The final round of Group stage fixtures at the FIFA World Cup 2022 threw up a few more stunning results on Friday, December 2 as injury-time winners saw South Korea beat Portugal and Cameroon stun five-time champions Brazil. However, the shock defeat didn’t derail the five-time champions’ campaign as they still go through as Group G leaders.
The Indomitable Lions bowed out of the competition despite their victory, but captain Vincent Aboubaker and his team exit the grand stage having created a slice of history, becoming the first African team in history to defeat Brazil at the World Cup. In the other game in Group G, Switzerland emerged 3-2 winners after a five-goal thriller against Serbia to claim second spot.
South Korea scored an injury-time winner against Portugal in Group H to join Cristiano Ronaldo’s team in the last 16. That result meant Uruguay who secured a 2-0 win over Ghana were still eliminated from the competition due to fewer goals scored.
Now the attention in Qatar shifts to the Round of 16 as teams enter the knockout stage where there are no second chances.
The first Round of 16 clash at the 2022 World Cup sees Netherlands take on the United States of America at the Khalifa International Stadium. The Dutch progress though to the last 16 as Group A winners and are yet to taste defeat in Qatar. Whereas USA finished second in Group B after one win and two draws.
Both teams are back in the FIFA World Cup finals after missing the tournament four years ago in Russia and will be eager to make up for lost time. The match kicks off at 8:30 PM IST.
The next Round of 16 clash sees Group C winners Argentina take on the runners-up from Group D Australia in the 12:30 AM IST kickoff. Lionel Messi’s team recovered from their early 2-1 shock defeat to Saudi Arabia to qualify for the knockouts courtesy back-to-back 2-0 victories against Mexico and Poland.
The Socceroos meanwhile shook off an early 4-1 drubbing at the hands of France as they too secured consecutive 1-0 wins against Tunisia and Denmark. Australia finished the group level on points with the defending champions but were second courtesy a negative goal difference.
Argentina reached the Round of 16 in the last edition of the World Cup, but failed to progress beyond that point as eventual champions France eliminated them in a seven-goal thriller clinching the match 4-3.
With Messi playing in his final World Cup, Lionel Scaloni’s men will be eager to avoid any slip-ups against Australia who have shown how stubborn they can be in frustrating opponents.
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