Every World Cup produces the occasional surprise result, but the 2022 tournament in Qatar has delivered more than its fair share of shocks. Favorites have been dispatched and minnows have progressed in one of the most memorable competitions yet.
In some of those matches, controversy has played its part, and here are some of the most talked about moments from Qatar 2022.
A Double Upset
Japan produced two of the biggest shocks in the qualifying stages. Placed in Group E along with Germany, Spain, and Costa Rica, coach Hajime Moriyasu and his men were not expected to progress.
Early World Cup odds showed Spain as favorites to win the group and progress to the knockout stages, while Germany was the team most likely to occupy the second qualification place.
Japan clearly hadn’t read the script. In the opening game in this section, goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Osano stunned the Germans in a 2-1 victory for the outsiders. Following that win, Japan’s 1-0 loss to Costa Rica left the team needing a positive result in their final match against Spain.
Moriyasu’s men were to produce another surprise in a game which delivered arguably the most controversial moment of the tournament. The match finished with another 2-1 win to Japan, but the deciding goal will forever be debated, especially in Spanish quarters.
Should Japan’s second goal have been ruled out? Had the ball crossed the line before Kaur Mitoma cut it back to Ao Tanaka? Two separate camera angles seemed to contradict each other. Side on, it looked out but an angled overhead showed that the tiniest fraction of the ball was in play.
It will be debated, certainly in Spain, for many years to come as one of the most controversial moments of any World Cup.
Saudi Stunner
There wasn’t too much controversy in what many felt was the shock result of Qatar 2022. Argentina went into the tournament as one of the favorites, but they were humbled in their opening group game by lowly Saudi Arabia.
Most felt that the Saudis were deserving of their 2-1 win, but Argentina did have two goals disallowed for offside. Later reports claimed that one of those strikes was fair, meaning that the biggest shock of Qatar 2022 should never have happened.
Hogging the Headlines
No single player is bigger than his team, but fans of Cristiano Ronaldo may have a different point of view. A season of petulance at Manchester United saw CR7 leave the club by ‘mutual agreement’ and his displeasure with certain tactical decisions was transferred into the World Cup.
Ronaldo was clearly not happy at being substituted in Portugal’s defeat to South Korea, but his coach Fernando Santos was less amused. As a result of his reaction, one of the greatest players in the game was dropped to the bench for the Round of 16 win over Switzerland.
With his replacement Goncalo Ramos scoring a hat trick, Cristiano Ronaldo’s future for club and country is unknown.
Welsh Wails
Many of the controversies surrounding the 2022 World Cup took place before a ball was even kicked. There were those who felt that Iran shouldn’t be involved, but the quest to separate sport and politics prevailed.
Their presence may have been resented, but the Iranians shone on the pitch and produced one of the shocks of the tournament. Having lost 6-2 to England in their opening game in Group A, Iran was expected to capitulate in their next match against Wales.
Once again, the outsiders in this match failed to follow the form book. After Wales had their goalkeeper Wayne Hennessy sent off in the second half, two injury-time goals saw Iran claim a stunning 2-0 victory.
The VAR Side
Talk of controversy wouldn’t be complete without a closer look at the work of the Virtual Assistant Referee. While the VAR system was in use in Russia in 2018, it’s a more widespread part of the game in 2022.
VAR was used to rule out those two Argentinian goals in their loss to Saudi Arabia. One of those was highly debatable, but the system’s most controversial decision came in the very first game of Qatar 2022.
Host nation Qatar had the honor of opening up and their first opponents were Ecuador. It’s fair to say that the Qataris were the weakest team in the tournament and they were unlikely to progress beyond the groups.
The officials tried to help them along by disallowing an early Ecuador goal for offside. Later reports indicated that the decision was correct, but it left fans baffled and frustrated with VAR once again.
The Virtual Assistant Referee is here to stay and it’s making its presence felt. While it remains in place, there will always be controversy, but those decisions are always magnified at a tournament as important as the World Cup.
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