Argentina's champion moment to Spain's shock exit make it to top 10 iconic moments of FIFA World Cup 2022

9. Japanese clean and tidy as always! | The Japanese players left the locker rooms tidied up with little origami pieces for the organisers and other members of the staff who were in charge at the stadiums. While this happened in the dressing rooms, the stands were being tidied up the Samurai Blue faithful. Japanese fans were spotted at numerous venues cleaning stands after the full-time whistle, and this was not limited to their games only. A small bunch of these fans were spotted picking trash at other games that did not feature Japan. They took the internet by storm after Bahraini content creator Omar Al-Farooq shared a video of these fans in the act after the opening game between Qatar and Ecuador. (Image: Reuters)

8. Shock exit for second ranked Red Devils! | Belgium's ‘Golden Generation’ put on a dismal performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, resulting in their elimination from the tournament in the group stages. A lot was expected from the team that went on to secure third place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. However, an ageing squad looked slow and lacklustre in all three of their group-stage games. Despite having some of the biggest names in football in the squad, like Romelu Lukaku, Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne, and Eden Hazard, they only managed to score one goal in their solitary victory against Canada. They were shocked 2-0 by Morocco in their opening game of the tournament before being held to a goalless draw by Croatia. (Image: Reuters)

7. Cameroon creates African history! | Morocco were leading the headlines when it came to African history. However, it was Cameroon who did it first, for a completely different reason. The Indomitable Lions became the first African country to beat Brazil at a World Cup. The Canarinho had fielded a second-string side after confirming their last-16 berth. However, the game against Cameroon stayed goalless till the 92nd minute when Vincent Aboubakar hammered in the winner. In a moment of extravagant elation, the striker forgot that he had been booked as he took off his shirt to celebrate. After the celebration, in a bittersweet moment, the Cameroon skipper was shown a second yellow as the ten men of Cameroon held on for a priceless victory. (Image: Reuters)

6. Ball in or out? A matter of perspective said VAR! | Japan’s victory over Spain in the final group stage game was marred by controversy as VAR ruled a ball to be in using goal-line technology in the build-up to Japan’s second goal of the match. It was a matter of millimeters and perspective due to which the goal was allowed. The smallest part of the ball was on the line when it was pulled back by Japanese winger Kaoru Mitoma. He squared the ball to teammate Ao Tanaka who smashed it past Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon into the net. The on-field referee disallowed the goal after appeals from the Spanish players. However, a VAR check overturned his decision. According to the rules, the ball's entire curvature must cross the line to be declared out of play. The goal became the decider of the match and resulted in Germany’s shock exit from the competition, whereas Japan finished on top of the group. (Image: Reuters)

5. Ronaldo’s heartbreak! | As the matchups for the Round of 16 were decided, the football universe realised that a final between the greats, i.e., Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi was a possibility. While the latter made it all the way to the final, the former’s World Cup voyage was brought to shocking end by Morocco. Playing in what could be his final World Cup, Ronaldo created history by becoming the only player to score in five editions of the tournament. Towards the end Portugal’s journey in the competition, the 37-year-old was left frustrated as he was benched by coach Fernando Santos. The gamble initially paid off when Ronaldo’s replacement Goncalo Ramos’ treble helped A Selecao smash the Swiss 6-1 in the Round of 16. However, against Morocco, the side fired a blank and were dumped out after a 1-0 loss against the Atlas Lions. (Image: Reuters)

4. Samurai Blue slaying the giants! | Japan sent shockwaves across the football universe and raised the bar for Asian Football teams by defeating Germany in their opening game of the competition. The result left Germany hanging by a thread and eventually, they exited the World Cup at the group stage for the second successive edition. The Samurai Blue went on to show the world that their victory over Die Mannschaft was no fluke by beating Spain in the last round of group stage fixtures. The two significant upsets saw them finish at the top of the group, ahead of a Spanish side that had won their first game by a margin of seven goals. (Image: Reuters)

3. Saudi stunning Messi and Co! | Argentina's road to the final of the FIFA World Cup 2022 was anything but a cakewalk. La Albiceleste got off to their worst-possible start as they were taken down by Saudi Arabia in their opening encounter of Group C. Ten minutes into the game, Linchpin Lionel Messi had put the favourites in front from the spot and it seemed like it would be business as usual for Argentina. However, the Arabian Falcons had different plans. Displaying true resilience, Saudi came back from a goal down and turned the game on its head in the second half with two goals scored in the span of just four minutes. The Arab nation held on to this narrow lead till the full-time whistle as Argentina failed to get off the mark on day one. (Image: Reuters)

2. Morocco’s Fairytale! | Morocco became the first African nation to reach the semi-final of the FIFA World Cup. The prowling Atlas Lions were undefeated till their semi-final loss against defending champions France. The road to the latter stages of the tournament was tough, but the Moroccan’s journey was nothing short of magical. They topped Group F - a group that included Belgium and Croatia before advancing to the Round of 16 and slaying European giants Spain on penalties. In the quarter-final, The Atlas Lions knocked Portugal out before their astounding run was laid to rest in the semi-final against France. In their run-in to the semi-final, Morocco only conceded one goal and that was an own-goal, meaning no opposition player had scored against them on the road to the semis. (Image: Reuters)

1. Lionel Messi and Argentina have their champion moment | In an extraordinary final a match worthy a grand final, Argentina scored thrice, and Kylian Mbappe scored three times before the match was forced into penalty shoot-outs. Argentina edged out France 4-2 in the penalty shoot-outs as La Albiceleste and La Pulga were crowned the champions of the world. (Image: AP)