| Saudi Arabia’s players cheer after winning a 2-1 comeback victory in the Qatar World Cup 2022 Group C first leg match between Argentina and Saudi Arabia held at Lusail Stadium in Qatar on the afternoon of 22 (now local). 2022.11.22/News1 © News1 Reporter Lee Dong-hae |
Saudi Arabia, who created a catastrophic defeat by beating Argentina in the first round of the group stage, will have an inevitable confrontation with traditional powerhouse Mexico for a ticket to the round of 16.
Saudi Arabia (51st place in FIFA) and Mexico (13th place) will play the third round of the group stage of Group C of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar at 4:00 on the 1st (Korea time) at Lusail Stadium in Qatar. The team that loses this match is at calculated risk as they fail to advance to the tournament.
Saudi Arabia, led by coach Herve Renard, caused a stir by beating Argentina 2-1 in the first leg of Group C of the tournament held on the 22nd at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail, Qatar.
Overseas media praised Saudi Arabia’s miraculous victory, calling it “the biggest surprise ever at the World Cup”. In Saudi Arabia, the 23rd of Victory has been designated as a temporary public holiday by royal decree.
Crown Prince bin Salman, known as the richest man in the world with a personal fortune of around 2.5 trillion won, was also thrilled by Saudi Arabia’s victory.
At the time, Yasser al-Shahrani, who collapsed from an injury during the match, handed him his jet and ordered him to be flown to Germany, expressing great interest in the football team, and is said to have promised a Rolls -Royce worth about 1.3 billion won as a gift.
However, in the ambitious second leg, they lost 0-2 to Poland and their momentum was dampened. It was painful to give 1 goal and 1 assist to the “goal machine” Robert Lewandowski.
After the second match, Saudi Arabia dropped to third place in the group behind Argentina on goal difference. Only by winning against Mexico can they advance to the round of 16 on their own.
The atmosphere in Saudi Arabia itself is not bad. There are no outstanding stars, but the national team is made up of players from Al-Hilal, the strongest team in their country’s league, and their organizational power is maximized.
If Saudi Arabia performs another miracle against Mexico, they can progress to the round of 16 for the first time in 28 years since the 1994 World Cup in the USA.
 |
| Mexican soccer fans enjoy the festival at the opening ceremony of the FIFA Fan Festival held at Al Bida Park in Doha, Qatar on the 19th (local time), the day before the opening of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. 2022.11.20/News1 © News1 Reporter Lee Dong-hae |
Mexico have the record of only reaching the round of 16 in all of the last seven World Cups. However, in this competition, it is not free from slowness.
In the first match they drew with Poland without a goal, and in the second match with Argentina, Lionel Messi allowed one goal and one assist and lost 0-2.
Mexico, who fell to the bottom of the group with 1 draw and 1 point, must unconditionally beat Saudi Arabia to advance to the round of 16. If you tie or lose, you are eliminated immediately. Even if you win, you have to look at the situation of other teams.
If Poland wins the match between Argentina and Poland, which will be played at the same time, Mexico can advance to the group stage. If Argentina win, Poland and Mexico will have to score on goal difference.
In the event of a draw between Poland and Argentina, the goal difference between Mexico and Argentina will be compared to decide who will advance to the round of 16.
Meanwhile, at midnight on the 1st, the third Group D match between Australia (38th place) and Denmark (10th place) will be played at Al-Wakrah Aljanub Stadium.
Australia slumped by conceding 1-4 to France in their first match, but bounced back to beat tricky Tunisia 1-0.
 |
| Australian fans cheer enthusiastically during the Qatar 2022 World Cup Group D first leg match between France and Australia held at Al Wakrah Al Janoub Stadium in Qatar on the afternoon of the 22nd (local time). 2022.11.23/News1 © News1 Journalist Kwangho Lee |
Australia, who reached the round of 16 in Germany in 2006, have a strong will to get through the group stage. Australia lack a flashy star player, but it looks like they will go against Denmark with a strategy that maximizes efficiency with practical ‘defense first, then counterattack’ football.
Previously, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries including Qatar and Iran were eliminated one after another. If Australia beat Denmark that day, they will be the first Asian team to advance to the round of 16.
Denmark lost to France 1-2 after drawing 0-0 with Tunisia. Denmark is struggling with poor scoring power.
To qualify for the round of 16, Denmark must first beat Australia and then watch the match between France and Tunisia in the same group.
France, already qualified for the round of 16, should lose some strength in the match against Tunisia. Tunisia is on the edge of a precipice with one draw and one defeat but victory is not expected to be easy as they are inferior to France in terms of objective strength.
