World Cup host Qatar has been dropped from the tournament, less than a week after hosting the first edition of the biggest football event in the Middle East.
On the sixth day of the World Cup, Qatar lost to Senegal 1-3 in the second consecutive loss at the tournament. Its exit was confirmed hours later as the Netherlands and Ecuador drew 1-1 in the remaining Group A match.
That leaves Qatar at the bottom of Group A and has no chance of progressing.
South Africa was the only home team to fail to qualify for the group stage in 2010.
“If you expect us to go very far in this tournament, it will be a disappointment,” Qatar coach Felix Sanchez said before his team was officially eliminated. “Our goal is to be competitive.”
In other Friday fixtures, Iran scored a spectacular goal 2-0 against Wales in stoppage time and the United States disappointed England with a 0–0 draw in their second consecutive World Cup draw.
Here is a quick guide that summarizes all you need to know from Day 6 – Friday, November 25, 2022 – of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Senegal 3, Qatar 1
With the future of the World Cup on the way, the football stakes could hardly be higher for hosts Qatar and African champions Senegal.
The tension on Qatar’s opening night was no longer evident as they quickly captured Senegal and should have had a penalty when Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr fouled Akram Afif, but Spain referee Antonio Antonio Mateu Lahoz refused their plea and the VAR (video assistant referee) did not intervene.
With Qatar defending well, it will take a moment of magic or a catastrophic mistake for Senegal to break the deadlock. Unfortunately for Qatar defender Boualem Khoukhi, it turned out to be a latecomer.
His attempt to block a routine low pass into the box from Senegal’s Krepin Diatta went horribly wrong as he made a messy clearance, allowing Boulaye Dia to swoop in and score. goal opened the scoring right before the break.
Things took a turn for the worse for Qatar early in the second half, when Famara Diedhiou doubled Senegal’s advantage with a fine header from Ismail Jakobs’ corner in the 48th minute.
It was a sign for the home team to play the best football in the league so far.
Mohammed Muntari shortened the lead in the 78th minute with his first goal for Qatar at a World Cup but Senegal was undeterred as it continued to dominate the opponent in midfield.
Six minutes after Muntari’s strike, Bamba Dieng made a pass from substitute Iliman Ndiaye to score the African side’s third goal of the game.
That leaves Qatar bottom of Group A with no points, while the Netherlands and Ecuador have four points and Senegal three.
Qatar’s hope of going on is now over.
Even a win in the final match against three-time World Cup finalists the Netherlands was not enough to help them progress.
Netherlands 1, Ecuador 1
It’s Enner Valencia third goal of the tournament helped Ecuador get a draw with the Netherlands in Group A, thereby arranging the fate of Qatar.
The Netherlands took an early lead in the match against Cody Gakpo putting them ahead with a quick strike in the sixth minute.
But then, Ecuador prevailed.
After being overturned by VAR to equalize just before half-time, Valencia leveled the match in the 49th minute.
Iran 2, Wales 0
Iran recovered from their defeat to England with a stellar 2-0 win over Wales, leaving their World Cup destiny in their own hands.
Roozbeh Cheshmi of Iran Break the deadlock without a goal in the 98th minute and Ramin Rezaeian scored in the 101st minute against the Welsh 10, who lost goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey to a red card in the 86th minute.
Hennessey initially showed a yellow card for a rough tackle on Iran’s Mehdi Taremi but the referee showed him a red card after a VAR check.
With 3 points in Tuesday’s game against the United States, Iran has a chance to advance reached the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time.
Cheshmi said it was “the unity of the team members” that helped them win the game.
This result makes Wales’ chances of reaching the round of 16 very slim. It will face a tough test in the UK on Tuesday.
Wales coach Rob Page said: “We want to finish the tournament on a high note, that’s beyond our reach in terms of going through, but we want to finish with a good performance. and win.
US 0, UK 0
England endured a sober reality check when they were dominated by a young US team for a long time in a tense 0-0 draw in the second match of Group B of the World Cup.
The 6-2 loss to Iran on Monday sent England fans’ hopes soaring but Gareth Southgate’s side were lucky not to suffer a repeat of the 1950 World Cup disaster against the Americans.
They will still qualify for the last 16 if they avoid a crushing defeat to Wales in the final group stage game but they were greeted with boos at the final whistle and will need to improve. a lot if you want to go deep.
The United States produced a high-paced performance but may regret failing to knock out an England team stuck in second gear, even though they will make it to the round of 16 if they beat Iran.
“A draw wasn’t the worst thing but I felt for the duration of the game we were dominant,” said Christian Pulisic, one of five English-born players in the US starting line-up. said.
Although the results and performance were extremely disappointing for England, the team still topped the table with 4 points and held on to their place in the group to reach the round of 16.
Iran, who secured a late win over Wales, have three points with the US two and Wales one.
All possibilities are still open in the next third group.
