Comments
On Friday, Cameroon, ranked 43rd, handed down the top-ranked Brazil their first defeat in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. It was for the first time, the South American giant lost to an African nation in a World Cup. Friday’s upset is the latest in a long list of surprise victories the 22nd edition of the tournament has conjured up.
The first big jolt was delivered right in the fifth match of the tournament when the favourite Argentina was shocked by Saudi Arabia, who not even feature in the Top 50. The Elo rating (used to measure a team’s relative strength) difference between Saudi Arabia and Argentina was a stunning 508 points. Even as the sporting world barely able to come in terms with the emphatic win, another David-triumphing-Goliath fable was scripted when Japan overcame the 2014 champion Germany. Japan, later beat the European giant Spain to book their spot in the Round of 16.
The tale of underdogs having their day in the sun continued with Ecuador holding Holland to a 1-1 draw and the United States salvaging a goalless draw against another favourite, England. It reminded one of probably the first major upset in the World Cup history in 1950, when the rank outsiders USA beat a strong England side.
More logic-defying wins followed when Morocco beat Belgium, which boasted superstars such as Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard. Least-fancied Morocco topped their group to reach the next round. In a span of 48 hours, the football fans would be treated to a couple of other major upsets with lowest ranked African team Tunisia springing a surprise win over defending champs France and the Aussies punching above their weight to knock out the Danes, who were the semi-finalists in 2021 Euro Cup.
Besides Cameroon’s heroics, Friday’s night also witnessed the South Korean team beating Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal to progress to the next round , joining their neighbour, Japan.
With the league phase just coming to a close, the Qatar edition has become synonymous with being the tournament where rank outsiders proving their mettle. The football fans expect more jaw-dropping results even as the Round of 16 is set to begin on Saturday night.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.