The 2022 FIFA World Cup is currently underway in Qatar. It is currently in the quarterfinals. This is the 22nd World Cup and they take place every four years. The event consists of two stages–the 32-team group stage and the 16-team knockout stage. The host country automatically gets a team and the other 31 teams must go through the qualification process to be allowed into the competition. There are eight groups of four teams each in the group stage. The four teams play against each other to determine which two from the group move on.
In this year’s group stage Qatar, the host country, lost all three matches and was the first team eliminated. The United States tied Wales 1-1, tied England 0-0, and beat Iran 1-0 to get a record of 1-0-2 and earn a spot in the knockout stage. No team won all three matches.
The United States lost 3-1 in the knockout stage to the Netherlands. France, the defending champs, downed Poland 3-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. 2018’s runner-up, Croatia, beat Japan on PKs to advance. Perhaps the most notable round of 16 game was Portugal vs Switzerland. Portugal benched superstar Cristiano Ronaldo and put in Goncalo Ramos. Ramos had a hat trick in Portugal’s 6-1 blowout win.
The quarterfinals begin today, December 9, with Netherlands vs Argentina and Croatia vs Brazil. The next day will have England vs France and Morocco vs Portugal. With matchups like these, the World Cup will certainly end with excitement.