 44 Majer 90+4		Davies 2
01-Dec	15:00	CROATIA	0-0	BELGIUM	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
BBC
01-Dec	15:00	CANADA	1-2	MOROCCO	Al Thumama, Doha
BBC		Aguerd 40 og		Ziyech 4, En-Nesyri 23

GROUP G	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) BRAZIL	2	0	1	3	1	+2	6
(Q) SWITZERLAND	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6
CAMEROON	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
SERBIA	0	1	2	5	8	-3	1

(Q) ■ BRAZIL and SWITZERLAND qualified for the Last 16

24-Nov	10:00	SWITZERLAND	1-0	CAMEROON	Al Janoub, Al Wakrah
ITV		Embolo 48
24-Nov	19:00	BRAZIL	2-0	SERBIA	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
BBC		Richarlison 62, 73
28-Nov	10:00	CAMEROON	3-3	SERBIA	Al Janoub, Al Wakrah
ITV		Castelletto 29, Aboubakar 63 Choupo-Moting 66		Pavlovic 45+1 S Milinkovic-Savic 45+3 Mitrovic 53
28-Nov	16:00	BRAZIL	1-0	SWITZERLAND	Stadium 974, Doha
ITV		Casimero 83
02-Dec	19:00	SERBIA	2-3	SWITZERLAND	Stadium 974, Doha
ITV		Mitrovic 26, Vlahovic 35		Shaqiri 20, Embolo 44 Freuler 48
02-Dec	19:00	CAMEROON	1-0	BRAZIL	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
ITV		Aboubakar 90+2

GROUP H	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) PORTUGAL	2	0	1	6	4	+2	6
(Q) SOUTH KOREA	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
URUGUAY	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
GHANA	1	0	2	5	7	-2	3

(Q) ■ PORTUGAL and SOUTH KOREA qualified for the Last 16

24-Nov	13:00	URUGUAY	0-0	SOUTH KOREA	Education City, Al Rayyan
BBC
24-Nov	16:00	PORTUGAL	3-2	GHANA	Stadium 974, Doha
ITV		Ronaldo 65 pen, Felix 78 Leao 80		A Ayew 73 Bukari 89
28-Nov	13:00	SOUTH KOREA	2-3	GHANA	Education City, Al Rayyan
BBC		Cho Gue-sung 58, 61		Salisu 24, Kudus 34, 68
28-Nov	19:00	PORTUGAL	2-0	URUGUAY	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
ITV		Fernandes 54, 90+3 pen
01-Dec	15:00	GHANA	0-2	URUGUAY	Al Janoub, Al Wakrah
BBC				De Arrascaeta 26, 32
01-Dec	15:00	SOUTH KOREA	2-1	PORTUGAL	Education City, Al Rayyan
BBC		Kim Young-gwon 27 Hwang Hee-chan 90+1		Horta 5

■ LAST 16

03-Dec	15:00	NETHERLANDS	3-1	UNITED STATES	Khalifa, Al Rayyan
BBC		Depay 10, Blind 45+1 Dumfries 81		Wright 76
03-Dec	19:00	ARGENTINA	2-1	AUSTRALIA	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
BBC		Messi 35, Alvarez 57		Fernandez 77 og
04-Dec	15:00	FRANCE	3-1	POLAND	Al Thumama, Doha
BBC		Giroud 44, Mbappe 74, 90+1		Lewandowski 90+9 pen
04-Dec	19:00	ENGLAND	3-0	SENEGAL	Al Bayt, Al Khor
ITV		Henderson 38 Kane 45+3, Saka 57
05-Dec	15:00	JAPAN	1-1	CROATIA	Al Janoub, Al Wakrah
BBC		Maeda 43	aet	Perisic 55	Croatia won 3-1 on pens
05-Dec	19:00	BRAZIL	4-1	SOUTH KOREA	Stadium 974, Doha
ITV		Vinicius 7, Neymar 13 pen Richarlison 29, Paqueta 36		Paik Seung-ho 76
06-Dec	15:00	MOROCCO	0-0	SPAIN	Education City, Al Rayyan
ITV			aet		Morocco won 3-0 on pens
06-Dec	19:00	PORTUGAL	6-1	SWITZERLAND	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
ITV		Ramos 17, 51, 67, Pepe 33 Guerreiro 55, Leao 90+2		Akanji 58

■ QUARTER FINALS

09-Dec	15:00	CROATIA	1-1	BRAZIL	Education City, Al Rayyan
BBC		Petkovic 117	aet	Neymar 105+1	Croatia won 4-2 on pens
09-Dec	19:00	NETHERLANDS	2-2	ARGENTINA	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
BBC		Weghorst 83, 90+11	aet	Molina 35, Messi 73 pen	Argentina won 4-3 on pens
10-Dec	15:00	MOROCCO	1-0	PORTUGAL	Al Thumama, Doha
ITV		En-Nesry 42
04-Dec	19:00	ENGLAND	1-2	FRANCE	Al Bayt, Al Khor
ITV		Kane 54 pen		Tchouameni 17, Giroud 78

■ SEMI FINALS

13-Dec	19:00	ARGENTINA	3-0	CROATIA	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
ITV		Messi 34 pen, Alvarez 39, 69
14-Dec	19:00	FRANCE	2-0	MOROCCO	Al Bayt, Al Khor
BBC		Hernandez 5, Kolo Muani 79

■ SCORERS 172 goals in 64 matches ▪️ 2.69 per match

8 Kylian Mbappe (France)

7 Lionel Messi (Argentina)

4 Julian Alvarez (Argentina), Olivier Giroud (France)

3 Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Alvaro Morata (Spain), Goncalo Ramos (Portugal), Marcus Rashford (England), Richarlison (Brazil), Bukayo Saka (England), Enner Valencia (Ecuador)

2 Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon), Salem Al-Dawsari (Saudi Arabia), Giorgian De Arrascaeta (Uruguay), Ritsu Doan (Japan), Breel Embolo (Switzerland), Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco), Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), Niclas Fulkrug (Germany), Cho Gue-sung (South Korea), Kai Havertz (Germany), Harry Kane (England), Andrej Kramaric (Croatia), Mohammed Kudus (Ghana), Rafael Leao (Portugal), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Aleksandar Mitrovic (Serbia), Neymar (Brazil), Mehdi Taremi (Iran), Ferran Torres (Spain), Wout Weghorst (Netherlands)

1 Zakaria Aboukhlal (Morocco), Saleh Al-Shehri (Saudi Arabia), Manuel Akanji (Switzerland), Takuma Asano (Japan), Marco Asensio (Spain), Andre Ayew (Ghana), Gareth Bale (Wales), Michy Batshuayi (Belgium), Jude Bellingham (England), Daley Blind (Netherlands), Osman Bukari (Ghana), Moises Caicedo (Ecuador), Casimero (Brazil), Jean Charles Castelletto (Cameroon), Luis Chavez (Mexico), Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Iran), Jean-Eric Choupo-Moting (Cameroon), Andreas Christensen (Denmark), Achraf Dari (Morocco), Alphonso Davies (Canada), Frenkie De Jong (Netherlands), Memphis Depay (Netherlands), Angel Di Maria (Argentina), Boulaye Dia (Senegal), Famara Diedhiou (Senegal), Bamba Dieng (Senegal), Mitchell Duke (Australia), Denzel Dumfries (Netherlands), Joao Felix (Portugal), Enzo Fernandez (Argentina), Phil Foden (England), Remo Freuler (Switzerland), Keysher Fuller (Costa Rica), Gavi (Spain), Serge Gnabry (Germany), Craig Goodwin (Australia), Jack Grealish (England), Raphael Guerreiro (Portugal), Ilkay Gundogan (Germany), Josko Gvardiol (Croatia), Hwang Hee-chan (South Korea), Jordan Henderson (England), Theo Hernandez (France), Ricardo Jorge da Luz Horta (Portugal), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal), Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia), Kim Young-gwon (South Korea), Davy Klaassen (Netherlands), Randal Kolo Muani (France), Mathew Leckie (Australia), Marko Livaja (Croatia), Alexis MacAllister (Argentina), Daizen Maeda (Japan), Nahuel Molina (Argentina), Lovro Majer (Croatia), Henry Martin (Mexico), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Serbia), Mohammed Muntari (Qatar), Dani Olmo (Spain), Mislav Orsic (Croatia), Paik Seung-ho (South Korea), Lucas Paqueta (Brazil), Strahinja Pavlovic (Serbia), Pepe (Portugal), Ivan Perisic (Croatia), Bruno Petkovic (Croatia), Christian Pulisic (United States), Adrien Rabiot (France), Ramin Rezaeian (Iran), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Romain Saiss (Morocco), Mohammed Salisu (Ghana), Ismail Sarr (Senegal), Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), Carlos Soler (Spain), Raheem Sterling (England), Ao Tanaka (Japan), Aurelien Tchouameni (France), Yeltsin Tejeda (Costa Rica), Vinicius Junior (Brazil), Dusan Vlahovic (Serbia), Timothy Weah (United States), Piotr Zielinski (Poland), Hakim Ziyech (Morocco)

3 own goals Nayed Aguerd (Canada) v Morocco, Manuel Neuer (Germany) v Costa Rica, Enzo Fernandez (Argentina) v Australia

■ RED CARDS

Wayne Hennessey (Wales) v Iran

Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon) v Brazil

Denzel Dumfries (Netherlands) v Argentina (QF)

Walid Cheddira (Morocco) v Portugal (QF)

Thanks, as ever, to everyone who has enjoyed my reports this year. Merry Christmas to all.

World Cup 2022: England fall to France as Morocco make history

ENGLAND captain Harry Kane blazed a late penalty over the bar as the Three Lions were knocked out of the World Cup in the quarter finals. 

Tottenham Hotspur striker Kane had already found the net from 12 yards on 54 minutes after Bukayo Saka was brought down, as France attempted to protect their lead with a series of cynical fouls.

However, with only five minutes of normal time remaining, the 29-year-old could not repeat his success from the spot as England chased the game in vain.

Les Bleus had started the match well on top, pinning England back - and they took a deserved lead when Aurelien Tchouameni was given too much space to strike a low drive past Jordan Pickford.

It was a fast break from the French - but, earlier in the attack, the Three Lions should have been awarded a free-kick after Saka was fouled by the clumsy Dayot Upamecano.

Indeed, missed fouls became a running theme throughout the night - and it felt as if bungling Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio spent most of the match wandering around in a compete daze.

Shortly after the French goal, Kane appeared to have a good shout for a penalty turned down after a tangle of legs with Upamecano - but both the on-field officials and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) waved away the appeals.

At least, early in the second half, whistler Sampaio spotted the lively Saka had been upended by Les Bleus' goalscorer Tchouameni.

For the second penalty, though, England had the intervention of VAR to thank after the South American clown missed a blatant body check by Theo Hernandez on Mason Mount.

Except for the slow start, England played well and had chances throughout the match - Kane and Jude Bellingham drew good saves from Hugo Lloris either side of half time while Harry Maguire headed against the post with the score at 1-1.

But, immediately after a warning shot from an Olivier Giroud, England were hit by the sucker punch as the former Arsenal and Chelsea striker rose highest to restore the France lead.

And, on yet another night of shattered dreams for Three Lions fans, there was something of a painful inevitability about the way that, even without losing in a shootout, England's fate was then determined from 12 yards.

Much attention will turn now to the position of head coach Gareth Southgate, ironically after a far more convincing performance from his team than those produced by England in the 2018 World Cup semi final or the Euro 2020+1 Final.

A third knockout defeat will have been tough for him to take personally, though - and it may well be the case that Southgate, although contracted through to the end of Euro 2024, feels he has given it his best shot.

If he does leave, Southgate, at least, will bequeath his successor with a far better inheritance than he received himself in September 2016.

Back then, the 52-year-old effectively got the job by being in the right place at the right time in the wake of the Sam Allardyce reign which ended in scandal after just a single game.

Of course, earlier that year, England had been eliminated from Euro 2016 by Iceland in a humiliating defeat under Roy Hodgson.

Certainly then, England are in far better shape now than they were six years ago - this young, hungry team has growing tournament experience and is not finished yet.

▪️

Elsewhere, both of the quarter finals held on Friday went to penalties as Argentina and Croatia got the better of the Netherlands and tournament favourites Brazil respectively.

A Seleção were ousted after a 0-0 draw in 90 minutes against extra time specialists Croatia, even though Neymar had found the breakthrough in extra time.

Any other team might have feared from their chances with the clock running down - but Croatians, predictably, hit back as Bruno Petkovic swept in a low cross from Mislav Orsic, and sent the match to spot kicks with their first shot on target.

In the shoot-out, Zlatko Dalic's men hit a perfect four out of four while Rodrygo and Marquinhos failed to find the net, and Neymar was left to wonder why he had elected to take the fifth penalty.

Brazil have now exited the World Cup at the quarter finals stage in four of the last five editions, while the only exception - on home soil in 2014 - ended in a humiliating 7-1 defeat by Germany in the semi finals.

Later that night, Argentina achieved what Brazil could not by overcoming the Netherlands on penalties, despite having almost blown it late on.

Nahuel Molina and Lionel Messi had put La Albiceleste two goals up but the Dutch then introduced former Burnley striker Wout Weghorst and a rather uncultured long-ball tactic.

It produced unexpectedly good results as Weghorst flicked in a header with seven minutes remaining then, in the 11th minute of stoppage time, won a free-kick on the edge of the box following a clumsy shove by German Pezzella in another aerial battle.

The resultant free-kick was brilliantly worked - reminiscent of that produced by the Argentines themselves against England at the 1998 World Cup - as, rather than electing to shoot, Tein Koopmeiners played a perfect pass for Weghorst to fire home.

A goalless period of extra time allowed both teams to catch their breath - and so, after an intemperate encounter featuring 17 yellow cards, it came to penalties again.

It is a facet of the game in which the Dutch have just as bad a history as England so, inevitably, Argentina won as Virgil Van Dijk and Steven Berghuis failed to score the Netherlands' first two penalties.

▪️

Earlier, in this tournament of shocks, there were actually some sensational performances in the Last 16 by several of the top-ranked teams against sides for which this seemed like a bridge too far. 

Netherlands, France, England, Brazil, and Portugal scored a combined total of 19 goals as they easily dealt with United States, Poland, Senegal, South Korea, and Switzerland respectively.

Indeed, England made particularly light work of a tricky-looking encounter against the African Cup of Nations champions.

True, Pickford had to get down well to make a save with a strong left hand during an uncomfortable opening half hour at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor.

But, once Jordan Henderson finished off a swift break forward, the result was only going one way as Kane, in first half stoppage time, and Saka put the Three Lions three up.

Those mis-matches meant this edition of the Last 16 produced 28 goals, the most scored during this stage at a tournament since the round was reintroduced at the 1986 World Cup.

Brazil blitzed South Korea with four first half goals - and, on the following night, Portugal thumped six past Switzerland, though only after the sensational news that Cristiano Ronaldo had been replaced in the starting line-up by Goncalo Ramos.

The 21-year-old Benfica forward repaid the faith shown in him by head coach Fernando Santos by hitting the first hat-trick of the tournament on his maiden World Cup finals start. 

It was a remarkable turn of events against the usually solid Swiss. 

Elsewhere, Argentina had just about a good enough lead to hold off a late surge by Australia, while Croatia inevitably relied on extra time and penalties.

The Vatreni won all three of their knockout ties on their way to the Final of the 2018 World Cup after those matches were drawn in the first 90 minutes.

It was no surprise then to see them needing to go all the way again against Japan - and again against Brazil.

▪️

The most significant story of the knockout stages, though, has been that of Morocco.

First, the Atlas Lions held their nerve to beat Spain on spot-kicks in the Last 16 after a 0-0 draw as La Roja failed to score any of their three attempts.

Morocco thus became the first ever Arab nation to make it as far as the quarter finals - while Spanish boss Luis Enrique stepped down from his position.

But the Moroccans were not finished - and overcame an out-of-sorts Portugal side which had again relegated Cristiano Ronaldo to the bench.

The unattached Ronaldo made an appearance early in the second half - but, by then, his team were behind after Youssef En-Nesyri leapt magnificently to score shortly before half time.

Portugal plugged away after the break - and, at times, laid relentless pressure on the Moroccan goal. 

Fernando Santos's men lacked real quality around the box, however - and Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou really only had to make one top class save to deny Joao Felix.

To be honest, it should come as much of a surprise that Morocco would become the first African team to reach the World Cup semi finals. 

After all, the Atlas Lions have long been the standard-bearers for the continent at World Cup finals, gaining the first ever point scored by an African team in 1970 while also being the first African team to get through a group stage in 1986.

Furthermore, this has been certainly no fluke with success built on a solid defence which has conceded just once in Qatar - that in itself was a harshly-awarded penalty.

However, the North Africans have also played some good stuff in attack and deserve to have made their breakthrough in front of their raucous supporters.

■ LAST 16

03-Dec	15:00	NETHERLANDS	3-1	UNITED STATES	Khalifa, Al Rayyan
BBC		Depay 10, Blind 45+1 Dumfries 81		Wright 76
03-Dec	19:00	ARGENTINA	2-1	AUSTRALIA	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
BBC		Messi 35, Alvarez 57		Fernandez 77 og
04-Dec	15:00	FRANCE	3-1	POLAND	Al Thumama, Doha
BBC		Giroud 44, Mbappe 74, 90+1		Lewandowski 90+9 pen
04-Dec	19:00	ENGLAND	3-0	SENEGAL	Al Bayt, Al Khor
ITV		Henderson 38 Kane 45+3, Saka 57
05-Dec	15:00	JAPAN	1-1	CROATIA	Al Janoub, Al Wakrah
BBC		Maeda 43	aet	Perisic 55	Croatia won 3-1 on pens
05-Dec	19:00	BRAZIL	4-1	SOUTH KOREA	Stadium 974, Doha
ITV		Vinicius 7, Neymar 13 pen Richarlison 29, Paqueta 36		Paik Seung-ho 76
06-Dec	15:00	MOROCCO	0-0	SPAIN	Education City, Al Rayyan
ITV			aet		Morocco won 3-0 on pens
06-Dec	19:00	PORTUGAL	6-1	SWITZERLAND	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
ITV		Ramos 17, 51, 67, Pepe 33 Guerreiro 55, Leao 90+2		Akanji 58

■ QUARTER FINALS

09-Dec	15:00	CROATIA	1-1	BRAZIL	Education City, Al Rayyan
BBC		Petkovic 117	aet	Neymar 105+1	Croatia won 4-2 on pens
09-Dec	19:00	NETHERLANDS	2-2	ARGENTINA	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
BBC		Weghorst 83, 90+11	aet	Molina 35, Messi 73 pen	Argentina won 4-3 on pens
10-Dec	15:00	MOROCCO	1-0	PORTUGAL	Al Thumama, Doha
ITV		En-Nesry 42
04-Dec	19:00	ENGLAND	1-2	FRANCE	Al Bayt, Al Khor
ITV		Kane 54 pen		Tchouameni 17, Giroud 78

■ SEMI FINALS

13-Dec	19:00	ARGENTINA	3-0	CROATIA	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
ITV		Messi 34 pen, Alvarez 39, 69
14-Dec	19:00	FRANCE	2-0	MOROCCO	Al Bayt, Al Khor
BBC		Hernandez 5, Kolo Muani 79

■ SCORERS 163 goals in 62 matches - 2.63 per match
5 Kylian Mbappe (France), Lionel Messi (Argentina)
4 Julian Alvarez (Argentina), Olivier Giroud (France)

3 Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Alvaro Morata (Spain), Goncalo Ramos (Portugal), Marcus Rashford (England), Richarlison (Brazil), Bukayo Saka (England), Enner Valencia (Ecuador)
2 Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon), Salem Al-Dawsari (Saudi Arabia), Giorgian De Arrascaeta (Uruguay), Ritsu Doan (Japan), Breel Embolo (Switzerland), Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco), Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), Niclas Fulkrug (Germany), Cho Gue-sung (South Korea), Kai Havertz (Germany), Harry Kane (England), Andrej Kramaric (Croatia), Mohammed Kudus (Ghana), Rafael Leao (Portugal), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Aleksandar Mitrovic (Serbia), Neymar (Brazil), Mehdi Taremi (Iran), Ferran Torres (Spain), Wout Weghorst (Netherlands)

1 Zakaria Aboukhlal (Morocco), Saleh Al-Shehri (Saudi Arabia), Manuel Akanji (Switzerland), Takuma Asano (Japan), Marco Asensio (Spain), Andre Ayew (Ghana), Gareth Bale (Wales), Michy Batshuayi (Belgium), Jude Bellingham (England), Daley Blind (Netherlands), Osman Bukari (Ghana), Moises Caicedo (Ecuador), Casimero (Brazil), Jean Charles Castelletto (Cameroon), Luis Chavez (Mexico), Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Iran), Jean-Eric Choupo-Moting (Cameroon), Andreas Christensen (Denmark), Alphonso Davies (Canada), Frenkie De Jong (Netherlands), Memphis Depay (Netherlands), Boulaye Dia (Senegal), Famara Diedhiou (Senegal), Bamba Dieng (Senegal), Mitchell Duke (Australia), Denzel Dumfries (Netherlands), Joao Felix (Portugal), Enzo Fernandez (Argentina), Phil Foden (England), Remo Freuler (Switzerland), Keysher Fuller (Costa Rica), Gavi (Spain), Serge Gnabry (Germany), Craig Goodwin (Australia), Jack Grealish (England), Raphael Guerreiro (Portugal), Ilkay Gundogan (Germany), Hwang Hee-chan (South Korea), Jordan Henderson (England), Theo Hernandez (France), Ricardo Jorge da Luz Horta (Portugal), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal), Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia), Kim Young-gwon (South Korea), Davy Klaassen (Netherlands), Randal Kolo Muani (France), Mathew Leckie (Australia), Marko Livaja (Croatia), Alexis MacAllister (Argentina), Daizen Maeda (Japan), Nahuel Molina (Argentina), Lovro Majer (Croatia), Henry Martin (Mexico), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Serbia), Mohammed Muntari (Qatar), Dani Olmo (Spain), Paik Seung-ho (South Korea), Lucas Paqueta (Brazil), Strahinja Pavlovic (Serbia), Pepe (Portugal), Ivan Perisic (Croatia), Bruno Petkovic (Croatia), Christian Pulisic (United States), Adrien Rabiot (France), Ramin Rezaeian (Iran), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Romain Saiss (Morocco), Mohammed Salisu (Ghana), Ismail Sarr (Senegal), Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), Carlos Soler (Spain), Raheem Sterling (England), Ao Tanaka (Japan), Aurelien Tchouameni (France), Yeltsin Tejeda (Costa Rica), Vinicius Junior (Brazil), Dusan Vlahovic (Serbia), Timothy Weah (United States), Piotr Zielinski (Poland), Hakim Ziyech (Morocco)

3 own goals Nayed Aguerd (Canada) v Morocco, Manuel Neuer (Germany) v Costa Rica, Enzo Fernandez (Argentina) v Australia

■ RED CARDS
Wayne Hennessey (Wales) v Iran
Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon) v Brazil
Denzel Dumfries (Netherlands) v Argentina (QF)
Walid Cheddira (Morocco) v Portugal (QF)

World Cup 2022: Rashford and Foden help England dump out Wales

ENGLAND sailed past Wales to reach the Last 16 of the 2002 World Cup and knock their neighbours out of the competition.

Following a dull, goalless first half, in which England looked sharper but lacked cutting edge, the Three Lions took the lead early in the second half through a rasping Marcus Rashford free-kick.

Within 100 seconds, it was 2-0 as Harry Kane found space down the right and delivered a teasing ball across the six-yard box to Phil Foden for a tap-in in his first World Cup finals match.

Then, on 68 minutes, Rashford struck again - although this goal owed a lot to some dreadful goalkeeping from Danny Ward.

For sure, though, this England win was made in Manchester - and it is wonderful, in particular, to see Rashford getting back to his best.

At 3-0 down, and with the United States beating Iran in the other match, Wales were in a hopeless position - and hopeless perfectly describes the late wild shots from Rubin Colwill and Kieffer Moore which were blazed high and wide.

England - playing on the break with their comfortable lead - had further half-chances after introducing fresh legs to rack up an even more devastating score for the Welsh.

On each occasion, though, Robert Page's Wales scrambled enough men back to keep their deficit at three.

But, while that was enough to save Cymru from complete humiliation, it could not prevent what had rapidly become an inevitable elimination.

Elsewhere, this was a World Cup group stage like no other.

In Group C, Poland were going through ahead of Mexico at one stage merely by virtue of having received fewer yellow cards.

Then, the following night, in Group E, the identity of the two qualifiers - or the order in which they were qualifying for the Last 16 - changed five times in 23 minutes.

Incredibly, Japan and Costa Rica were briefly going through at the expense of European giants Spain and Germany.

But, in the end, it was the Japanese who progressed as group winners while the Spanish joined them as runners-up, and the Germans went out early for the second World Cup in a row.

Group G went down to the final few seconds as South Korea left it late to beat Portugal and clamber above Uruguay - and there were several other shock results which ended up having no effect on the overall outcome.

Saudi Arabia beat Argentina with a fine comeback win which earned a national holiday for the Saudi public - then, in the last set up games, France and Brazil lost their unbeaten records to Tunisia and Cameroon respectively.

Overall, none of the 32 teams made it through the group phase with a 100% record, only Qatar and Canada failed to get a point, and only three other teams - Wales, Denmark and Serbia - failed to notch a win.

In terms of goals, none of the 32 entrants were blanked out in all three group games - while, on the defensive front, no defence was left unbreached.

For the record, England made it through with the best combined points and goal difference record - something which, in a World Cup of surprises, again could be marked down as a bit of a turn-up for the books.
 

TEAM-BY-TEAM REVIEW

GROUP A
■ NETHERLANDS eased their way through Group A without ever looking too convincing as Cody Gakpo scored in all three games. Gakpo got the Dutch off the mark in their first match against Senegal - but it had taken the Oranje more than 83 minutes to make the breakthrough ahead of Davy Klaassen's stoppage-time second. By contrast, 23-year-old PSV Eindhoven winger Gakpo broke the deadlock again after just six minutes against Ecuador - but then Louis van Gaal's men were deservedly pegged back, and were not officially through. In reality, though, the Dutch surely had no worries about their progress with a final fixture against Qatar - and goals from Gakpo and Frenkie de Jong have set up a Last 16 clash against the United States on Saturday in which Van Gaal's men will start as clear favourites.

■ SENEGAL turned the clock back 20 years by getting through the group stages for only the second time under head coach Aliou Cisse despite a difficult start. The Senegalese were beaten by two late goals by the Netherlands and had to deal with the only decent spell of attacking produced by Qatar, although they still ran out comfortable winners in that second match. The Ecuadorians' then drew against the Netherlands, a result which left the Lions of Teranga needing to win on the third matchday. Following goals from Watford's Ismail Sarr and Chelsea centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, though, Cisse - the skipper at the 2002 World Cup - will fancy his chances against England of repeating that journey into the last eight of the World Cup.

■ QATAR were predictably dreadful and became the first host nation to be knocked out of the World Cup without a single point. The Maroon were also the first host nation to be knocked out after only two games as they suffered group stage defeats against Ecuador (0-2), Senegal (1-3), and Netherlands (0-2). Frankly, the only bright moment for the Qataris came when they pulled a goal back against the Senegalese at a time that their hopes of progress already hung by a thread. Six minutes later, though, those hopes were eliminated altogether when Senegal strolled forward and scored their third.

■ ECUADOR will feel as if they have let themselves down at this World Cup after doing much of the hard work. La Tri took a 2-0 lead against Qatar within half-an-hour in the opening match of the tournament - but curiously played conservatively for the rest of the game. Conversely, at 1-0 down to an early Dutch goal, the South Americans then outplayed the Netherlands and took a deserved point as Enner Valencia scored a third goal of the tournament. Still, with Netherlands so strong and Qatar so weak, the Ecuadorians' fate came down to that last match against Senegal, in which they needed a point to reach the knockout stage. However, the cautious approach did not pay off as their opponents dominated and responded quickly to the brief hope offered by Moises Caicedo's equaliser.


GROUP B
■ ENGLAND, on the face of it, made pretty straightforward progress to the knockout stage as group winners - and, in fact, progressed with the best record of all 32 teams and scored more goals in a World Cup group phase than in any previous edition. Certainly, the Three Lions started and finished well with the 6-2 thrashing of Iran and the comfortable 3-0 victory against Wales, as all six scorers (Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden) hit their first ever World Cup finals goals. Rashford, in particular, has surged into a fine run of form with his brace against the Welsh taking him to three for the tournament. It was not all good news, though - the 0-0 draw in the second match against the most difficult team in the group, the United States, was a tough watch as head coach Gareth Southgate reverted to a cautious approach, even though it rarely seems to serve him well against a reasonable level of opposition. Meanwhile, England were criticised for their decision not to wear the One Love armband after being warned of FIFA sanctions including yellow cards - and so, in line with many other countries, missed a big opportunity to make a stand in respect of LGBT rights.

■ UNITED STATES made up for their failure even to qualify for the 2018 World Cup as their new generation reached the knockout stages with a series of pretty strong performances. To much frustration, the Americans had the better of their first two matches against Wales (1-1) and then England (0-0) but garnered just two points for their efforts. Timothy Weah - son of former World Footballer of the Year, George - scored the Americans' first goal by finishing off a rapid move against the Welsh - but, despite their energy, quality finishing has been a missing factor from the performances of Gregg Berhalter's developing outfit. Nevertheless, the US team still had enough to beat Iran deservedly in the third game as Christian Pulisic scored from close range late in the first half. A knockout tie against the Netherlands offers a chance to this young American team of causing an upset - but only Poland, also on two goals, have so few among the teams left in the competition.

■ IRAN ended their emotional World Cup journey on a disappointing note, recording just one shot on target in defeat in their grudge match against the United States. A draw would have been enough for Team Melli to reach the knockout stages of a World Cup for the first time - but, after falling 1-0 behind late in the first half, there was not much in the way of a reaction from Carlos Queiroz's team. By contrast, earlier in the tournament, Iran had reacted well to their heavy defeat against England by dominating their second match against Wales - although, even then, they relied on goals in the eighth-minute and 11th-minute of stoppage time. As such, the biggest headlines generated by the Iranian players came when they refused to sing their national anthem before the match against England amid the anti-government protests back in their homeland.

■ WALES found life difficult in Qatar 2022 as their first World Cup finals appearance in more than six decades finished with just a single point and a single goal. Badly out-of-form heading into the tournament, Robert Page's men were relieved to scramble that point against the United States in their opening match as Gareth Bale converted a penalty for Cymru's first World Cup finals goal for 64 years. But there was not another one - and, in their second match against Iran, the Welsh were lucky still to be level when goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey received the first, and so far one of only two red cards in the tournament, after coming out rashly and almost decapitating his opponent. Eventually, though, Iran made the breakthrough - slightly cruelly, it came in the 98th minute although the Iranians made doubly sure two minutes later. Welsh hopes were hanging by a thread heading into the third group game - and as England took control of the match early in the second half, Welsh minds were left to wonder if it would be another 64 years before they returned to this stage again.


GROUP C
■ ARGENTINA recovered from a shock early defeat to Saudi Arabia by making it through to the knockout stages as group winners. It was all going to plan for La Albiceleste early on in the first match after Lionel Messi scored a penalty with just 10 minutes played. But the Saudis hit back twice in the second half and, despite dominating the rest of the game, the Argentines could not get the equaliser. If that was an unnerving experience for the South Americans, they did not show it in their two subsequent matches - although they definitely benefited from being pooled alongside extremely poor opposition. Mexico and Poland - who played out a 0-0 draw against each other - were both comfortably beaten 2-0 by Argentina with Messi and Enzo Fernandez on the scoresheet against the Mexicans, and Alexis MacAllister and Julian Alvarez netting against the Polish.

■ POLAND progressed to the knockout stage of a World Cup for the first time since 1986 - but it became mightily tight on the final matchday. Having started their campaign with a 0-0 draw against Mexico, the Bialo-Czerwoni put themselves in the box-seat by beating Saudi Arabia in their second game through goals from Piotr Zielinski and Robert Lewandowski. But the Polish used almost all the room for error which they had created for themselves - and, until a late Saudi goal, Czelaw Michniewicz's side were going through ahead of the Mexicans merely by virtue of having received fewer yellow cards. The last 16 tie against France already looks like a formidable task, especially if Poland repeat the ultra-defensive tactics employed in their meek 2-0 defeat to Argentina.

■ MEXICO failed to make it through the group stage at a World Cup finals for the first time since 1978 - and, while they were full of effort in their final match in their 2-1 win against Saudi Arabia, El Tri really only had themselves to blame. A 0-0 draw against Poland and a collapse in the second half to Argentina ultimately left the 2026 World Cup co-hosts with too much to do. Ahead of that tournament in four years, the Mexicans dreamed of a World Cup where they got past the Last 16 after a remarkable run of seven consecutive exits at that stage dating back to 1994. For once then, this campaign did not end at the Last 16 - but this was certainly not the way Mexico wished to end that sequence.

■ SAUDI ARABIA may not have made it through and, in the end, actually finished bottom of the group - but they gave easily the best account of themselves at the World Cup since their debut in 1994 when they reached the Last 16. A barely believable comeback win against Argentina featured two excellent goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Nasser Al-Dawsari as well as a fine performance to protect the lead by a brave defence and goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Owais - and it even earned the nation a public holiday. Unfortunately for their many fans who had crossed the border into Qatar, the Saudis could not keep their level up, with Al-Dawsari missing a penalty in a 2-0 defeat to Poland before a 2-1 defeat to Mexico in which the playmaker partially made amends by scoring a stoppage-time consolation goal.


GROUP D
■ FRANCE were the first team through to the Last 16 and made it through with a game to spare - a feat which allowed Didier Deschamps to make wholesale changes for the final group match against Tunisia. The reserves, in a squad already ravaged by injury in the build-up to the tournament, did not impress as the Tunisians recorded a famous win - but, by then, the hard work had been done. Kylian Mbappe, only the second teenager after Pele to score in a World Cup Final, has made another big impact at this World Cup, netting once against Australia in a 4-1 win and twice against Denmark as Les Bleus prevailed 2-1. Adrien Rabiot and Olivier Giroud twice also chipped in against Australia - and, with further gears still left to move into, the defending champions are in ominously good shape heading into the knockout stage.

■ AUSTRALIA stunned Denmark to advance to the knockout stages for only the second time ever, and for the first time since the Mark Viduka-led generation of 2006. This time, the Socceroos' success was built upon the foundations of a solid defence with consecutive clean-sheets kept by Mathew Ryan in a pair of 1-0 wins against Tunisia and the Danes. Nevertheless, the Aussies also carried a threat, scoring in all three group games for the first time. Indeed, Graham Arnold's well-drilled outfit even had the temerity to take a shock early lead against France through Craig Goodwin. Meanwhile, Mitchell Duke and Mathew Leckie were the two match-winners - but there was nothing lucky about the way the Australians lined up a Last 16 tie against Argentina.

■ TUNISIA turned up with too little, too late against France and have still yet to reach the knockout stage from six attempts after an ageing forward line failed to score in either of the first two games against Denmark (0-0) and Australia (0-1). While Wahbi Khazri eventually did get the Carthage Eagles on the scoresheet - and, in isolation, this can be considered something of a landmark win for the North Africans - it also came against a much-changed French team and it counted for precisely nothing in terms of World Cup progress.

■ DENMARK headed to the World Cup with high hopes but depart bottom of the group with just a single point and a single goal from their three matches. The point came in their first match as Kasper Hjulmand's men were stifled by Tunisia in a 0-0 draw - while their only goal came against France in the second half of their second match as Andreas Christensen equalised. Kylian Mbappe's late winner then left Denmark playing catch-up in their third match against Australia - although the Danish Dynamite would have still fancied their chances of grabbing the runners-up spot. Instead, though, the Danes once again failed to ignite and were dealt a terminal blow when Australia took the lead on the hour-mark.


GROUP E
■ JAPAN were the most extreme example of teams playing a Jekyll and Hyde group stage, recording a barely believable sequence of results on their way to finishing top of the section. First, the Samurai Blue took advantage of German nerves to come back to win from 1-0 down at half time through goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano - but then appeared to have undone all their good work by contriving to get beaten by Costa Rica in their second game. That left a tough encounter against Spain - and, once again, the Japanese conceded the first goal. Once again, though, Japan came back to achieve an unlikely victory as goals from Doan and Ao Tanaka meant it ended up being Spain who were nervously watching events in the other match.

■ SPAIN were slightly complacent in the group stage after finding it all too easy in their opening match against Costa Rica. La Roja did not face a single shot or corner and hit seven at the other end with six different scorers as Daniel Olmo, Marco Asensio, teenager Gavi, Carlos Soler, Alvaro Morata, and Ferran Torres twice found the net. Morata also scored in the second match against Germany and third match against Japan to put Luis Enrique's team into the lead - but, on both occasions, sloppiness crept in. The Germans were able to rescue a point then the Japanese went one better to depose Spain from the top of the group. Indeed, the 2-1 score to Japan briefly looked as if it was going to be extremely costly when Costa Rica grabbed a lead in the other match - but Spain ultimately emerged unscathed from this World Cup version of an episode of Squid Game.

■ GERMANY have unsurprisingly launched a round of talks to identify the reasons for their second successive World Cup flop after they failed again to get past the group stage. Beginning with a defeat to Japan in their opening encounter, the Nationalmannschaft paid the price for failing to add to Ilkay Gundogan's penalty when the Japanese produced a fine comeback win. Germany were similar profligate against Spain in their second match - and it was up to Niclas Fullkrug to rescue a point after the Spaniards had taken the lead. This left it all down to the last matchday - and the Germans perhaps expected Spain to beat Japan so that any win against Costa Rica would be enough - and, indeed, those were the circumstances at first. However, Japan then turned their match around to leave the Germans reliant on increasing their goal tally against a Costa Rican team who were also pushing for victory. In the end, Germany won as Kai Havertz and Fullkrug put some sheen on the performance with a couple of late goals. Nevertheless, head coach Hansi Flick - who remains in charge - has a huge task to make Germany competitive again ahead of the Euro 2024 finals which they are hosting.

■ COSTA RICA, remarkably, were in contention to get through to the knockout stage - almost, it feels, by accident - until the second half of their third match against Germany. The 7-0 defeat against Spain in their first game was a real World Cup humiliation in which Los Ticos failed to have a single shot or corner - and the Costa Ricans then adopted a similarly ultra-cautious approach in their second match against Japan. However, having kept it a lot tighter, Keysher Fuller hit the Central Americans' first shot on target in the whole tournament in the 81st minute - and it went into the net for a 1-0 win. Still, little was expected of Costa Rica in their third match against Germany - and even less at 1-0 down - but Luis Fernando Suarez's doughty outfit fought back to lead 2-1 through a Yeltsin Tejeda goal and an own goal by Manuel Neuer. At that stage, the Costa Ricans were going through - but, in truth, a defence which conceded a tournament-high 13 goals was never going to hold out.


GROUP F
■ MOROCCO moved into the knockout stages for the first time since 1986 as deserved winners of Group F, becoming the first African team since Nigeria in 1998 to finish top of their section. The Moroccans laid the foundations for their success by drawing 0-0 in their opening match against Croatia before an impressive, dominant win over Belgium. Finally, in their third match, the Atlas Lions survived a test of their nerve against Canada. Looking comfortable at 2-0 up early on through goals from Hakim Ziyech and Youssef En-Nesyri, the North Africans were rocked when Nayef Aguerd diverted the ball into his own net. Even then, though, Walid Regragui's men had the assurance that a draw would suffice - and, as it happened, the defence held firm to ensure Morocco made history by winning more than one game at a single World Cup for the first time.

■ CROATIA were involved in two of the six 0-0 draws during the group stage, as stalemates against Morocco and Belgium bookended their Group F campaign. In between, in a far more enterprising performance, the Vatreni hit four against Canada as Andrej Kramaric stole the show with a well-taken double. True, it came against one of the weakest teams at the tournament, and Croatia also needed an early wake-up after falling behind inside 68 seconds - but, thereafter, the Croatians were in complete control. Marko Livaja and Lovro Majer also scored as Zlatko Dalic's men took the win ahead of the match against the Belgians, and lined up a Last 16 clash against an unpredictable Japan team.

■ BELGIUM head coach had no option other than to step down after his team - laughably ranked world number two by FIFA - failed to get through the group stages and scored just one goal in their three matches. That goal, scored by Michy Batshuayi, came on the stroke of half time of their first game against Canada - and ended up being a decider in a match otherwise dominated by the North Americans. Reports of disharmony and discontent rapidly emerged from an unhappy camp with star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne even going as far as telling a press conference that he felt the Red Devils were "too old" to win World Cup. Certainly, Belgium played devoid of confidence against Morocco (0-2) and Croatia (0-0), the latter of whom they needed to beat to avoid an embarrassing early exit and what feels distinctly like the end of an era.

■ CANADA finally got off the mark, scoring their first ever World Cup goal after just seconds of their fifth attempt when Alphonso Davies gave the Maple Leafs a fast lead against Croatia. The Canadians were on the scoresheet again against Morocco through an own goal and then hit the bar as their search for an equaliser ended in vain. But, for Canada and Consett-born head coach John Herdman, the three defeats to Belgium (0-1), Croatia (1-4) and Morocco (1-2) meant the North Americans are still yet to win a first point at the finals. Now, of course, Canada will get another chance automatically in four years when they host the World Cup alongside the United States and Mexico - and building a more compact defence and an improvement in ball retention simply must be the focus in the interim.


GROUP G
■ BRAZIL have barely justified their pre-tournament favourites tag in this group phase, their total of three goals being their lowest number in the first phase of a World Cup since 1978. But, while the progress of the Seleção to the knockout stage was never in doubt, Tite's team have too often found themselves bogged down by their opponents. Notably, a much-changed team surprisingly lost to Cameroon - but, if anything, it is the two wins when fielding their first choice XI against Serbia (2-0) and Switzerland (1-0) which have caused the more concern. Both matches were drifting towards a draw until the interventions of Richarlison against the Serbians and Casimero against the Swiss respectively - and a sharp improvement needs to be made if Brazil really are going to end their 20-year World Cup drought.

■ SWITZERLAND were pulled into a game of tug-of-war as their last game against Serbia turned into a madcap decider. The Swiss started the tournament in customary fashion with a pair of tight matches against Cameroon and Brazil producing a 1-0 win and 1-0 defeat respectively - and went 1-0 ahead in the third game through Xherdan Shaqiri. Within 15 minutes, though, any chance of another quiet night disappeared as Serbia hit back to turn the match around completely. To the relief of the Swiss, that situation did not last long either as Breel Embolo equalised on the stroke of half time and Remo Freuler put the Nati into a lead which, this time, they did not relinquish. Now, against Portugal, Switzerland will have a third attempt at reaching a first World Cup quarter final since 1954 following narrow defeats to Argentina and Sweden in the last two editions.

■ CAMEROON may not have got out of the group stages yet again - but at least this time they performed in admirable fashion. It looked like the same old story when Switzerland struck early in the second half to extend the Indomitable Lions' record for successive World Cup finals defeats to eight. It also looked no better early in the second half of the second match against Serbia with Cameroon having had a 1-0 lead turned into a 3-1 deficit. From nowhere, though, Rigobert Song's team found some verve and rhyhym to score twice in three minutes through Vincent Aboubakar's delightful chip and a close-range finish from Jean-Eric Choupo-Moting. The horrible, horrible run of successive defeats was over - and still better was to follow as Cameroon first held off Brazil and then nicked a late winner. Aboubakar was the man of the moment again, a picture of unbridled joy as he stripped off his shirt and received a second yellow card. Rarely has a dismissal been so graciously received.

■ SERBIA were one of the biggest disappointments at this World Cup despite scoring the most goals in Group G with five, as they left the tournament in bottom place with just a single point. An organised performance against Brazil was undone by a couple of moments of real quality in the second half - but it seemed like the Eagles had got their campaign back on track against Cameroon when Aleksandar Mitrovic finished off a neat passing move to add to the two goals in first half stoppage time for a 3-1 lead. However, the Africans hit back to equalise and left the Serbians needing to win their final match against Switzerland. That game also quickly became another barmy goal-fest as Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic hit back against an early Swiss goal, only for Dragan Stojkovic's careless side to concede another two either side of half time. Certainly then, as predicted, Serbia had enough threat to be a competitive outfit at this tournament - but the less said the better about the shoddy defence.


GROUP H
■ PORTUGAL continued to go from the sublime to the ridiculous, often within the same match - but still did enough to make it through to the knockout stage with a game to spare. In their first match, A Seleção struggled to make the breakthrough against Ghana until a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty - but, after conceding a shock equaliser, the Portuguese then exploded into life as Joao Felix and Rafael Leao hit a rapid-fire double to put the game seemingly out of reach. Not so - Ghana got back to within one goal ahead of an extended period of stoppage time and should have equalised as Portugal clung on. The second game against Uruguay was a more straightforward affair as Bruno Fernandes scored a brace - although again Portugal benefited from a generous penalty award. However, in the third match, Portugal were beaten by South Korea despite taking an early lead through Ricardo Horta. In the end, it did not make any difference - but equally it hardly dispelled the doubts which remain about this talented team.

■ SOUTH KOREA left it late to make it through to the Last 16 - although, in fairness, this is only fourth time that they have made it through the group stages. Following a cautious 0-0 draw against Uruguay, Cho Gue-sung scored two headers in three minutes against Ghana seemed to have rescued a point from 2-0 down - but the Black Stars scored turned the tide again and left the Koreans in deep trouble ahead of the third match against Portugal. The Portuguese had qualified already at least - but they then took the lead after just five minutes. Kim Young-gwon equalised fairly quickly - and, just as it looked as if the Taegeuk Warriors were going to be left frustrated, Hwang Hee-chan stroked in the winner to put Paulo Bento's men in front for the first time in the tournament. Then again, it is often said that it is not how you start but how you finish - and that was particularly the case in this crazy group stage.

■ URUGUAY were dumped out of the World Cup at the group stages for the first time since 2002 as they paid dearly for a curious mix of caution and profligacy. Following a dull 0-0 draw in the first match against South Korea, an ageing and ailing Uruguayan outfit tried - and failed - to repeat the trick again Portugal, and the 2-0 defeat left La Celeste in trouble. Uruguay improved in the third game against Ghana as Giorgian De Arrascaeta hit a first half double. But Uruguay failed to build upon their lead and the decision of Diego Costa to take off his attackers proved costly when a late South Korea goal put his team out and sent Luis Suarez into tears.

■ GHANA gave as good as they got until they could give no more as the lowest-ranked side at this World Cup refused to be overawed. The first match against Portugal looked a hopeless pursuit at 3-1 down despite Andre Ayew briefly getting the Black Stars back into the game - until Osman Bukari reduced the arrears to 3-2. Inaki Williams had a glorious chance for an equaliser in stoppage time but slipped at the vital moment. Nevertheless, the Ghanaians carried their goal threat into their second match, quickly establishing a 2-0 lead against South Korea through goals from Mohammed Salisu and Mohammed Kudus - but the West Africans' defence was less assured and the lead disappeared in a matter of a few minutes around the hour-mark. Still, Ghana did not give up and parity lasted only briefly as Kudus sent coach Otto Addo and the squad into raptures again with a goal that proved to be the winner. That also proved to be the high-point of Ghana's campaign in Qatar as Uruguay swept into a 2-0 lead in the first half of the third match - and the Black Stars, for once, were unable to provide any sort of response.

WORLD CUP 2022
RESULTS AND STATISTICS

GROUP A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) NETHERLANDS	2	1	0	5	1	+4	7
(Q) SENEGAL	2	0	1	5	4	+1	6
ECUADOR	1	1	1	4	3	+1	4
QATAR	0	0	3	1	7	-6	0

(Q) ■ NETHERLANDS and SENEGAL qualified for the Last 16

20-Nov	16:00	QATAR	0-2	ECUADOR	Al Bayt, Al Khor
BBC				E Valencia 16 pen, 31
21-Nov	16:00	SENEGAL	0-2	NETHERLANDS	Al Thumama, Doha
ITV				Gakpo 84, Klaassen 90+9
25-Nov	13:00	QATAR	1-3	SENEGAL	Al Thumama, Doha
BBC		Muntari 78		Dia 41, Diedhiou 48 Dieng 84
25-Nov	16:00	NETHERLANDS	1-1	ECUADOR	Khalifa, Al Rayyan
ITV		Gakpo 6		E Valencia 49
29-Nov	15:00	ECUADOR	1-2	SENEGAL	Khalifa, Al Rayyan
ITV		Caicedo 67		Sarr 44 pen, Koulibaly 67
29-Nov	15:00	NETHERLANDS	2-0	QATAR	Al Bayt, Al Khor
ITV		Gakpo 26, De Jong 49

GROUP B	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) ENGLAND	2	1	0	9	2	+7	7
(Q) UNITED STATES	1	2	0	2	1	+1	5
IRAN	1	0	2	4	7	-3	3
WALES	0	1	2	1	6	-5	1

(Q) ■ ENGLAND and UNITED STATES qualified for the Last 16

21-Nov	13:00	ENGLAND	6-2	IRAN	Khalifa, Al Rayyan
BBC		Bellingham 35, Saka 43, 62 Sterling 45+1, Rashford 71 Grealish 89		Taremi 65, 90+13 pen
21-Nov	19:00	UNITED STATES	1-1	WALES	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
ITV		Weah 36		Bale 82 pen
25-Nov	10:00	WALES	0-2	IRAN	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
BBC				Cheshmi 90+8 Rezaeian 90+11
25-Nov	19:00	ENGLAND	0-0	UNITED STATES	Al Bayt, Al Khor
ITV
29-Nov	19:00	WALES	0-3	ENGLAND	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
BBC				Rashford 50, 68, Foden 51
29-Nov	19:00	IRAN	0-1	UNITED STATES	Al Thumama, Doha
BBC				Pulisic 38

GROUP C	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) ARGENTINA	2	0	1	5	2	+3	6
(Q) POLAND	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
MEXICO	1	1	1	2	3	-1	4
SAUDI ARABIA	1	0	2	3	5	-2	3

(Q) ■ ARGENTINA and POLAND qualified for the Last 16

22-Nov	10:00	ARGENTINA	1-2	SAUDI ARABIA	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
ITV		Messi 10 pen		Al-Shehri 48 S Al-Dawsari 53
22-Nov	16:00	MEXICO	0-0	POLAND	Stadium 974, Doha
BBC
26-Nov	13:00	POLAND	2-0	SAUDI ARABIA	Education City, Al Rayyan
ITV		Zielinski 39, Lewandowski 82
26-Nov	19:00	ARGENTINA	2-0	MEXICO	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
ITV		Messi 64, Fernandez 87
30-Nov	19:00	POLAND	0-2	ARGENTINA	Stadium 974, Doha
BBC				MacAllister 46 Alvarez 67
30-Nov	19:00	SAUDI ARABIA	1-2	MEXICO	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
BBC		Al-Dawsari 90+5		Martin 47, Chavez 52

GROUP D	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) FRANCE	2	0	1	6	3	+3	6
(Q) AUSTRALIA	2	0	1	3	4	-1	6
TUNISIA	1	1	1	1	1	0	4
DENMARK	0	1	2	1	3	-2	1

(Q) ■ FRANCE and AUSTRALIA qualified for the Last 16

22-Nov	13:00	DENMARK	0-0	TUNISIA	Education City, Al Rayyan
ITV
22-Nov	19:00	FRANCE	4-1	AUSTRALIA	Al Janoub, Al Wakrah
BBC		Rabiot 27, Giroud 32, 71 Mbappe 68		Goodwin 9
26-Nov	10:00	TUNISIA	0-1	AUSTRALIA	Al Janoub, Al Wakrah
BBC				Duke 23
26-Nov	16:00	FRANCE	2-1	DENMARK	Stadium 974, Doha
ITV		Mbappe 61, 86		Christensen 68
30-Nov	15:00	AUSTRALIA	1-0	DENMARK	Al Janoub Al Wakrah
BBC		Leckie 60
30-Nov	15:00	TUNISIA	1-0	FRANCE	Education City, Al Rayyan
BBC		Khazri 58

GROUP E	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) JAPAN	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6
(Q) SPAIN	1	1	1	9	3	+6	4
GERMANY	1	1	1	6	5	+1	4
COSTA RICA	1	0	2	3	11	-8	3

(Q) ■ JAPAN and SPAIN qualified for the Last 16

23-Nov	13:00	GERMANY	1-2	JAPAN	Khalifa, Al Rayyan
ITV		Gundogan 33 pen		Doan 75, Asano 83
23-Nov	16:00	SPAIN	7-0	COSTA RICA	Al Thumama, Doha
ITV		Olmo 11, Asensio 21 Torres 31 pen, 54, Gavi 74 Soler 90, Morata 90+3
27-Nov	10:00	JAPAN	0-1	COSTA RICA	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
ITV				Fuller 81
27-Nov	19:00	SPAIN	1-1	GERMANY	Al Bayt, Al Khor
BBC		Morata 62		Fullkrug 83
01-Dec	19:00	JAPAN	2-1	SPAIN	Khalifa, Al Rayyan
ITV		Doan 48, Tanaka 51		Morata 11
01-Dec	19:00	COSTA RICA	2-4	GERMANY	Al Bayt, Al Khor
ITV		Tejeda 58, Neuer 70 og		Gnabry 10, Havertz 73, 85 Fullkrug 89

GROUP F	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) MOROCCO	2	1	0	4	1	+3	7
(Q) CROATIA	1	2	0	4	1	+3	5
BELGIUM	1	1	1	1	2	-1	3
CANADA	0	0	3	2	7	-5	0

(Q) ■ MOROCCO and CROATIA qualified for the Last 16

23-Nov	10:00	MOROCCO	0-0	CROATIA	Al Bayt, Al Khor
ITV
23-Nov	19:00	BELGIUM	1-0	CANADA	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
BBC		Batshuayi 44
27-Nov	13:00	BELGIUM	0-2	MOROCCO	Al Thumama, Doha
BBC				Saiss 73, Aboukhlal 90+2
27-Nov	16:00	CROATIA	4-1	CANADA	Khalifa Al Rayyan
BBC		Kramaric 36, 70, Livaja 44 Majer 90+4		Davies 2
01-Dec	15:00	CROATIA	0-0	BELGIUM	Ahmad bin Ali, Al Rayyan
BBC
01-Dec	15:00	CANADA	1-2	MOROCCO	Al Thumama, Doha
BBC		Aguerd 40 og		Ziyech 4, En-Nesyri 23

GROUP G	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) BRAZIL	2	0	1	3	1	+2	6
(Q) SWITZERLAND	2	0	1	4	3	+1	6
CAMEROON	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
SERBIA	0	1	2	5	8	-3	1

(Q) ■ BRAZIL and SWITZERLAND qualified for the Last 16

24-Nov	10:00	SWITZERLAND	1-0	CAMEROON	Al Janoub, Al Wakrah
ITV		Embolo 48
24-Nov	19:00	BRAZIL	2-0	SERBIA	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
BBC		Richarlison 62, 73
28-Nov	10:00	CAMEROON	3-3	SERBIA	Al Janoub, Al Wakrah
ITV		Castelletto 29, Aboubakar 63 Choupo-Moting 66		Pavlovic 45+1 S Milinkovic-Savic 45+3 Mitrovic 53
28-Nov	16:00	BRAZIL	1-0	SWITZERLAND	Stadium 974, Doha
ITV		Casimero 83
02-Dec	19:00	SERBIA	2-3	SWITZERLAND	Stadium 974, Doha
ITV		Mitrovic 26, Vlahovic 35		Shaqiri 20, Embolo 44 Freuler 48
02-Dec	19:00	CAMEROON	1-0	BRAZIL	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
ITV		Aboubakar 90+2

GROUP H	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) PORTUGAL	2	0	1	6	4	+2	6
(Q) SOUTH KOREA	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
URUGUAY	1	1	1	2	2	0	4
GHANA	1	0	2	5	7	-2	3

(Q) ■ PORTUGAL and SOUTH KOREA qualified for the Last 16

24-Nov	13:00	URUGUAY	0-0	SOUTH KOREA	Education City, Al Rayyan
BBC
24-Nov	16:00	PORTUGAL	3-2	GHANA	Stadium 974, Doha
ITV		Ronaldo 65 pen, Felix 78 Leao 80		A Ayew 73 Bukari 89
28-Nov	13:00	SOUTH KOREA	2-3	GHANA	Education City, Al Rayyan
BBC		Cho Gue-sung 58, 61		Salisu 24, Kudus 34, 68
28-Nov	19:00	PORTUGAL	2-0	URUGUAY	Lusail Iconic, Lusail
ITV		Fernandes 54, 90+3 pen
01-Dec	15:00	GHANA	0-2	URUGUAY	Al Janoub, Al Wakrah
BBC				De Arrascaeta 26, 32
01-Dec	15:00	SOUTH KOREA	2-1	PORTUGAL	Education City, Al Rayyan
BBC		Kim Young-gwon 27 Hwang Hee-chan 90+1		Horta 5

■ SCORERS 120 goals in 48 matches - 2.5 per match
3 Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Kylian Mbappe (France), Alvaro Morata (Spain), Marcus Rashford (England), Enner Valencia (Ecuador)
2 Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon), Salem Al-Dawsari (Saudi Arabia), Giorgian De Arrascaeta (Uruguay), Ritsu Doan (Japan), Breel Embolo (Switzerland), Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), Niclas Fulkrug (Germany), Cho Gue-sung (South Korea), Olivier Giroud (France), Kai Havertz (Germany), Andrej Kramaric (Croatia), Mohammed Kudus (Ghana), Lionel Messi (Argentina), Aleksandar Mitrovic (Serbia), Richarlison (Brazil), Bukayo Saka (England), Mehdi Taremi (Iran), Ferran Torres (Spain)
1 Zakaria Aboukhlal (Morocco), Saleh Al-Shehri (Saudi Arabia), Julian Alvarez (Argentina), Takuma Asano (Japan), Marco Asensio (Spain), Andre Ayew (Ghana), Gareth Bale (Wales), Michy Batshuayi (Belgium), Jude Bellingham (England), Osman Bukari (Ghana), Moises Caicedo (Ecuador), Casimero (Brazil), Jean Charles Castelletto (Cameroon), Luis Chavez (Mexico), Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Iran), Jean-Eric Choupo-Moting (Cameroon), Andreas Christensen (Denmark), Alphonso Davies (Canada), Frenkie De Jong (Netherlands), Boulaye Dia (Senegal), Famara Diedhiou (Senegal), Bamba Dieng (Senegal), Mitchell Duke (Australia), Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco), Joao Felix (Portugal), Enzo Fernandez (Argentina), Phil Foden (England), Remo Freuler (Switzerland), Keysher Fuller (Costa Rica), Gavi (Spain), Serge Gnabry (Germany), Craig Goodwin (Australia), Jack Grealish (England), Ilkay Gundogan (Germany), Ricardo Jorge da Luz Horta (Portugal), Hwang Hee-chan (Souh Korea), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal), Wahbi Khazri (Tunisia), Kim Young-gwon (South Korea), Davy Klaassen (Netherlands), Rafael Leao (Portugal), Mathew Leckie (Australia), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Marko Livaja (Croatia), Alexis MacAllister (Argentina), Lovro Majer (Croatia), Henry Martin (Mexico), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Serbia), Mohammed Muntari (Qatar), Dani Olmo (Spain), Strahinja Pavlovic (Serbia), Christian Pulisic (United States), Adrien Rabiot (France), Ramin Rezaeian (Iran), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Romain Saiss (Morocco), Mohammed Salisu (Ghana), Ismail Sarr (Senegal), Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), Carlos Soler (Spain), Raheem Sterling (England), Ao Tanaka (Japan), Yeltsin Tejeda (Costa Rica), Dusan Vlahovic (Serbia), Timothy Weah (United States), Piotr Zielinski (Poland), Hakim Ziyech (Morocco)
2 own goals Nayed Aguerd (Canada) v Morocco, Manuel Neuer (Germany) v Costa Rica

■ RED CARDS
Wayne Hennessey (Wales) v Iran
Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon) v Brazil