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Group A of the
2022 FIFA World Cup took place from 20 to 29 November 2022.
The group consisted of host nation
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
,
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
and the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. The top two teams, the Netherlands and Senegal, advanced to the round of 16. Qatar became the first host nation to lose every group game in the World Cup history, becoming the worst performing host.
Teams
Notes
Standings
In the
round of 16
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
:
* The winners of Group A, the Netherlands, advanced to play the runners-up of
Group B
Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...
, the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
* The runners-up of Group A, Senegal, advanced to play the winners of
Group B
Group B was a set of regulations for grand touring (GT) vehicles used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World Sportscar ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Matches
All times listed are local,
AST (
UTC+3
UTC+03:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +03:00. In areas using this time offset, the time is three hours later than the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
Following the ISO 8601 standard, a time with this offset would be wri ...
).
The
match between Senegal and the Netherlands was originally scheduled to be the opening match of the tournament on 21 November 2022, 13:00, while the
match between Qatar and Ecuador would take place later that day at 19:00. However, FIFA adjusted the match schedule on 11 August 2022, moving the Qatar–Ecuador fixture to 20 November in order for the hosts to feature in the opening match of the tournament. As a result, Senegal–Netherlands fixture was pushed back to 19:00 on 21 November.
Qatar vs Ecuador
The two teams had faced each other three times, most recently in 2018, a 4–3 win for Qatar in a friendly game. This was their first competitive meeting.
Ecuador had a disallowed goal in the opening minutes, but eventually won 2–0 with a brace by
Enner Valencia
Enner Remberto Valencia Lastra (born 4 November 1989) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and captains the Ecuador national team.
He previously played for Emelec in Ecuador, where ...
in the first match of the tournament. Valencia opened the scoring in the 16th minute with a penalty, shooting low to the right corner after being brought down in the penalty area by Qatar goalkeeper
Saad Al-Sheeb. He scored his second in the 31st minute with a downward header to the left corner of the net after a cross in from the right by
Ángelo Preciado
Ángelo Smit Preciado Quiñónez (born 18 February 1998) is an Ecuadorian professional footballer who plays as a right-back or winger for Czech First League club Sparta Prague and the Ecuador national team.
Club career
Born in Shushufindi, ...
. This is the third consecutive FIFA World Cup in which a player scored a brace in the opening match, after Brazil's
Neymar
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior (born 5 February 1992), known as Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and the Brazil national team. A prolific goalscorer and renowned ...
in 2014 and Russia's
Denis Cheryshev
Denis Dmitriyevich Cheryshev (russian: link=no, Денис Дмитриевич Черышев, p=dʲɪˈnʲis ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈtɕerɨʂɨf; born 26 December 1990) is a Russian professional footballer who plays as a left winger for c ...
in 2018. This was also the first time a
penalty kick
A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...
had been scored as the opening goal of a FIFA World Cup. Qatar became the 14th debutant to lose their opening fixture; additionally, they became the first host nation to lose their opening match at a World Cup.
Senegal vs Netherlands
The teams had never met before.
After a goalless first half,
Cody Gakpo put the Netherlands ahead in the 84th minute when he got to the ball first to head past the advancing goalkeeper
Édouard Mendy
Édouard Osoque Mendy (born 1 March 1992) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Chelsea and the Senegal national team.
Starting his career in his native France, Mendy played in the Le Havre academy before ...
and into the empty net after a cross from
Frenkie de Jong
Frenkie de Jong (born 12 May 1997) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. A versatile midfielder, he is known for his vision, passing, dribbling, technique, ...
. In stoppage time,
Davy Klaassen
Davy Klaassen (born 21 February 1993) is a Dutch professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club AFC Ajax, Ajax and the Netherlands national football team, Netherlands national team.
Club career
Earl ...
made it 2–0 when he followed up on
Memphis Depay
Memphis Depay (; born 13 February 1994), also known simply as Memphis, is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Barcelona and the Netherlands national team.
Memphis began his professional career with PSV Ein ...
's saved shot to slot into the net.
Qatar vs Senegal
The two teams had never met before.
Following the Netherlands' 1–1 draw with Ecuador played after this match, Qatar became the first host country to be eliminated from the group stage of the FIFA World Cup after just two games, and the second overall, after
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
, to fail to progress to the knockout round. This loss also confirmed Qatar as the worst hosts by performance, as they could secure no more than three points, one short of South Africa's four.
Netherlands vs Ecuador
The two teams had faced each other twice, most recently in 2014, a 1–1 draw in a friendly game.
Ecuador vs Senegal
The two teams had faced each other twice, most recently in 2005, a 2–1 win for Senegal in a friendly.
The 1–2 defeat resulted in Ecuador's second consecutive group stage exit, with the previous one coming in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
.
Netherlands vs Qatar
The two teams had never met before.
In losing to the Netherlands, Qatar gained the distinction of being the first and only World Cup hosts in history to suffer three defeats and failed to earn a single point.
Discipline
Fair play points would have been used as tiebreakers if the overall and head-to-head records of teams were tied. These were calculated based on yellow and red cards received in all group matches as follows:
*first yellow card: −1 point;
*indirect red card (second yellow card): −3 points;
*direct red card: −4 points;
*yellow card and direct red card: −5 points;
Only one of the above deductions were applied to a player in a single match.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Group A
2022 FIFA World Cup
Qatar at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Ecuador at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Senegal at the 2022 FIFA World Cup
Netherlands at the 2022 FIFA World Cup