FIFA World Cup Week 1 - Argentina, Germany shocks highlight the first week of FIFA World Cup 2022; Asians teams punch above their weight and shock the heavyweights

 FIFA World Cup 2022 started on the 20th of November at the Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar. The start of the marquee event was marked by the controversies surrounding LGBTQ and the restrictions on the sale of alcohol.

Day 1:

In the first match of the tournament, the 'hosts' Qatar locked horns with the South American team Ecuador and lost the match by a 1-0 margin. This marked the first time a host nation lost the opening match in the World Cup. The hosts looked toothless in the opening-day loss.

Day 2:

The second day started with England scoring 6 goals against Iran and winning the match 6-2. The Netherlands took on Senegal and got the better of the African giants 2-0, Senegal is depleted by the loss of their talisman Sadio Mane. USA and Wales fought out a draw in the next match in which Gareth Bale scored his first goal in the World Cup match.

Day 3:

The third day witnessed the biggest upset of all time at the World Cup when Saudi Arabia defeated Argentina, who is considered to be one of the favorites to win the cup, in one of the greatest come-from-behind victories. Argentina was one goal ahead at Half-Time, but the Saudis were unstoppable in the second half and won the match 2-1. Denmark and Tunisia played out a no-goal draw where Tunisia showed the character to hold on to the Danish team for a draw. Poland and Mexico too followed the suit. The Polich team had a great chance of converting the awarded penalty, but their star striker, Robert Lewandowski, failed to convert it and extended his wait for a goal at the world cup match. Later in the day, France showed its depth and class against helpless Australia and won the match 4-1. Olivier Giroud scored a brace and is now tied as the highest goals scorer for France.

Day 4:

Morocco and Croatia played out a goalless draw before another upset was seen where Japan defeated the 2014 champions, Germany. The Japanese did not even have possession for the majority of the match. Spain thrashed Costa Rica for the worst defeat in this tournament till now, as they scored 7 goals in a clinical display. Belgium scored a goal and won the match 1-0 against Canada.

Day 5:

Switzerland defeated Cameroon 1-0 to get 3 points and go atop the Group G table. Uruguay and South Korea battled out a draw as none of them scored a goal. Portugal netted 3 times against Ghana and won the match 3-2. Ronaldo became the first player in FIFA World Cup history to score at 5 different World Cups. Serbia showed a spirited display against Brazil and the scoreline read 0-0 and Half-Time, but the Brazilians won the match 2-0 with a good display from the attackers. But they had a setback when their talisman Neymar left the field with an injury to his right ankle, eventually ruling him out of the group stage.

Day 6:

Iran and Wales fought a tough match where no goal was scored until the 5th minute in the second stoppage time before the Iranians scored 2 goals in a span of 6 minutes winning the match 2-0. The 'hosts' Qatar lost the match against Senegal effectively ending their world cup campaign with one game still left. The only moment for the hosts was when they scored the first goal at the world cup event. Ecuador held on to the Netherlands for a draw with a single goal from each of them. There was another draw between England and USA, but it was a goalless draw.

Day 7:

Australia got the better of Tunisia with a 1-0 victory to keep their hopes alive of advancing in the tournament. Poland won the match against Saudi Arabia, who were high on confidence after their win against Argentina. Although Saudi Arabia lost the match, they showed that their win against Argentina was no fluke. France locked horns with Denmark and won the match 2-1 largely due to a brace from one of the best players, Kylian Mbappe. Mbappe now has 7 goals at the World Cup before turning 25 tying him with Pele. Argentina took on Mexico in a very important match to stay in contention in the event, and they came up with a spirited performance inspired by Messi and won the match 2-0.