Semifinals
FRANCE 2 - 0 MOROCCO
Morocco couldn't surprise the world one more time and was eliminated by France who will face Argentina in the World Cup final. France took the lead early in minute 5 with a goal from Theo Hernández. In the second half Mbappe made a magical move that bounced off the defense and Muani push it in to give France the second and final goal. Morocco had the best participation by and African team in World Cups. Messi and Mbappe will also have their own personal fight for the Golden Boot in the final, each has scored 5 goals and tournament.
ARGENTINA 3 - 0 CROATIA
Lionel Messi scored a penalty kick for Argentina and equaled the record for most goals scored in a World Cup by an Argentinian that gave them the advantage in the first half. Shortly after, Julián Álvarez took the ball past the midfield and did not stop running until he scored to end the half up 2-0. Messi's magic appeared again in the second half passing the ball to Álvarez again that scored the third for Argentina. Luka Modric tried but couldn't do anything to save Croatia's from the elimination. Argentina is in the final waiting for a rival that will come out from the match between Morocco and France tomorrow. With this game Lionel Messi made history as he became the player with most appearances in World Cup history tying german Lothar Matthaus with 18.
Quarter-finals
FRANCE 2 - 1 ENGLAND
Screaming match in the quarterfinals where France advanced to the semifinals eliminating England. France didn't attack much but the opportunities they had were enough to score two and take the victory in a game where England deserved more. Mbappe was well contained by the English defense, but Giroud appeared in the box after a cross from Griezmann and scored the second for France with a header that gave them qualification. Harry Kane missed a penalty minutes from the end of the game and England was eliminated despite the fact that the striker had scored the partial equalizer for the British in a penalty kick. The Black Lions of Morocco will be the next test for France that will try to make history and win back to back championships.
MOROCCO 1 - 0 PORTUGAL
Morocco surprised the world eliminating Portugal and is the first African team to make the semifinals in a World Cup. A poor play from Portuguese goalkeeper Diogo Costa was enough for Morocco to score the winning goal with a header. Portugal had control of the game, but Morocco's defensive style prevailed again and even with Cristiano Ronaldo on the field in the second half they could not score the equalizer. Cristiano left the field in tears and could be a bitter farewell to his national team and participation in World Cups.
NETHERLANDS 2(4) - 2(2) ARGENTINA
Netherlands tied the game at the last minute, sent the game to penalties, but goalkeeper Martínez saved two to give Argentina the ticket to the semifinals. In the match, Messi made the difference by setting up a goal pass and scoring the second in a penalty kick, Weghorst did the same for the Netherlands, scoring two.
CROATIA 0(4) - 0(2) BRAZIL
The first quarter final game finished with Brazil eliminated from the World Cup and Croatia going to semifinals. Neymar scored for Brazil in extra time, but Croatia came back to score 3 minutes before the end to send the game to penalty kicks. Livakovic did it again and stopped the first penalty that gave Croatia the confidence to kick 4 penalties in a row inside the goal, then Marquinhos hit the post and the penalties ended 4-2 for the European team. Croatia will play the winner of Argentina vs Netherlands.
Best of 16
PORTUGAL 6 - 1 SWITZERLAND
Portugal had no mercy with Switzerland who put up no resistance in a match dominated by Portugal where Ramos, at just 21 years of age, became the second youngest Portuguese player to score in a World Cup, the youngest was Cristiano Ronaldo who was replaced by Ramos today in the starting lineup. Portugal will face Morocco for a place in the semifinals.
MOROCCO 0(3) - 0(0) SPAIN
Morocco played smart against Spain, who had possession of the ball throughout the game but did not create much danger. Both teams had at least one clear opportunity to change the outcome of a game that was decided in penalty kicks. Sarabia, Soler and Busquets missed for Spain that could not score a single penalty and Morocco had an historic victory to advance to the quarterfinals eliminating one of the top countries expected to win the World Cup.
BRAZIL 4 - 1 SOUTH KOREA
Brazil had no problems defeating Korea scoring the first 2 goals very early in the game. Neymar scored his seventh World Cup goal and is closer to reach Pele's record. Brazil will face Croatia in the quarterfinals next Saturday.
JAPAN 1(1) - 1(3) CROATIA
Japan and Croatia tied to one in regulation time and starred the first game that ends on penalty kicks. The Croatian goalkeeper Livakovi had 3 heroic saves stopping 3 of 4 penalties from Japan and helped Croatia advance to quarterfinals, Japan was eliminated.
FRANCE 3 - 1 POLAND
France and England met the expectations beating Poland and Senegal in the round of 16 qualifying to the quarterfinals and will face each other next Saturday. Mbappe scored twice and became one of the greatest in history with 9 goals scored in World Cups at 23 years old tying Lionel Messi who is 35. Poland didn't do much but were happy to see Lawendowski's probable last goal in World Cups.
ENGLAND 3 - 0 SENEGAL
Senegal tried hard and had a couple chances to score before England had control of the game and with two good combinations before half time ended Senegal's aspirations to advance to the next round.
NETHERLANDS 3 - 1 USA
The round of 16 started with the match between USA and Netherlands where an early goal was enough to destroy USA's plan and ended up losing 3-1 with no real chances to come back during the game. Pulisic was not in his best day and the best US player was their goalkeeper MattTurner who stopped at least 3 more shots to goal.
ARGENTINA 2 - 1 AUSTRALIA
Lionel Messi played his 1000 game and he quickly got his award opening the score for Argentina, Australia had no arguments to answer and after a terrible mistake by their goalkeeper they allowed another goal. Australia got closer with a deflected shot that went inside the goal. Then, the South American team missed several opportunities to settle the game and if it weren't for goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, Australia would have tied the game on the last play.
Group Stage
December 2, 2022
SERBIA 2 - 3 SWITZERLAND
In a hard-fought game, Switzerland regained the advantage after being down 2-1 and took the victory to qualify as second in the group eliminating Serbia.
BRAZIL 0 - 1 CAMEROON
Brazil played with an alternative team and Cameroon took the victory with a last minute goal but they still got eliminated. Brazil will face South Korea in the round of 16.
GROUP G
*BRAZIL - 6
*SWITZERLAND - 6
CAMEROON - 4
SERBIA - 1
SOUTH KOREA 2 - 1 PORTUGAL
South Korea advances to the knockout round in a dramatic ending with a magnificent pass by Son for Korea to score in the last minutes.
GHANA 0 - 2 URUGUAY
Dramatic ending of the game with Luis Suarez in tears watching Uruguay from the bench trying to score to advance to the knockout round, Ghana didn't allow the third goal Uruguay needed and both got eliminated with the South American team going after the referee after the last whistle.
GROUP H
PORTUGAL - 6
SOUTH KOREA - 4
URUGUAY - 4
GHANA - 3
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December 1, 2022
JAPAN 2 - 1 SPAIN
Japan accomplishes one of the biggest upsets in the World Cup winning against Spain and advances as the group leader. Spain was unable to score more than one and was out of the knockout round for a brief moment when Costa Ricas was beating Germany. In the end, Spain is second but will have to get better if they want to repeat a World Cup title.
COSTA RICA 2 - 4 GERMANY
Germany had a hard time beating Costa Rica missing many opportunities and is out of the World Cup in the group stage again. Costa Rica failed to keep the score 2-1 and will return home with one win and 2 loses.
GROUP E
JAPAN - 6
SPAIN - 4
GERMANY - 4
COSTA RICA - 3
CROATIA 0 - 0 BELGIUM
Belgium needed a victory but their stars were sleeping in the field and showed no passion to score with Lukaku missing at least 3 clear chances. Croatia tried a little more and almost and advanced to the knockout round in second place.
MOROCCO 2 - 1 CANADA
Morocco made history winning their group with the victory against Canada. They have not been in the second round since 1986. Canada was already eliminated and ended the tournament with 3 loses.
GRUPO F
*MOROCCO - 7
*CROATIA - 5
BELGIUM - 4
CANADA - 0
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November 30, 2022
MÉXICO 2 - 1 SAUDI ARABIA
Mexico could've scored more goals in their victory against Saudi Arabia but fell short and was eliminated from the World Cup. Saudi Arabia scored at the end of the game but needed a victory to advance to the next round and was eliminated too.
ARGENTINA 2 - 0 POLAND
Argentina managed to advance to the second round scoring twice against Poland that didn't do much to win the game. Lionel Messi missed a penalty saved by goalkeeper Szczesny who was the best man of the match and collaborated to keep the goal difference that Poland needed to advance to the knockout round.
GROUP C
*ARGENTINA - 6
*POLAND - 4
MEXICO - 4
SAUDI ARABIA - 3
TUNISIA 1 - 0 FRANCE
Tunisia took advantage of France playing without any of their big stars and surprised with the victory. Unfortunately it was not enough for the African team to go to the next round.
AUSTRALIA 1 - 0 DENMARK
A counterattack gave Australia the victory and moves to the knockout round leaving Denmark out.
GROUP D
*FRANCE - 6
*AUSTRALIA - 6
TUNEZ - 4
DENMARK - 1
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November 29, 2022
Intense matches were played today more drama is expected again tomorrow; Mexico will try to make the impossible and score more than 3 goals needed against Saudi Arabia to go through the next round and Argentina wants to beat Poland to secure their ticket. In Group D Tunisia, Australia and Denmark can still make it and have no room for mistakes while France is already qualified.
WALES 0 - 3 ENGLAND
Wales offered nothing to beat England and was eliminated with goals from Rashford(2) and Foden.
IRAN 0 - 1 UNITED STATES
Captain America, Pulisic, scored the biggest goal of his career to give USA their ticket to the knockout round and sent Iran home with drama until the last minute. Pulisic suffered an injury in the same play and it is still unknown if he will be able to play in the next game.
GROUP B
*ENGLAND - 7
*UNITED STATES - 5
IRAN - 3
WALES - 1
QATAR 0 - 2 NETHERLANDS
Gakpo and De Jong scored to beat the local team and are first in the group. Now Netherlands is waiting to learn who will be their next rival coming out from group B later today.
ECUADOR 1 - 2 SENEGAL
The African champion took the victory eliminating Ecuador and classifying to the next round as second in the group.
GROUP A
*Netherlands - 7
*Senegal - 6
Ecuador - 4
Qatar - 0
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November 28, 2022
PORTUGAL 2- 0 URUGUAY
Portugal qualified to the next round defeating Uruguay with a controversial penalty at the end of the game that marked the second goal for the European team.
BRAZIL 1- 0 SWITZERLAND
Brazil had a hard time scoring against Switzerland but Casemiro made it happen and qualified Brazil to the next round.
Iran-US World Cup clash rife with political tension
CAMEROON 3- 3 SERBIA
Cameroon and Serbia still alive after exciting game with 6 goals.
SOUTH KOREA 2- 3 GHANA
South Korea with lower possibilities to go through after losing to Ghana.
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November 27, 2022
SPAIN 1- 1 GERMANY
Spain let Germany react who leveled the score near the end of the game to increase their chances to advance.
CROATIA 4 - 1 CANADA
Croatia was patient and ended up scoring 4 to eliminate Canada from the competition.
BELGIUM 0 - 2 MOROCCO
Morocco exposed Belgium's weaknesses in another World Cup upset.
COSTA RICA 1 - 0 JAPAN
Costa Rica took advantage of one Japanese defensive error to score and was enough for the win despite the constant attacks from the Asian team throughout the game.
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November 26, 2022
ARGENTINA 2 - 0 MEXICO
Messi scored to give Argentina a break and left Mexico with little chance of advancing to the next phase.
Goalless Mexico on brink of missing knockout stage for first time since 1978
Mexico, Argentina fans gather for World Cup watch party in Lincoln Heights
FRANCE 2 - 1 DENMARK
Mbappe scored and gives a good performance to give France hopes to win back to back championships.
POLAND 2 - 0 SAUDI ARABIA
Lewandowski scored his first goal in a World Cup to give Poland its first victory.
TUNISIA 0 - 1 AUSTRALIA
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November 25, 2022
INGLATERRA 0 - 0 ESTADOS UNIDOS
Pulisic hit the post in the best chance for USA and Harry Kane had a late chance for England but couldn't score either. USA's destiny will be defined in their match versus Iran.
NETHERLANDS 1 - 1 ECUADOR
Gakpo scored for the Netherlands and Enner Valencia for Ecuador in a tight game that should've been for the South American team.
QATAR 1 - 3 SENEGAL
Senegal controlled the game, Qatar came close but it was not enough. It is the first time that Senegal has scored 3 goals in a World Cup.
WALES 0 - 2 IRAN
In stoppage time Iran scored twice to take the victory against Wales who played with 10 men in the last part of the game.
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November 24, 2022
BRAZIL 2 - 0 SERBIA
Richarlison scored two including the best goal of the World Cup so far and led Brazil to their first win.
PORTUGAL 3 - 2 GHANA
Portugal suffered to keep the advantage until the last minute. Cristiano Ronaldo scored to become the first man to score at five World Cups.
URUGUAY 0 - 0 SOUTH KOREA
Uruguay hit the post twice, South Korea missed an easy goal and they ended with a scoreless tie.
South Korea holds Uruguay to 0-0 draw at World Cup
SWITZERLAND 1 - 0 CAMEROON
Embolo, born in Cameroon but playing for Switzerland, gave the victory to the European team.
Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa wants more in his 5th World Cup
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November 23, 2022
BELGIUM 1 - 0 CANADA
Courtois saved a penalty against Canada, who gave a good game but was not enough and left the field with a painful defeat.
SPAIN 7 - 0 COSTA RICA
Spain was too big of a team for Costa Rica and thrashed the Ticos where Gavi became the youngest player to score a goal in a World Cup since Pelé in 1958 at the age of 17.
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GERMANY 1 - 2 JAPAN
Japan surprised the world by defeating Germany in the second big upset of the World Cup.
MOROCCO 0 - 0 CROATIA
An even match with good performances from both goalkeepers kept the score tied with no goals.
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Pico Rivera cheers on home-grown talent on World Cup stage
Pico Rivera cheers on home-grown talent on World Cup stage
November 22, 2022
Saudi Arabia makes history beating Argentina 2 -1 in a big upset for Messi and Argentina. Three goals were disallowed for the South American team on offside and Saudi Arabia's heroic goalkeeping and defense kept their advantage dramatically until the sound of the whistle ending the game. France started with a powerful victory against Australia, Mexico vs Poland and Denmark vs Tunisia were even games and resulted in ties with no goals to celebrate. Biggest moment was when Mexican's goalkeeper Ochoa stopped a penalty shot from Poland's forward star Lewandowski
FRANCE 4 - 1 AUSTRALIA
Australia started winning but France took control of the game with Giroud and Mbappe scoring for the champions.
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MEXICO 0 - 0 POLAND
Mexico and Poland tied after Mexican goalkeeper Memo Ochoa stopped a penalty from Poland's star forward Lewandowski.
ARGENTINA 1 - 2 SAUDI ARABIA
With 3 goals disallowed by the VAR, Argentina and Messi couldn't score more to make up the 2 goals that Tunisa scored in a 5 minutes lapse.
DENMARK 0 - 0 TUNISIA
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November 21,2022
The long-awaited debut of the USA national team after missing the past World Cup was frustrated by Gareth Bale leading Wales. England gave hope to its fans around the world with a tremendous beating over Iran who remain silent during the national anthem ceremony.
USA 1 - 1 WALES
Gareth Bale frustrates USA's win close to the end of the game.
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SENEGAL 0 - 2 NETHERLANDS
It took 85 minutes for Netherlands to score and take the win in a close game vs Senegal.
ENGLAND 6 - 2 IRAN
England starts strong versus a limited Iran.
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November 20,2022
QATAR 0 - 2 ECUADOR
Host country Qatar loses easily to kicks things off with Ecuador.
World Cup 2022: ESPN analyst, former Galaxy player Herculez Gomez outlines what to expect