In their first game of the tournament against England, Iran\u2019s players took the bold step of\u00a0not singing their national anthem\u00a0before kickoff. It was a gesture to show their support for the nationwide protests taking place in their country in the wake of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini\u2019s death in the custody of the morality police.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia beating Argentina<\/strong><\/p>\n Argentina\u2019s World Cup campaign has been so fraught with drama that it\u2019s easy to forget that it began with them\u00a0losing to Saudi Arabia 2-1\u00a0in their opening game.<\/p>\n The second-lowest-ranked team in the tournament mounted an incredible comeback after going a goal down to score twice in the space of five minutes in the second half. The result sent tremors across the footballing world. The fact that Saudi Arabia lost their following two group games didn\u2019t matter. It wasn\u2019t just a win for the national team. It was a win for the nation.<\/p>\n German players covering their mouths<\/strong><\/p>\n In their opening group games, the captains of England, Wales, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark had decided to wear OneLove armbands, a symbolic gesture for anti-discrimination. But\u00a0FIFA banned the armband\u00a0and threatened sanctions for any team whose captain wore it on the pitch.<\/p>\n In protest of having their freedom of expression curtailed, the entire German national team posed for their pre-match photo with their\u00a0hands covering their mouths.<\/p>\n Messi’s goal against Mexico<\/strong><\/p>\n Emiliano Martinez\u2019s heroics in the penalty shootout against the Netherlands have taken Argentina within a victory of the final. Following their\u00a0defeat to Saudi Arabia\u00a0in the opening game, Martinez had said every game from then is akin to a final. The first of those came against Mexico, where a defeat would have sent Argentina back home.<\/p>\n Brazil put on a show against South Korea<\/strong><\/p>\n Sure, this wasn\u2019t a moment \u2013 it was 45 minutes. But it was a flash of brilliance that would eventually pass too soon.\u00a0Brazil were 4-0\u00a0up at halftime in their round of 16 game. It wasn\u2019t just the South Korean backline, but the wider footballing world they had dancing to their samba beat. It was a performance that Brazil have been historically renowned for: quick attacking play, sharp movement and dollops of flair.<\/p>\n Weghorst\u2019s moment of genius<\/strong><\/p>\n Wout Weghorst\u2019s goal\u00a0in the 11th minute of injury time to bring the Netherlands back from the brink of defeat against Argentina in the quarterfinal will go down as one of the great World Cup moments of all time. The craft and awareness of the quickly taken free kick took the Argentine defence and millions across the world by surprise. The timing and weight of the goal aside, the fact that Weghorst was a Burnley forward whose style of play had made him a figure of scorn in the footballing public only heightened the incredulity of the moment.<\/p>\n Croatia\u2019s ageless soldiers<\/strong><\/p>\n They ground out a penalty shootout win over Japan in the round of 16 and then held their nerve against the much-fancied Brazil to\u00a0book a spot in the final four\u00a0on Friday, building on a stunning legacy.<\/p>\n Morocco\u2019s magical run<\/strong><\/p>\n When they lifted coach Walid Regragui up high to celebrate their quarterfinal win over Portugal, it epitomised Morocco\u2019s unprecedented accomplishments.<\/p>\n At every World Cup there\u2019s one team that punches above its weight, defeating odds and opposition alike. It was Ghana in 2010, Costa Rica in 2014 and Croatia in 2018. This time, the mantle has been taken up by Morocco, who have created history by becoming the\u00a0first African nation\u00a0to reach the semifinals.<\/p>\n Ronaldo benched<\/strong><\/p>\n You had to read the team sheet a couple of times over to be sure that you hadn\u2019t skipped over his name.\u00a0Cristiano Ronaldo being dropped\u00a0for Portugal\u2019s round of 16 game against Switzerland felt seismic. Coach Fernando Santos had spoken about his displeasure with Ronaldo\u2019s reaction to being subbed off against South Korea in his press conference the previous day and had refused to confirm if he\u2019d be given the armband.<\/p>\n Injury time<\/strong><\/p>\n There was a staggering\u00a0563 minutes of injury time\u00a0played in the group stages of this World Cup. In the England-Iran group game, 27 minutes were added on to the regular 90. All of that is the outcome of a deliberate decision by FIFA to add on time for all stoppages more strictly than ever before.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The World Cup in Qatar is now at the semifinal stage: Either Argentina, France, Croatia or Morocco will win football\u2019s biggest prize at Lusail Stadium next Sunday. The Top 10 Moments are as follows: Iran players not singing the anthem In their first game of the tournament against England, Iran\u2019s players took the bold step […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":112078,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6640],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114540","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-fifa-2022"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/timeskuwait.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/fifa.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/timeskuwait.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/FIFA-2022.png\")
<\/p>\n